Colts-Chargers Preview

SCOUTING REPORT

LT breakout needed to top Manning, ColtsThough the Colts have only a slim chance at a division title, both teams remain playoff contenders, and the Chargers still are in the thick of the awful NFC West race. Still, San Diego desperately needs a win Sunday, especially with the Broncos' having won two in a row and facing the Raiders this week. Though last week's win over Houston wasn't entirely convincing, Indianapolis appears to be turning its season around. This pair of 2007 powerhouses has taken a step back from last season, but both teams still have a chance to reach their original goal.

· Full Scouting Report

Matchup
	W-L	PF	PA	HOME	ROAD	DIV	CONF
IND	12-4	377	298	6-2	6-2	4-2	10-2
SDG	8-8	439	347	5-3	3-5	5-1	7-5
· Complete Standings

Individual Leaders

Indianapolis Passing   CMP% YDS TD INT Mannin... 68.8 4500 33 16 Painte... 28.6 83 0 2

San Diego Passing   CMP% YDS TD INT Rivers 65.2 4254 28 9 Volek 64.5 231 1 1

Indianapolis Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD Addai 219 828 3.8 10 Brown 78 281 3.6 3

San Diego Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD Tomlin... 223 730 3.3 12 Sprole... 93 343 3.7 3

Indianapolis Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD Wayne 100 1264 12.6 10 Clark 100 1106 11.1 10

San Diego Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD Jackso... 68 1167 17.2 9 Gates 79 1157 14.6 8

Full Player Stats: Indianapolis | San Diego

TEAM AVERAGES & NFL RANKS
TEAM OFFENSE	TEAM	PER GAME AVERAGE
Total Yards	IND	336.0
	SDG	349.0
Yards Passing	IND	255.9
	SDG	241.1
Yards Rushing	IND	79.6
	SDG	107.9
TEAM DEFENSE	TEAM	PER GAME AVERAGE
Yards Allowed	IND	310.9
	SDG	349.9
Pass Yds Allowed	IND	188.1
	SDG	247.4
Rush Yds Allowed	IND	122.9
	SDG	102.6

HEAD TO HEAD MATCHUPS (SINCE 2001)
San Diego leads 4-2
Jan 13, 2008	IND 24, @SDG 28
Nov 11, 2007	IND 21, SDG 23
Dec 18, 2005	IND 17, @SDG 26
Dec 26, 2004	IND 34, @SDG 31

Peyton Manning has had plenty of days in the NFL he'll want to remember. Two games against the San Diego Chargers last season aren't among them.

Manning will look to put one of his worst performances further in the rearview mirror Sunday as the Indianapolis Colts try for their fourth straight win in a matchup with the Chargers -- the team that also knocked the Colts out of last season's playoffs.

Indianapolis (6-4) has bounced back from a 3-4 start to move back into postseason contention. The Colts' playoff chances were much less in doubt in 2007, when they won 13 of their first 15 games and ran away with their fifth consecutive AFC South title.

Their lone road loss came against San Diego in Week 10, a 23-21 defeat Nov. 11 in which they outgained the Chargers by more than 200 yards. The Colts lost when Adam Vinatieri missed a late 29-yard field goal, but Manning's worst pro performance didn't help. He threw a career-high six interceptions as the Colts were unable to overcome an early 23-point deficit.

"It was poor quarterback play on my part," Manning said at the time. "I take full responsibility for all of them."

He threw two more interceptions two months later as San Diego ensured the Colts' postseason stay would be brief. Manning passed for 402 yards and three touchdowns, but a late drive led by backup quarterback Billy Volek propelled the Chargers to a 28-24 win and a trip to the AFC championship game.

While the Colts have snapped out of their early season funk, San Diego (6-4) is still stuck in one. The Chargers are 4-4 since losing their first two contests, leaving them two games behind first-place Denver in the AFC West.

They followed up a 20-19 win over Kansas City on Nov. 9 with a bizarre 11-10 defeat at Pittsburgh on Sunday, losing even though their defense didn't allow a touchdown.

"Any time a defense gives up nine points, we should win the game," said Philip Rivers, who threw two interceptions. "We didn't get it done."

Even with the turnovers Sunday, Rivers remains the AFC's highest-rated quarterback at 100.8, and he's thrown 21 touchdown passes -- one shy of his career high. San Diego's offensive problems stem from the lack of an effective running game, with LaDainian Tomlinson not performing at all like the back who led the league in rushing the past two seasons.

Tomlinson, who struggled with a toe injury early in the season, is 35th in the NFL with 3.8 yards per carry, his lowest average since his rookie year of 2001. After the loss to the Steelers, he said he feels like his team's playoff hopes are slipping away.

"We're not out of it but it's like, the blown opportunities we keep on talking about, when we could have been easily tied with Denver right now," said Tomlinson, who's averaged 3.6 yards per carry in four games against Indianapolis. "And whenever you keep blowing opportunities, then at some point, as they say, opportunities don't come about anymore."

He may find more room to run against the Colts, particularly with safety Bob Sanders unable to go for the second straight week. Indianapolis is allowing 138.5 rushing yards per game -- 25th in the league -- and Sanders, the reigning NFL defensive player of the year, plays a big part in run support.

The oft-injured Sanders has played in only four games because of a knee injury, and with him sidelined last Sunday, Houston rookie Steve Slaton ran for 156 yards.

Manning and the offense, though, overcame it by delivering their most efficient game of 2008. Manning went 30-for-46 for 320 yards and two touchdowns, and the Colts piled up a season-high 474 yards in a 33-27 win.

Joseph Addai recorded his first 100-yard rushing game of the season for Indianapolis.

"We've turned the ball over less and less," coach Tony Dungy told the team's official Web site. "We're cutting down on a lot of the long-yardage situations we've been in. We've avoided the penalties. I think our whole offense has kind of sharpened up as the year has gone by."

Sanders, who didn't make the trip to San Diego, isn't the only Colts star who's banged up. All-Pro receiver Reggie Wayne has an ankle injury, although he's expected to play.

Indianapolis, however, can go in knowing its other starting wideout is coming off his best game of the season. Eight-time All-Pro Marvin Harrison caught 10 passes for 110 yards in his previous four games, but had nine catches for 77 yards and a touchdown against the Texans.

The Chargers own the league's worst pass defense at 267.0 yards allowed per game.

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