November 7th, 2007 
Stephen Rhodes 
Posted in 
The San Diego Chargers will try to rebound from a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Minnesota Vikings when they host the defending Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts at Qualcomm Stadium on Sunday evening. The Colts are smarting after a loss to the New England Patriots in which they had the lead going into the fourth quarter only to let it slip away.
The Colts’ loss leaves them with only a 1-game lead over the Tennessee Titans in the AFC South. Colts quarterback Peyton Manning (168-of-259, 2,058 yards, 14 TD’s, 4 INT’s) will look to expose the Chargers’ secondary; he has a degree of success vs. San Diego historically as he has thrown for 1,260 yards with 6 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. Colts running back Joseph Addai (149-704-7 TD’s) will have a challenge this weekend as he faces a Chargers defensive line that is better than last week’s result indicates. The Colts hope to have WR Marvin Harrison back this weekend, but may have to rely on once again WR Reggie Wayne (49-730-5 TD’s). In addition, the Colts defense has yet another offensive challenge to deal with. They, without a doubt will have their hands full keeping up with San Diego’s LaDanian Tomlinson and Antonio Gates.
The Chargers, not unlike the Colts, are an offensive juggernaut. It starts with RB LaDanian Tomlinson (155-657-7 TD’s); while he isn’t having a typical LaDanian year, that doesn’t mean he is any less dangerous. They also have tight end Antonio Gates (47-649-5 TD’s), arguably the MVP of the team. He should provide matchup problems, especially against the Colts’ secondary. But QB Philip Rivers (142-of-231, 1,639 yards, 10 TD’s, 8 INT’s) has been maddeningly inconsistent, but fortunately for him, he has another weapon in the form of WR Chris Chambers (38-509-1 TD), who was acquired from the Miami Dolphins. That should make what is already a difficult challenge for the Colts that much more difficult. The Chargers’ defense, namely the run defense, took a major hit when Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson ran all over the Chargers’ D-line. They hope to avoid a repeat of last week in keeping the Colts’ Addai in check. Their secondary will have their hands full in dealing with Manning (as most teams do).
