When it was all said and done, it was Billy Volek who scored the game-winning touchdown. Yes, that Billy Volek. How many of you saw that coming?It was necessary for the Chargers, though. LaDainian Tomlinson was on the sidelines with a bruised knee, Philip Rivers left the game with a leg injury after throwing a touchdown pass to Darren Sproles. Bob Sanders and Reggie Wayne both got hurt, and Marvin Harrison spent the last half of the 4th quarter on the bench.
So in the end, Volek and Michael Turner proved to be the 4th-quarter heroes for San Diego in their 28-24 win over Indianapolis. A.J. Smith look like a genius for keeping Turner around for another year, doesn't he?
As for the Colts, it all came down to turnovers. Despite an otherwise sensational day, Peyton Manning watched two passes bounce off his receivers' hands and into the hands of Chargers defenders. That plus Marvin Harrison's key fumble killed three potential scoring drives for the Colts. Converting only 3 of 11 3rd downs didn't help Indy's cause, either.
So the Patriots-Colts rematch that everyone was expecting has been spoiled, and guess what? A team coached by Norv Turner spoiled it. I bet you didn't see that coming, either, did you?
In the first half of this AFC Playoff game, the Jacksonville Jaguars were able to match the New England Patriots score for score. It looked like that might continue In the second half ... until Dennis Northcutt dropped a potential 21-yard touchdown pass that would have tied the game at 21-21.
