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Colts have no room for letdown against Chargers

Nov 11, 2007 - 11:52 AM Indianapolis (7-1) at San Diego (4-4) Sunday 8:15 pm EST

SAN DIEGO (Ticker) - Having seen their perfect record disappear, the Indianapolis Colts are trying to hold onto their division lead.

Indianapolis will look to rebound from its first loss of the season when it visits the San Diego Chargers on Sunday night.

Having dropped a 24-20 decision to the undefeated New England Patriots in one of the most ballyhooed regular-season matchups in recent years, the Colts can ill-afford a let-down against the Chargers after seeing their lead in the AFC South cut to one game over Tennessee.

"We're trying to win our division," coach Tony Dungy said. "We've played a pretty good first half of the season 7-1 but we're only one game ahead. We've got three division games left and Tennessee is playing well."

Even though San Diego has sputtered at key moments this season, Indianapolis knows firsthand how dangerous the Chargers can be.

In the 2005 season, the Colts were off to a 13-0 start before San Diego came calling. The Chargers intercepted Peyton Manning twice and sacked him four times in a 26-17 victory in Indianapolis.

The key players from the defense, including linebacker Shawne Merriman, remain intact and will look to apply similar pressure on Manning.

New England sacked Manning three times, including one that caused a fumble on the Colts' last possession that ended the Colts' 12-game winning streak.

With standout wide receiver Marvin Harrison sitting out his third game with an injured knee, second-year running back Joseph Addai picked up the slack on offense for Indy.

Addai rushed carried 26 times for 112 yards and had five catches for 114 yards, including a dazzling 73-yard TD reception. He is tied with Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson, the league's reigning MVP, for second in the league with seven rushing touchdowns.

One season removed from posting the league's best record at 14-2, the Chargers have been maddeningly inconsistent under first-year coach Norv Turner.

After dropping three straight games to fall to 1-3, San Diego rattled off three consecutive victories, including a 41-3 romp in Denver, and seemingly had found its stride of a year ago.

That is until Sunday, when they were run over by Minnesota Vikings rookie phenom Adrian Peterson, who scored three touchdowns and set an NFL record with 296 yards rushing in a 35-17 win this past Sunday.

Tomlinson, meanwhile, was held to 40 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries - the third time this season he had been limited to 43 yards or fewer.

San Diego's other main weapon, tight end Antonio Gates, had just one catch for 10 yards while quarterback Philip Rivers struggled through a miserable day, completing 19-of-42 passes for 197 yards and an interception.