Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts host Philip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers have begun to steadily move up the AFC standings and are looking to become serious contenders once again. They head into Indianapolis on Sunday 25 November to take on the Colts, who will be looking to bounce back after a heartbreaking
loss to the New England Patriots last Sunday.
Previous meetings and recent games
There aren't too many teams in the NFL that Peyton Manning would say he's snake bitten against, but the San Diego Chargers come pretty close. In the six times Manning has gone up against the Chargers, he's won only twice. He's also been on the losing end
of two play-off games, which includes the most recent time the Colts lost to the Chargers in the AFC Wild Card game two seasons ago by a score of 23-17 in overtime.
The Colts are on a disappointing run of late and have slipped to 6-4 on the season in a very tight race in the AFC South. The Colts had a chance to tie up their game against the New England Patriots last Sunday before Manning threw an interception which
cost the Colts the game as they came away 31-28 losers.
The Chargers, after a horrible start to the season, have now won three games in a row and are very much back in contention. They won their last game in convincing fashion by a score of 35-14 over the Denver Broncos last Monday night.
How they match up
It should be a high-flying affair with two of the best passers in the game going head-to-head. Both are on pace to break Dan Marino's single season record of 5084 yards passing. Don't be surprised to see either Manning or Philip Rivers etch their name on
the prize for league MVP at the end of the season. What's even more amazing is the kind of numbers both have posted even with injuries to some of their favourite targets.
Chargers tight end Antonio Gates has missed two games and could miss out again with a torn plantar fascia, while Austin Collie could remain sidelined with a concussion for the Colts.
It's amazing how both Rivers and Manning have managed to spread the ball around as a combined 16 players in this game have scored at least one touchdown catch this season. The Chargers and Colts are also ranked number one and two respectively in the NFL
in passing offence. Only the New England Patriots have scored more touchdowns than the Chargers this season while the Colts are tied with two other teams for third in that category.
The main difference could be on defence where the Chargers have the NFL's top rated defence overall, and top rated defence when stopping the pass. The Colts are ranked in the bottom half of the NFL defensively although it's been mostly their inability to
stop the run which has hurt them.
What to expect
In years past, Manning's ability to lead a fourth quarter comeback would have given his team the edge in any close game, but he's come up short in two of his last three games. His record against the Chargers is also poor and with added momentum the Chargers
seem like the hungrier team at the moment.
Chargers win 45-35.
Tags: