1999: Redskins Overcome 21-Point First Quarter Deficit to Defeat Panthers

The Washington Redskins had a 2-1 record, but had not yet won at home, as they hosted the Carolina Panthers on October 3, 1999. Washington had a new owner in Daniel M. Snyder but Norv Turner was back for a sixth season as head coach. Only two of those years had yielded winning records, and they were 6-10 in 1998. There was a new starting quarterback in Brad Johnson (pictured above), obtained from the Vikings, and he was off to a good start with five TDs and no interceptions among his first 89 passes. RB Stephen Davis was over a hundred yards in two of the first three games and gained 93 the previous week, with a total of eight touchdowns scored while playing behind an improved line. The biggest concern was the defense, which had shown a tendency to give up significant yardage.

Carolina was at 1-2 under first-year Head Coach George Seifert, twice a NFL title winner with the 49ers, and had just won for the first time a week before. Conservative offensively in their first four years, the Panthers were now more willing to go to the air with QB Steve Beuerlein. RB Tshimanga “Tim” Biakabutuka provided breakaway speed when healthy. But like the Redskins, they had concerns regarding the defense.

There were 76,831 fans in attendance at Redskins Stadium. The teams exchanged punts to start the game before the Panthers struck quickly on the third play of their second series. Tim Biakabutuka (pictured below) ran around end for a 60-yard touchdown, John Kasay kicked the extra point, and the visitors were in front by 7-0.

Carolina got the ball back in short order when RB Brian Mitchell fumbled the kickoff return and CB Michael Swift recovered at the Washington 28. Steve Beuerlein immediately threw to WR Muhsin Muhammad for a 27-yard gain to the one and, two plays later, Biakabutuka scored from that distance for his second TD. With Kasay’s point after, the Panthers were up by 14-0 and the game was barely five minutes old.

The Redskins had to punt following their next series and Carolina took just two plays to cover 60 yards. Beuerlein threw to Muhammad for 15 yards and then it was Biakabutuka running up the middle for a 45-yard TD, his third of the game. Kasay again converted and Carolina was ahead by a formidable 21-0, still in the opening period.

Washington responded with a long drive of 14 plays that covered 78 yards and extended into the second quarter. Brad Johnson completed five passes, three of them to FB Larry Centers, the longest of which covered 19 yards. Stephen Davis ran effectively, as did Brian Mitchell, who gained nine yards on a third-and-three play, and it was Davis running for a one-yard touchdown to get the home team on the scoreboard. Brett Conway added the PAT.

On the first play of Carolina’s next possession, Beuerlein connected with WR Rae Carruth for 43 yards to the Washington 35. The Panthers picked up another ten yards before the drive stalled and Kasay kicked a 43-yard field goal to give the visitors a 24-7 advantage.

The Redskins responded with a big first down play of their own as Johnson passed to WR Michael Westbrook (pictured below), who broke away from CB Eric Davis on a 47-yard gain to the Carolina 33. Three plays later, Johnson went to Westbrook again for a 17-yard TD and Conway added the extra point.

A short possession by the Panthers ended with a punt and the Redskins picked up 37 yards on a pass interference penalty on CB Doug Evans. Runs by Johnson and Davis advanced Washington to the Carolina eight, but a loss on a running play and incomplete pass had the home team facing a third-and-11 situation. Once again it was Johnson to Westbrook for a touchdown. Conway’s extra point made it a three-point margin of 24-21 with 6:51 to go in the first half.

The Panthers had to punt again and it didn’t take the Redskins long to reach the end zone. On the next play Johnson threw to WR Albert Connell for a 62-yard TD and, adding Conway’s point after, the Redskins were in front by 28-24 at halftime. The 28 points in a single quarter set a club record.

The teams traded punts to start the third quarter before the Redskins added to their lead. It took just four plays to travel 60 yards as Johnson completed passes to Connell for nine yards and Westbrook for 16, with a three-yard run by Davis in between. Johnson’s third pass of the series was to Connell for a 32-yard touchdown and, with Conway’s conversion, the home team was now up by 35-24.

The Panthers drove into Washington territory on the next possession as Beuerlein completed three passes and Biakabutuka had a 16-yard run. But the drive stalled at the 34 as three straight throws fell incomplete and Kasay missed on a 52-yard field goal attempt.

The Redskins reached the Carolina 35 on their next series, but attempting to convert a fourth-and-five situation, Johnson was sacked by LB Michael Barrow. Beuerlein immediately threw to Muhammad for a 31-yard gain but the Panthers were backed up by a holding penalty, and while they got the ten yards back, they ended up with a Kasay field goal from 43 yards to narrow Washington’s lead to 35-27.

The Redskins punted on their next possession and the Panthers started off the fourth quarter with the ball at midfield. Beuerlein completed three passes and the visitors came away with another field goal by Kasay, this time from 42 yards, to make it a 35-30 tally.

Washington went three-and-out and the Redskins punted again from deep in their own territory. Taking over at the Washington 47, the Panthers took six plays to score. Beuerlein converted a third-and-ten situation with a pass to WR Patrick Jeffers that picked up 13 yards and a throw to Muhammad gained 31 yards. TE Wesley Walls caught a six-yard TD pass, and while the try for two points failed, Carolina was back on top by 36-35 with 10:28 to play.

The teams exchanged punts once more and the clock was down to 4:19 as the Redskins took over at their 19, and after Coach Turner successfully challenged a ruling that Mitchell had fumbled the ball away on his punt return. Johnson threw to Westbrook for nine yards and Davis ran for 12, but four plays later Washington was facing fourth-and-one. Davis kept the drive alive with a three-yard run and Johnson completed a pass to WR Irving Fryar for 16 yards to the Carolina 32. Two plays after that, Johnson threw to Westbrook for 19 yards and, after two runs into the line, Conway came on to kick a 31-yard field goal with six seconds to play. Washington won by a final score of 38-36. 

Carolina outgained the Redskins (483 yards to 418) and had the edge in first downs (23 to 22) although Washington had the longer time of possession (31:40 to 28:20). The teams were close in net passing yards with the Panthers leading by 328 to 308, and the visitors gained 155 yards on the ground, to 110 for the Redskins. Each team turned the ball over once.

Brad Johnson completed 20 of 33 passes for 337 yards and four touchdowns while giving up no interceptions. Michael Westbrook had 8 catches for 140 yards and two TDs and Albert Connell (pictured at right) had five receptions for 134 yards and two scores as well. Stephen Davis topped Washington’s rushers with 72 yards on 21 carries that included a TD.

For the Panthers, Steve Beuerlein was successful 23 of 47 throws for 334 yards and a TD while giving up an interception. Tim Biakabutuka ran for 142 yards on 12 carries that included three touchdowns, with 123 of those yards and all of the scores coming in the first quarter. Muhsin Muhammad caught 8 passes for 151 yards.

The Redskins raised their record to 3-1 and, while they slumped at midseason, they went on to top the NFC East at 10-6 and reach the postseason for the first time since 1992. Washington defeated Detroit in the Wild Card round before falling to Tampa Bay at the Divisional level. The Panthers finished at 8-8, which was an improvement for them after consecutive losing years in 1997 and ’98. That placed Carolina second in the NFC West.

Brad Johnson and Steve Beuerlein remained among the leaders in most passing categories, with Beuerlein topping the NFL in pass completions (343) and yards (4436) and ranking second to Kurt Warner of the Rams in TD passes (36) and passer rating (94.6). However, the immobile Beuerlein also ranked first in the NFC in being sacked (50). Johnson placed fifth in pass attempts (519), completions (316), yards (4005), yards per attempt (7.7), and passer rating (90.0), and was third in completion percentage (60.9) and tied for fourth with Oakland’s Rich Gannon in touchdown passes (24).

Michael Westbrook and Albert Connell remained an effective receiving tandem, with Westbrook catching 65 passes for 1191 yards (18.3 avg.) and nine touchdowns and Connell accounting for 62 receptions for 1132 yards (18.3 avg. also) and seven TDs. The totals all represented career highs for both receivers (although Connell averaged 19.5 yards on 39 catches in 2000).

Tim Biakabutuka characteristically missed five games and rushed for a career-best 718 yards on 138 carries (5.2 avg.) and six touchdowns. As the game against the Redskins showed, he could be outstanding on occasion, but injuries were a chronic problem.

2005: Eagles Overcome Injury to Kicker to Edge Raiders

The health of its placekicker is only occasionally a concern for a NFL team. On September 25, 2005 it became a major issue for the Philadelphia Eagles in their game against the Oakland Raiders.

David Akers (pictured above) had been an outstanding placekicker for the Eagles since joining the club in 1999, first just handling kickoffs and long field goal attempts, and in 2000 taking the job over completely. From that time through the 2004 season, he had booted 139 field goals to make him the franchise’s career leader in that category and his 83.2 percent success rate put him among the all-time leaders in NFL history up to that point. The left-footed Akers had been selected to the Pro Bowl on three occasions.

Coming into the Week 3 contest against the Raiders, however, the star placekicker was having hamstring problems and the Eagles had taken the precaution of signing PK Todd France to the practice squad. They did not activate him, however, when Akers appeared to be healthy during pre-game warmups.

The Eagles, NFC Champions in 2004 and 1-1 thus far in ’05, had players other than Akers battling injuries. Most significantly, star QB Donovan McNabb was suffering from chest and groin injuries. And while there had been off-field controversies in the offseason, Philadelphia, under seventh-year Head Coach Andy Reid, still had a fundamentally sound team that included RB Brian Westbrook and flamboyant WR Terrell Owens on offense and a tough defense anchored by MLB Jeremiah Trotter and FS Brian Dawkins.

As for the visiting Raiders, coached by Norv Turner for the second year, they were coming off of two straight losing seasons – including a 5-11 record in ’04 – after having been AFC Champions in 2002. Their major offseason moves were to acquire talented but controversial WR Randy Moss and RB LaMont Jordan, as well as pass-rushing DE Derrick Burgess, who was signed away from the Eagles. Still, they were 0-2 after two weeks of play.

There were 67,735 fans in attendance at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field, and what they saw initially was not promising. The Eagles kicked off to start the game, and upon booting the ball Akers crumpled to the ground in obvious pain. Philadelphia was flagged for being offside and Akers had to kick off again, with the same result – including an offside penalty on the Eagles. After the placekicker was helped to the sideline, backup TE and long snapper Mike Bartrum finally got off a successful kickoff, but it was short and, following a 21-yard return by CB Chris Carr the Raiders had outstanding field position at the 50 yard line.

It didn’t take long for Oakland to make the most of it. In four plays, most notably a 36-yard pass completion from QB Kerry Collins to TE Courtney Anderson, the Raiders scored a touchdown on an eight-yard Collins throw to Jordan. Following a three-and-out possession by the Eagles, the Raiders again moved into scoring position, with the biggest play being a Collins pass to Moss for 22 yards. However, a 49-yard field goal attempt by Sebastian Janikowski hit the left upright and was unsuccessful.

The teams traded punts, but the Eagles offense finally came alive as McNabb completed five consecutive passes, including 23 yards to WR Greg Lewis and 13 yards to Owens. But on a first down play at the Oakland 17, McNabb was intercepted by DT Warren Sapp to end the threat. The first quarter ended with the Raiders leading by 7-0.

That was how it remained until midway through the second quarter when the Eagles, taking over at the Oakland 49 following a punt, drove to a touchdown on an 18-yard run by Brian Westbrook in six plays. With Akers unavailable, LB Mark Simoneau came in to attempt the extra point, but the low kick was blocked (it actually struck one of the Philadelphia linemen) and the visitors remained in front at 7-6.

Following another Bartrum kickoff, the Raiders proceeded on a long 10-play drive that covered 51 yards. Janikowski was successful on a 28-yard field goal try with under a minute remaining in the half, and Oakland took a 10-6 lead into halftime.

The Eagles put together an 11-play, 71-yard scoring drive to start the third quarter. McNabb (pictured below), who had been clearly struggling with his injuries in the first half, was in rhythm as he completed seven short passes, including a four-yard touchdown pass to Owens. Capping things off was Akers successfully kicking the extra point and the Eagles were in front by 13-10.

Later in the period Philadelphia put together another scoring possession. Starting deep in their own territory at the 10 yard line, the Eagles made a big play in a third-and-one situation as McNabb threw to Westbrook out of the backfield, who proceeded to gain 62 yards to the Oakland 19. Four plays later, McNabb connected with Westbrook again on a shovel pass for a five-yard TD and, with Akers again making the extra point, the Eagles stretched their lead to 20-10 heading into the fourth quarter.

Oakland’s offense, which had struggled during the third quarter, came alive when, on the first play of the final period, Collins threw to Anderson for a 32-yard gain to the Philadelphia 16. The Eagles were able to keep the Raiders out of the end zone, however, and Janikowski kicked a 26-yard field goal to make it a seven-point game.

It seemed as though Philadelphia might score again when McNabb threw to Westbrook for a 37-yard gain on the first play after the ensuing kickoff to move the ball into Oakland territory. But the Raiders got a break when TE L.J. Smith fumbled after catching a 17-yard pass. Safety Derrick Gibson recovered for Oakland at his own two and the Raiders proceeded to move the ball effectively down the field. Collins was successful on seven straight passes, with three of them to LaMont Jordan for 33 yards. But the drive stalled at the Philadelphia 19 and Janikowski was wide on a field goal attempt.

The Eagles were forced to punt following a short series and the Raiders, taking over at their 35, again moved into scoring territory, this time converting key third downs along the way. In a third-and-15 situation, Collins threw to Moss for 31 yards to get into Eagles territory and, facing a third-and-10 play, he connected with Anderson for 17. A 27-yard pass to WR Doug Gabriel was good for a touchdown, and following the extra point, the game was tied at 20-20 with 2:17 showing on the clock.

Taking over at his 20 following a touchback on the kickoff, McNabb completed back-to-back throws to Westbrook that totaled 30 yards to get to midfield. A 13-yard completion to Lewis converted a key third-and-nine situation. A 10-yard penalty backed the Eagles up, but McNabb went to Owens twice for 29 yards. After advancing to the five yard line, and with just 12 seconds left on the clock, Akers came out to attempt a 23-yard field goal. It was successful and he again fell to earth afterward, but there was celebration as Philadelphia came away with a 23-20 win.

The Eagles outgained Oakland (365 yards to 344) and had more first downs (26 to 18). They also turned the ball over twice, as opposed to no turnovers suffered by the Raiders, but Oakland was penalized 13 times at a cost of 94 yards while Philadelphia was flagged on 9 occasions for 70 yards. In addition, while effective through the air, the Raiders had more rushing attempts (22) than yards (21).

Donovan McNabb completed 30 of 52 passes for 365 yards and two touchdowns with one intercepted. Brian Westbrook (pictured at right) gained 68 yards on 13 carries that included a TD and also accumulated 140 yards on 6 pass receptions, including another score. Terrell Owens caught 9 passes for 80 yards and a TD. Most significantly, David Akers was able to kick two second half extra points and the game-winning field goal.

For the Raiders, Kerry Collins was successful on 24 of 42 throws for 345 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Courtney Anderson caught 5 passes for 100 yards and Randy Moss had 5 receptions for 86 yards. LaMont Jordan was stifled by the Eagles defense, gaining just 19 yards on 16 carries, but he also pulled in 5 passes for 53 yards and a TD. WR Jerry Porter had 5 catches as well, for 40 yards.

“You know its going to hurt for one second and then the game is over,” said David Akers of the climactic field goal. “My whole leg hurts right now.”

Akers missed the next four games and Todd France filled in, connecting on six of seven field goal attempts and all five extra points. In 12 games, Akers was successful on 16 of 22 field goals and all 23 of his extra points. Akers remained with the Eagles for five more seasons and was selected to the Pro Bowl twice more before moving on to the 49ers and more record-breaking performances.

The Eagles made it to 3-1 before faltering. Donovan McNabb was lost for the year after nine games and Terrell Owens was suspended after seven as injuries and controversy erupted. After reaching the NFC Championship game in the previous four seasons, and winning in ’04, Philadelphia sank to 6-10 and placed last in the NFC East. The Raiders failed to improve, ending up at the bottom of the AFC West with a 4-12 tally.

1994: Brian Mitchell’s 225 Yards in Kick Returns Help Redskins Down Saints

Over the course of his 14-year NFL career, RB Brian Mitchell established himself as the most productive kick returner in pro football history. One game that showcased his abilities was on September 11, 1994 as the Washington Redskins faced the New Orleans Saints at the Louisiana Superdome.

The Redskins, just three years after a Super Bowl triumph, had fallen on hard times since the departure of Head Coach Joe Gibbs following the 1992 season. The team had dropped to 4-12 in ’93 under Richie Petitbon and, under new Head Coach Norv Turner, lost the season opening game the previous week to Seattle by a 28-7 score.

The Saints, 8-8 the previous year under Head Coach Jim Mora, had also lost their first game. They received the opening kickoff and drove 66 yards in 14 plays capped by a 29-yard Morten Andersen field goal. Mitchell returned the ensuing kickoff 31 yards to launch Washington’s first possession. The Redskins were forced to punt after five plays but got a break when CB Tyrone Legette of the Saints muffed the kick and LB Lamar Hollinquest recovered for Washington at the New Orleans 14 yard line. The Redskins capitalized three plays later when QB John Friesz completed a 14-yard touchdown pass to WR Henry Ellard.

New Orleans didn’t move the ball on its next possession and punted. Mitchell received the kick at his 26 yard line and returned it 74 yards for a TD and the Redskins were up 14-3.

After another brief possession, the Saints punted from the Washington 46. Tommy Barnhardt’s short, 27-yard kick provided no opportunity for another long return as Mitchell called for the fair catch at the 19. A long drive by the Redskins was for naught when they were unable to punch in from the one yard line and turned the ball over on downs. Again the Saints had to punt, this time a 48-yard boot by Barnhardt that Mitchell returned 16 yards.

Neither team was able to move the ball effectively for the remainder of the half, which ended with Andersen coming up short on a 53-yard field goal attempt for the Saints. However, Mitchell got the second half off to a rousing start with an 86-yard kickoff return to the New Orleans 15, where he was caught from behind by CB Tyrone Hughes (a good kick returner in his own right).

The Redskins made good use of the excellent field position as Friesz threw for a one-yard TD pass to RB Cedric Smith and a 21-3 lead. The Saints fought back, driving 74 yards in eight plays capped by a 17-yard touchdown pass from QB Jim Everett to WR Michael Haynes. The attempted two-point conversion failed.

Mitchell returned his third kickoff of the game for 21 yards. During the series that followed, he ran five yards for a first down and Washington went on to score another TD as Friesz again connected with Ellard, this time for 41 yards. After CB Tom Carter intercepted an Everett pass, the Redskins scored once again early in the fourth quarter when Chip Lohmiller booted a 31-yard field goal.

It was the turn of Tyrone Hughes to make a big return when he brought the ensuing kickoff back 43 yards to near midfield. However, while the Saints drove into Washington territory, they fumbled the ball away. Again the Redskins made the most of the break and eight plays later Friesz threw his third scoring pass of the game, this time to WR Desmond Howard for 31 yards and a 38-9 lead.

New Orleans was able to score two touchdowns, on a four-yard pass from Everett to WR Torrance Small (followed by a successful two-point conversion) and three-yard run by FB Brad Muster, but it only served to make the final tally a bit more respectable. Washington came away with a 38-24 win.

Brian Mitchell gained a total of 225 yards on kick returns (three kickoffs for 138 yards and two punts for 87 yards). On offense, he contributed a further 27 yards on seven carries for an overall 252 yards.

Mitchell’s returns, combined with New Orleans turnovers, were a major factor in Washington’s win. The Saints outgained the Redskins, 408 to 343 yards, as Jim Everett passed for 376 yards in trying to come from behind, completing 31 of 46 passes with two touchdowns and an interception. New Orleans wasn’t able to run the ball, gaining just 28 yards on 15 carries. Leading receivers for the Saints were Michael Haynes, with 6 catches for 87 yards and a TD, and WR Quinn Early, who had 5 receptions for 83 yards.

RB Reggie Brooks led the ground game for the Redskins by gaining 92 yards on 32 carries. John Friesz completed 15 of 22 passes for 195 yards, but with four touchdowns and no interceptions. Henry Ellard accounted for two of the scores while catching three passes for 72 yards.

In the end, it was not a particularly noteworthy season for either team. The Redskins won just twice more to finish at 3-13 and last in the NFC East – the club’s worst showing since 1961. New Orleans came in second in the NFC West with a 7-9 tally.

Brian Mitchell was one of the few bright spots for Washington as he led the NFL in all-purpose yards (2477, his career high), punt returning (14.1 avg., also a career high), combined kick returns (90), and combined kick return yardage (a then-NFL record 1930). He scored two touchdowns on punt returns and his 25.5 kickoff return average ranked fifth in the NFC. The league-leading all-purpose yardage total broke down as 1478 on 58 kickoff returns, 452 on 32 punt returns, 311 on 78 rushes, and 236 from 26 pass receptions.

It was an outstanding season, but not unusually so, for the fifth-year pro out of Southwestern Louisiana. Mitchell would end up returning more kickoffs (607) for more yards (14,014) than any other NFL player, averaging 23.1 yards per return and scoring four touchdowns. Likewise as a punt returner, he set lifetime standards for returns (463) and yardage (4999) and was second in TDs (9) while averaging 10.8 yards. Mitchell gained a total of 23,316 all-purpose yards over the course of 14 seasons with three teams, of which 19,013 came on kick returns. His 13 touchdowns on combined returns set yet another league career record. While not the fastest of all kick returners by any means, he returned kicks with a skill and savvy that made him consistently productive.

2009: Chargers Defeat Colts in Overtime of AFC Wild Card Playoff

The San Diego Chargers had upset the Colts in Indianapolis in an AFC Divisional playoff game following the 2007 season, and on January 3, 2009 they again met the Colts, this time in a conference Wild Card playoff matchup at Qualcomm Stadium.

That the Chargers were in the postseason at all was a surprise. It wasn’t that Head Coach Norv Turner’s team hadn’t been considered a contender prior to the 2008 season, but they had gotten off to a slow start and stood at 4-8 at the end of November. Meanwhile, the Denver Broncos had started off at 4-1 and seemed likely to cruise to the AFC West title, but played erratically down the stretch. Still, they were three games ahead of San Diego with four to go and appeared to be a lock for first place. Instead, the Chargers rallied to win three straight and Denver went 1-2; when the teams met in the season finale at San Diego, it was a 52-21 blowout in favor of the Chargers. Both teams finished at 8-8, but San Diego went to the postseason on the basis of a better division record.

The Colts ended up in second place in the AFC South with a much more impressive 12-4 tally, a game behind the conference’s top-seeded Tennessee Titans (13-3). Moreover, Indianapolis was riding a nine-game winning streak. QB Peyton Manning, as usual, was the key to the offense – despite being hindered by a knee injury, he still ended up throwing for over 4000 yards (4002) for the third consecutive year and ninth time overall (up to that point) while completing 66.8 percent of his passes and tossing 27 for scores. WR Reggie Wayne, who emerged from the shadow of the declining Marvin Harrison as the top receiver, caught 82 passes for 1145 yards.

The Colts rolled to the first score of the game on an 81-yard first quarter drive that was capped by a one-yard run by RB Joseph Addai. Manning completed all six of his passes along the way. However, San Diego evened the score not quite five minutes into the second quarter on a three-yard TD run by RB LaDainian Tomlinson that was set up by a 30-yard pass play from QB Philip Rivers to TE Antonio Gates.

After Adam Vinatieri put Indianapolis back in front with a 43-yard field goal, the Chargers scored another touchdown on a 9-yard run by RB Darren Sproles with 42 seconds remaining in the half. By this point, Sproles was playing in place of the star running back Tomlinson, who had suffered a groin injury and would not return. Still, San Diego was in front at halftime, 14-10.

In the third quarter, Indianapolis regained the lead when Manning surprised the Chargers defense on a third-and-five play with a quick count and fired a pass to Wayne that resulted in a 72-yard touchdown, flying past CB Antonio Cromartie who was caught unprepared.

The Chargers responded by moving inside the Indianapolis 10 yard line late in the third quarter, but Sproles was hit at the two and fumbled into the end zone; Colts DT Raheem Brock recovered for a touchback. Another San Diego scoring threat was thwarted by the Colts defense with just over 12 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter as free safety Antoine Bethea intercepted a pass by Rivers at the goal line.


With time running down under three minutes, San Diego’s Mike Scifres boomed a punt 52 yards that went out at the Indianapolis one yard line. The Colts were unable to sustain a game-clinching drive, as Manning was sacked by LB Tim Dobbins – the only sack the Chargers registered all day – on a third down play that forced Indianapolis to punt from the one. San Diego got the ball back with excellent field position on the Colts 38 and Nate Kaeding tied the score with a 26-yard field goal with 31 seconds remaining.

The game went into overtime, and San Diego won the toss. With a ten-play drive that included three defensive penalties, the Chargers scored the winning touchdown on a 22-yard run by Sproles (making up for the earlier fumble). San Diego had thwarted Indianapolis in the postseason once again by a 23-17 tally.

The game marked the 25th overtime postseason contest in NFL history, going back to the 1958 Championship game; in this instance, the Colts lost by the same score that they won by on that day some 50 years earlier.

Darren Sproles (pictured at top) had an outstanding performance as he spelled Tomlinson and accumulated 328 total yards – 105 on 22 rushing attempts, 45 on five pass receptions, 106 on four kickoff returns, and 72 on three punt returns. Also noteworthy was the punter, Scifres (pictured above right), who punted six times for a 52.7-yard average and, more importantly, pinned the Colts inside their 20 yard line each time (51 yards to the San Diego 10, 58 to the 15, 50 to the 3, 67 to the 5, 38 to the 9, and 52 to the 1). As Colts RB Dominic Rhodes put it, “I think that their punter is the MVP of the game. He did a real good job of putting us deep in our territory, and their defense did a good job of keeping us there."


Also for the Chargers, Philip Rivers (pictured at left) completed 20 of 36 passes for 217 yards with one picked off. Antonio Gates, playing on a sprained ankle, led the team with 8 catches for 87 yards.

Peyton Manning (pictured leaving the field at bottom) threw 42 passes and completed 25 of them for 310 yards and a TD with no interceptions. Reggie Wayne, thanks to the long scoring catch, had 129 yards on four receptions. WR Anthony Gonzalez nearly reached the hundred-yard mark with 97 yards on 6 catches. TE Dallas Clark caught the most passes for the Colts with 7 (for 33 yards). The Chargers defense held the Colts running game to 64 yards on 22 carries; Joseph Addai led with 44 yards on 16 attempts.

The Chargers run ended the next week as they lost to Pittsburgh in the divisional round. For Indianapolis, it was the last game for Head Coach Tony Dungy, who chose to step down after seven years in which he accumulated a 92-33 record that included a 7-6 playoff tally with one Super Bowl championship.