By BERNIE WILSON
AP Sports Writer
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Peyton Manning has his MVP award and nothing
more, outdone again in January by the San Diego Chargers.
Speedy little Darren Sproles scooted 22 yards for the winning
score 6:20 into overtime and the Chargers beat the Colts 23-17 in
an AFC wild-card game Saturday night, ending Indianapolis'
nine-game winning streak a day after Manning won his third
Associated Press NFL MVP award.
Sproles came up big on a night when the Chargers played the
final 2 1/2 quarters without LaDainian Tomlinson, who stood on the
sideline in obvious discomfort from what appears to be a serious
groin injury.
Fifty years after the Baltimore Colts won the first overtime
game in league history by the same score over the New York Giants
for the NFL title, Indianapolis wasn't so fortunate. It was
victimized by Sproles, who rushed 23 times for 105 yards, caught
five passes for 45 yards, had 106 yards on four kickoff returns and
72 on three punt runbacks.
"It's disappointing to lose a playoff game," Manning said.
"We certainly had some chances to win, but give them credit. We
had chances to put the game away, but we just didn't do it."
The Chargers (9-8) won the overtime toss. Indy's Darrell Reid
called heads, but referee Ron Winter's flip came up tails. Sproles
sent the Chargers into the second round of the playoffs, either at
Tennessee or Pittsburgh, by finishing off the only series of
overtime with his TD run around left end against an exhausted
defense for the Colts (12-5).
San Diego's winning drive was aided by two defensive holding
calls, the second against Tim Jennings on third-and-8. On the next
play, Colts linebacker Clint Session was whistled for grabbing
Sproles' facemask. Sproles scored on the next play, shedding a
defender at the 5-yard line.
"You know, when your number is called, you have to be ready,"
said Sproles, who early in the game fumbled into the end zone, with
the Colts recovering.
"Right after that fumble, it was still kind of in my mind,"
Sproles said. "I wanted that TD back to make up for the fumble."
Sproles' TD run sent Qualcomm Stadium into bedlam, and he ran
off the field with the game ball. Manning hung his head in
disappointment.
It was San Diego's fifth straight win; the Chargers needed the
previous four victories to secure the AFC West title with an 8-8
record. San Diego was the ninth team to enter the playoffs with an
8-8 record and became just the third to win its opener. The
Chargers had gone 0-5 against teams that made the playoffs,
including a 23-20 loss to the Colts here on Nov. 23.
Last season, the Chargers pulled off a 28-24 upset at
Indianapolis in the divisional round after Philip Rivers and
Tomlinson both went out with knee injuries.
This was the fourth time the teams met in two seasons and the
sixth time in five years. The Chargers have won four of the six.
San Diego got its first sack of the game at a key time, when Tim
Dobbins dropped Manning at the Colts 1 on third down with 2 minutes
left, forcing a punt and giving the Chargers the ball at the Indy
38.
Nate Kaeding kicked a 26-yard field goal with 31 seconds left to
force overtime.
It was the 25th overtime game in the postseason, including one
game in the AFL. The last overtime game in the playoffs was last
season's NFC title game, won by the New York Giants and Manning's
little brother, Eli, against Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers.
Another star for the Chargers was Mike Scifres, whose booming
punts continually pinned the Colts deep in their territory. Scifres
punted six times for an average of 52.7 yards, including a
67-yarder.
"I don't know if you can dream a game like this," Scifres
said.
Still, Manning caught the Chargers napping on a 72-yard
touchdown play that for a while seemed like it was going to stand
as the winner.
Facing third-and-5 from the Colts 28, Manning quickly lined up
and took an immediate snap that caught cornerback Antonio Cromartie
so flat-footed he was looking at the Chargers' bench when receiver
Reggie Wayne went speeding past him and safety Paul Oliver. Wayne
caught Manning's pass at the Chargers 45 and was gone for a 17-14
lead.
The Colts came up with two turnovers in the end zone. Sproles
was hit at the 2-yard line and fumbled into the end zone late in
the third quarter, with Raheem Brock recovering.
Rivers kept San Diego's next drive alive with a 13-yard scramble
followed by a 1-yard sneak on fourth down, but then overthrew Chris
Chambers in double coverage and was intercepted in the end zone by
Antoine Bethea.
The teams traded TDs early, with Indy's Joseph Addai scoring on
a 1-yard run late in the first quarter and Tomlinson scoring on a
3-yard run early in the second quarter, his last play of the game.
The Colts went ahead 10-7 on Adam Vinatieri's 43-yard field goal
midway through the second period before Sproles' 9-yard run just
before halftime put the Chargers ahead 14-10.
Manning was 25-of-42 for 310 yards. Rivers was 20-of-36 for 216
yards, with one interception.
Tomlinson was hurt a week earlier in a 52-21 rout of Denver.
"From the first run, it was evident that I just didn't have the
burst," said Tomlinson, who gained 14 yards on the game's first
play from scrimmage. "I couldn't put my foot on the ground and get
through the hole the way I wanted to. I went as long as I could.
After the TD run, it was at the point where I felt like I was
making it worse."
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
