NFL Roundup: Chargers edge Colts after Vinatieri misses
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Peyton Manning was poised to turn one of his worst games into one of his most memorable.
Then Adam Vinatieri missed a 29-yard field-goal attempt with 1:31 left, and the host San Diego Chargers held on for a wild 23-21 win against the defending Super Bowl champion Colts last night.
Manning, who set a Colts franchise record with six interceptions, had driven the Colts to the Chargers 12. Vinatieri, who had won two Super Bowls for New England with last-second kicks, pushed his kick wide right.
The Chargers led 23-7 going into the fourth quarter even though their offense was as waterlogged as the field on a rainy night. Had Vinatieri's kick gone through, it would have been the 29th time that Manning rallied the Colts from either a fourth-quarter deficit or tie to win.
Darren Sproles, San Diego's speedy little return man, brought back the opening kickoff 89 yards for his first NFL touchdown, then ran back a punt 45 yards for his second score later in the first quarter.
But the Colts (7-2), who started the season 7-0 before losing 24-20 to New England a week ago, scored two touchdowns and a two-point conversion in 23 seconds early in the fourth quarter to pull to 23-21.
Manning threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to running back Kenton Keith on the first play of the fourth quarter and then a conversion pass to Bryan Fletcher to close to 23-15.
On third-and-10 from the 8-yard line, Philip Rivers went back to pass and the ball slipped out of his hand and into the end zone. After a wild scramble, Colts linebacker Gary Brackett picked up the ball for a TD with 14:28 to play. Joseph Addai was stuffed on the two-point conversion attempt, and the Colts trailed by two points.
Cornerback Antonio Cromartie celebrated his first NFL start by picking off Manning three times.
San Diego (5-4) took over sole possession of first place in the anemic AFC West.
Manning's final pickoff came on a desperation pass as time ran out. Manning completed 34 of a career-high 56 attempts for 328 yards. Rivers was horrible, going 13 of 24 for 104 yards and no touchdowns, with two pickoffs.
Two weeks after breaking Johnny Unitas' franchise record of 287 touchdown passes, Manning passed the Hall of Famer again, but not in a way he'll want to remember.
The previous franchise records for interceptions was five, done seven times, including four by Unitas. Manning had thrown just four interceptions coming into the game.
With two touchdown passes, Manning pushed his career total to 291 to pass Unitas and take sixth on the on the all-time list.
The Chargers bounced back from a 35-17 loss at Minnesota in which they allowed rookie Adrian Peterson to set the NFL single-game record with 296 yards rushing.
Other games
• Bills 13, Dolphins 10: Winless Miami controlled the ball for nearly 37 minutes and led most of the game yesterday, but Rian Lindell kicked a 34-yard field goal with 46 seconds left, and the visiting Buffalo Bills earned their fourth consecutive victory, 13-10. The Dolphins (0-9) extended the worst start in franchise history. The Bills (5-4) scored 11 points in the final 9:46.
• Bears 17, Raiders 6: Rex Grossman replaced an injured Brian Griese and threw a 59-yard pass to Bernard Berrian for the go-ahead score with 3:11 remaining, leading the Bears (4-5) to a victory against Oakland (2-7).
• Cardinals 31, Lions 21: Karlos Dansby intercepted two passes and forced a fumble to help host Arizona's (4-5) defense make mistake-prone Detroit (6-3) look like the Lions of old in the Cardinals' victory. Two of Dansby's plays led to Arizona touchdowns.
• Broncos 27, Chiefs 11: Backup running back Selvin Young rushed for 109 yards and visiting Denver (4-5) scored two touchdowns in a nine-second span of the third quarter for the victory against Kansas City (4-5).
First Published November 12, 2007 1:34 am
