Imperial Valley News

San Diego, California - The Matchup Two of the NFL’s most successful franchises of the past four years will meet when the Indianapolis Colts visit San Diego to take on the Chargers on NBC’s Sunday Night Football on Nov. 23. Kickoff is at 5:15 p.m. PST. Al Michaels, John Madden and Andrea Kremer will call the game for a national TV audience.

The Chargers hosted the Colts on NBC’s Sunday Night Football on November 11, 2007, and intercepted Peyton Manning a record six times, including a career-high three by Antonio Cromartie. Darren Sproles electrified the home crowd by returning a kickoff (89 yards) and a punt (45 yards) for touchdowns as the Chargers knocked off the Colts, 23-21.

Since 2004, the Chargers and Colts rank among the NFL’s winningest franchises. Indianapolis’ 57 wins and the Chargers’ 50 wins in that span rank two and three, respectively, behind only New England (58) for the most in the NFL.

Sunday’s game kicks off a three-game homestand and is the third of four nationally-televised home night games on the Chargers’ schedule. The Bolts have won two in a row at home under the lights this year.

The Series - San Diego has a comfortable 15-9 overall series edge over Indianapolis, and they have a memorable playoff history. The Chargers advanced to the AFC Championship game with a 28-24 win over the Colts in last season’s AFC Divisional Playoff game at the RCA Dome and they also met in a 1995 AFC Wild Card game. Since 2005, the Chargers own a three-game win streak against the Colts, including playoffs. In 2004, the Chargers took an eight-game win streak to Indianapolis, only to see it come to a halt when the Colts rallied from a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Bolts, 34-31 in overtime. But less that a year later in ’05, the Bolts rode a two sack and thee tackle-for-loss effort from linebacker Shawne Merriman and shocked the Colts, 26-17, to end Indianapolis’ perfect 13-0 start to the season. Since 1990, the Chargers and Colts have played 12 regular season games and San Diego is 8-4 in those games. Manning’s career passer rating in five games against the Chargers is 71.3, among the lowest against any of the Colts’ opponents that he’s played more than once.

Race to the Finish - Heading into Sunday’s games against Indianapolis, the Chargers are two games behind the Denver Broncos for top billing in the AFC West. With six games left to play, the season is far from over for San Diego, which will play four of its last six games at home. The Bolts have traversed a tough road leading up to this Sunday’s game against the 6-4 Colts, which marks the start of a three-game homestand at Qualcomm Stadium. Through the first 10 games, the Chargers had the tougher schedule. San Diego’s first 10 opponents have a combined record of 53-47 (.530), while Denver’s first 10 opponents have a combined record of 45-55 and just a .450 winning percentage. The Chargers have played four division leaders, including Denver, Carolina, Pittsburgh and the New York Jets, while the Broncos haven’t played any. Things will change though over the last six weeks, when the Chargers play only one division leader (Denver) at home, while the Broncos have to play two, both on the road (Carolina and the New York Jets).

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