Top Two Decided

With last nights impressive victory over the red hot Tennessee Titans, the San Diego Chargers were able to clinch the second seed in the AFC going into the playoffs. This is good news for Colts fans, for the simple fact that it means the Colts would face the Chargers in the AFC championship game opposed to in the AFC divisional round. Over the years the Chargers have been one of the more difficult matchups for Manning and company, and this year is shaping up to be the same way. 

The Chargers have a dynamic group of wide receivers on offense to go along with their franchise quarterback and running back tandem. However, what always seems to give the Colts trouble are the defensive and special team units of this high powered team. Shawne Merriman, Antonio Cromartie, Shaun Phillips, and Darren Sproles have given the Colts fits in the past, and if the Colts are forced to play the Chargers again they must find ways to give Peyton Manning time and eliminate big special team plays. 

Although this defensive unit has historically posed problems in the past, this year they have been up and down. An important part to the success of this defense is Shawne Merriman. Merriman has not played well after injuring his knee last year, and that has many people around the league wondering if he will ever be the high-powered sack machine that he once was. Another key ingredient for this defense was nose tackle Jamal Williams, however, Williams was placed on injured reserve earlier in the season, which really hurts this 3-4 defense that relies upon a big solid group up front. But despite all of their injuries and letdowns throughout the season the Chargers are still limiting opponents to 222 passing yards and 82 rushing yards per game. 

The Chargers defense may have taken a step back from where it once was, but they have more then made up for it on the offensive side of the ball. Philip Rivers, Vincent Jackson, and Antonio Gates headline one of the leagues premier passing attacks, and the combination of Tomlinson and Sproles is not too bad either. It seems almost inevitable that the Colts will have to face one of their longtime adversaries in either the Chargers or the Patriots, and although many people don’t want to see the Patriots again, I believe that the road to the Super Bowl will be much easier without a Bolts-Colts matchup.