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Chargers jolt Colts to reach AFC title game
2008-01-14
The San Diego Chargers shocked the Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts 28-24 on Sunday, advancing to the AFC title game and a meeting with the unbeaten New England Patriots. The gritty Chargers will travel to Foxborough next Sunday to face Tom Brady and the Patriots, who secured their place in the championship game with a 31-20 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. After a stumbling 1-3 start to the season the Chargers had appeared to be heading for a disappointing campaign but have strung together eight consecutive victories, including back-to-back playoff wins, to move to the brink of their first Super Bowl appearance since 1995. "We have our work cut out," Chargers coach Norv Turner told reporters. "But this group will respond and get ready. "That's why you coach, why you play, to win championships. That's what you do it for and we've gotten closer the last two weeks." Quarterback Philip Rivers completed 14 of 19 passes for 264 yards and three touchdowns to help bring the Colts's Super Bowl defense to a stunning end. Even more remarkable, the Chargers finished off the Colts without NFL rushing champion LaDainian Tomlinson, who exited the game in the opening half with a bruised knee and Rivers, who watched from the sidelines also with an injured knee, as backup Billy Volek powered over for the winning touchdown. Turner labeled both Tomlinson and Rivers as questionable for next Sunday's AFC title game but expects his team to produce a similar gritty effort against the Patriots with or without their two top offensive players. GUTSY PERFORMANCE "We've got some guys who compete and fight and scratch and claw as good as I've ever been around," said Turner. "I've never been around a more gutsy performance by a team. "The adversity, the things that happened during the game, the injuries, our guys never backed down. "Our guys just kept fighting." After Peyton Manning connected with Anthony Gonzalez midway through the final quarter to put the Colts up 24-21 the Chargers's Super Bowl dreams looked done with their starting quarterback and Pro Bowl running back limping on the sidelines. But Volek stepped in to engineer a 78-yard scoring drive, diving over from the one for the winning score. "You have to give San Diego a ton of credit," said Colts coach Tony Dungy. "Tomlinson goes out, the quarterback goes out and they find a way to make the plays to win it." The Colts drew first blood, Manning engineering a 76-yard drive capped off by a 25-yard touchdown strike to Dallas Clark on their opening possession. With Indianapolis marching towards another score, receiver Marvin Harrison fumbled on the San Diego 22 and Chargers capitalized on the turnover with Rivers lofting a 14-yard touchdown pass to Vincent Jackson midway through the second quarter to tie the game at 7-7. An Adam Vinatieri 47-yard field goal allowed the Colts to take a 10-7 lead into the intermission but San Diego took the second-half kickoff and marched 83 yards, Rivers finding Chris Chambers with a 30-yard pass to give the Chargers their first lead of the game. The Colts answered with Manning connecting with Reggie Wayne for a nine-yard touchdown to retake the lead 17-14 but again the Chargers hit back, Rivers sending a flare pass to Darren Sproles, who raced 56 yards down the sideline to make the score 21-17 heading into the final quarter. (Editing by Miles Evans)
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