Wild Card Game: Colts at Chargers

This is a rematch of the game played on November 23rd. The Colts won that game by 3 points. The Chargers have won their last four games to make the playoffs, entering the postseason with an 8-8 record. Indianopolis finished with a 12-4 record. The Colts have won their last 9 games. And who is going to pick a team who is 12-4 with 9 wins in a row entering the playoffs as a STRONG wildcard? Well, it would just be foolish... to pick the Chargers.

Quarterback Comparison

Name	QB Rating	Comp-Att	Comp %	Yards	TD-Int	Fumbles
Peyton Manning	95.0	371-555	66.8%	4,002	27-12	1
Philip Rivers	105.5	312-478	65.3%	4,009	34-11	8

Wow, based on statistics, Rivers is the better QB. He has more TDs, fewer interceptions, just a little more yardage and a higher QB rating. He has eight fumbles, four lost, which is a lot more than Manning, who has one fumble that wasn't lost.

Rushing Comparison

Name	Carries	Yards	TDs	Catches	Yards	TDs
Joseph Addai (Colts)	155	544	5	25	206	2
Dominic Rhodes (Colts)	152	538	6	45	302	3
LaDainian Tomlinson	292	1,110	11	52	426	1

Tomlinson is better than the Colts rushers combined, except when you consider the catching part of the game, then the Colts rushers are better. Still, I would personally like to have Tomlinson over the Colts rushers. But that is just me.

Receiving Comparison

Name	Catches	Yards	TDs	Fumbles
Reggie Wayne	82	1,145	6	0
Dallas Clark	77	848	6	2
Anthony Gonzalez	57	664	4	0
Vincent Jackson	59	1,098	7	1
Antonio Gates	60	704	8	1
Chris Chambers	33	462	5	0

The Colts have the better receivers. Although Vincent Jackson is a serious threat for the Chargers. Whatever game Jackson has for the Charges is going to determine the way that San Diego will go... and the same goes for Wayne and Clark for the Colts.

Defense Comparison

Name	Tackles	Sacks	Ints-TD	Deflections
Kelvin Hayden	42	0.0	3-1	12
Robert Mathis	47	11.5	0-0	3
Dwight Freeney	28	10.5	0-0	0
Eric Weddle	127	1.0	1-0	5
Quentin Jammer	88	0.0	2-0	19
Shaun Phillips	76	7.5	0-0	4

I like the Chargers defense on this one, at least the pass rush. Pass defense? It's about the same. Forecast: The numbers tell me San Diego, of all things. But my gut tells me that the obvious thing is to go with the Colts. It just makes sense to go with the Colts. And that is what I will do. Colts take this one 27-13.

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