Colts Done to Perfection
All week long, the undefeated Indianapolis Colts grappled with a difficult choice: Should they rest their starters for the playoffs or stay focused on perfection?
On Sunday, San Diego made the decision for them.
The Chargers, facing almost certain playoff-race elimination, rolled into the RCA Dome and came away with a 26-17 victory that ended the Colts’ bid for NFL history. After 13 consecutive victories, the dream of a perfect season went poof.
“Our guys wanted to stay undefeated, they wanted to go 16-0,” Coach Tony Dungy said. “We didn’t want to lose at home. These guys just came out and beat us.”
It wasn’t a case of the Colts (13-1) taking their foot off the gas pedal. The Chargers (9-5) faced and beat the best Indianapolis had to offer, sacking Peyton Manning four times, intercepting two of his passes, and -- after nearly letting a victory slip away -- finally pulling away with an 83-yard touchdown run by Michael Turner with just more than two minutes left in the game.
“We felt our defense had done its part, and it was time for us to do ours and put the game away,” San Diego quarterback Drew Brees said.
The victory didn’t assure the Chargers of a spot in the playoffs. Far from it. They are vying for the sixth seeding with Pittsburgh, and the Steelers have the inside track, having won at San Diego in Week 5. If the Steelers win their final two games -- at home against Cleveland and at Detroit -- they’re in, and the Chargers are out.
Said San Diego fullback Lorenzo Neal: “We’re up to our neck in hot water.”
Maybe so, but the Colts’ run for the record books is now cooked. The Chargers denied Indianapolis the chance to match the feat of the 1972 Miami Dolphins, the only team in NFL history to finish a season undefeated. The Colts might have even done the Dolphins one better, considering the regular season has since been expanded from 14 to 16 games.
“It looked like Dungy was calling for redemption, looking to use this season as an attempt for the Colts to redeem themselves for their playoff losses,” said Mercury Morris, a running back on the ’72 Dolphins.
“That’s what Coach [Don] Shula did. He told us, ‘Remember what it felt like after Super Bowl VI. You never want to feel that way again.’ That motivated us all season in 1972, and I saw that in the Colts and Dungy this year. That’s why I was so worried about them, and thought they might actually do it.
“Another part of me, though, wanted to see them win them all. If they had been able to go undefeated, then we could have someone to talk to who would understand the experience. That’s the biggest thing. It’s like trying to describe to someone what it’s like to walk on the moon. It’s only a description -- they’ll never know until they go.”
Now, the Colts can moonwalk through their final two games -- at Seattle and home against Arizona -- little more than a meaningless prelude to the playoffs, a time to play their backups while trying to maintain the sharp edge they’ve had all season.
“We want to win the next two games,” Dungy said. “But we’re going to use everybody on our roster.”
Translation: So long, Manning. Hello, Jim Sorgi.
Already, Super Bowl mania has taken hold in Indianapolis, where in Sunday’s edition the Indianapolis Star ran two stories on Detroit -- one written by the Chicago Tribune -- under the headlines, “One super destination” and “Super Bowl tix will be super $carce.”
But the Colts didn’t look like Super Bowl locks Sunday, particularly in the first half.
The Chargers sacked Manning on his first play, and intercepted his second pass before fumbling it back on the return. On the first play of the Colts’ third possession, Manning was sacked again. His offense went almost an entire quarter without picking up a first down.
Two snapshot moments were especially atypical of Manning. The first came on fourth and goal at the San Diego one, when, instead of handing off to Edgerrin James, he kept the ball, ran a bootleg left and lost six yards. And the second came with less than four minutes to play, when the Colts were trailing, 19-17, but moving fairly deep into Charger territory. Manning was flagged for intentional grounding on second down and sacked on third down, leading to a punt rather than a possible go-ahead field goal.
That the Colts overcame a 13-0 halftime deficit to claw their way back was of little consolation to their players.
“Yeah, we kept ourselves in the game,” cornerback Nick Harper said. “But against good teams ... you gotta start fast. You can’t come out in the first half and stink up the field like that, and then expect to go out in the second half and beat a playoff-caliber team. Because they’re going to keep plugging.”
For the Charger defense, the victory didn’t start with sacking Manning on his first play, it started six days earlier in the film room. There, after grimacing through last week’s loss to Miami, the linebackers put in a tape of last season’s game against the Colts. San Diego dominated most of that game, only to fritter away a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter on their way to a 34-31 loss in overtime.
Normally, the Chargers wait until Wednesday to start watching tape of the upcoming opponent. But the linebackers wanted to get an early preview of what they’d be seeing against Indianapolis.
“We were watching the tape, and it was like, wow, we’re going to get after them,” linebacker Donnie Edwards said. “We match up really well against this team.”
It’s possible the Chargers could return to Indianapolis for a rematch in the playoffs. But to do so as the sixth-seeded team, they first would have to win on the road against the third-seeded team, probably Denver or Cincinnati.
That’s a long way off, of course. To have a realistic chance, the Chargers will have to win their final two games, at Kansas City and at home against Denver.
“We’ve got to make music,” fullback Neal said.
For the Chargers, Sunday was a symphony.
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14th amendment
Teams that started the season 13-0 and what happened in Game 14. Miami and Denver went on to win the Super Bowl:
*--* YEAR TEAM GAME 14 RESULT 1934 CHICAGO Lost to N.Y. Giants, 30-13, in championship game. 1972 MIAMI Beat Baltimore Colts in regular-season finale, 16-0. 1998 DENVER Lost to the N.Y. Giants, 20-16. 2005 INDIANAPOLIS Lost to San Diego, 26-17.
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How they stand
Playoff seedings if season ended Sunday. Division winners and top two non-division winners qualify:
AFC
1. Indianapolis (South) 13-1
2. Denver (West) 11-3
3. Cincinnati (North) 11-3
4. New England (East) 9-5
Wild Card
1. Jacksonville (South) 10-4
2. Pittsburgh (North) 9-5
3. San Diego (West) 9-5
4. Kansas City (West) 8-6
NFC
1. Seattle (West) 12-2
2. Chicago (North) 10-4
3. N.Y. Giants (East) 10-4
4. Carolina (South) 10-4
Wild Card
1. Tampa Bay (South) 9-5
2. Washington (East) 8-6
3. Dallas (East) 8-6
4. Atlanta (South) 8-6
