The Colts were a runaway train on offense before coming to SoFi Stadium in Week Seven.
That train arrived in Los Angeles jacked up with nitrous and a full blown rocket ship strapped to the roof.
After averaging 32.3 points per game prior to Sunday, the Colts improved on that number by scoring 38 points behind a massive game from running back Jonathan Taylor who may have placed himself squarely in the NFL MVP conversation with three touchdowns on the day,
By the time the Chargers offense found their groove, they were already down by three scores. Even when the Justin Herbert led the Bolts to three consecutive scoring drives, the Colts were able to two of them with touchdowns of their own.
The Chargers had their shot at a comeback attempt in the fourth quarter, but they ultimately fell short of converting on their fourth consecutive fourth down scenario which gave way to the Colts to be able to run out the clock.
Herbert finished the game with a career-high 420 passing yards to go with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Those numbers were inflated in part to a non-existent run game that finished with 54 yards on 16 carries. Herbert also led the ground game with 31 yards on six scrambles.
On the day the Chargers inducted former tight end Antonio Gates into their Hall of Fame, rookie tight end Oronde Gadsden II caught seven passes for a career high 164 yards and his first career touchdown. Keenan Allen also went over the 100-yard mark (11 catches, 119 yards, 1 TD) and the two became the first Bolts teammates to both go over 100 yards in the same game since 2013.
In his return from IR, Khalil Mack sacked Daniel Jones in what would be the Chargers’ only takedown of the quarterback all game long. Derwin James led the defense with seven total tackles while Jamaree Caldwell and Teair Tart each posted a tackle for loss.
The Chargers fall to 4-3 on the season and have a short week before hosting the 3-3 Minnesota Vikings on Thursday Night Football.
For an entire recap of today’s game, check it out below!
First Quarter
The Chargers won the coin toss and chose to defer. The Colts offense was up first.
On the third play of the opening drive, Colts quarterback Daniel Jones faked a handoff to running back Jonathan Taylor before turning and firing a pass to tight end Tyler Warren who was left uncovered and the rookie took it for a big 29-yard gain. Several plays later, Taylor took a handoff off the right tackle and sprinted nearly untouched for a 23-yard touchdown to put the Colts up 6-0 early in the first quarter after former Bolts kicker Michale Badgley missed the extra point attempt.
On the first play of the Chargers’ opening drive, left tackle Austin Deculus was injured and taken to the sideline. Foster Sarell replaced him and the Chargers were already down to their sixth and seventh offensive tackles of the season.
Wide receiver Quentin Johnston drew a pass interference flag that moved the Chargers 25 yards all the way to the Colts 29-yard line. Two plays later, facing a third-and-one, right guard Mekhi Becton was called for a false start. That penalty was then followed by a hold on left guard Zion Johnson. The second penalty ended up being declined by the Colts to force a 43-yard kick from Cameron Dicker who hit it home to minimize the early Indy lead to 6-3.
The Colts continued to get whatever they wanted on the ground during their second drive. On the final play of the quarter, Indy faced a fourth-and-two but chose to let the clock hit zero before the break.
Second Quarter
On the opening play of the second quarter, Colts head coach Shane Steichen dialed up a nifty RPO that got receiver Michael Pittman Jr. wide open underneath for a walk-in touchdown. The score put the Colts up 13-3 after a 17-play drive that took over eight minutes off the clock.
The Chargers offense was quickly subdued after just four plays. Indianapolis then responded with another touchdown drive that stretched eight plays and 80 yards, capped off by a touchdown pass from Jones to Warren who beat linebacker Dayian Henley over the middle. The score put the Colts up 20-3 with nearly nine minutes remaining in the second quarter.
Herbert “threw” his fifth interception of the season on the ensuing drive when defensive tackle Grover Stewart swatted a pass attempt to himself.
Unfortunately, the bad beats didn’t stop there.
After forcing the Colts into their first three-and-out of the game, the Chargers looked like they may finally find the end zone after pushing the ball all the way to the Indy 11. On third-and-seven from the eight-yard line, Herbert scanned the field for some time before letting loose a bullet towards Johnston but Colts safety Nick Cross had great positioning and managed to snag the pass with one arm to secure Herbert’s second interception of the day (sixth on the year).
The Colts went to work and pushed the ball into field goal range before the half to tack on three more points and head into the locker room with a 23-3 lead over the Bolts at the half.
Third Quarter
On the second play of the half, Herbert fired over the middle to Gadsden who broke multiple tackles and sprinted upfield for a massive 53-yard gain. That gave the rookie a new career high of 105 receiving yards on just three receptions.
Stopped short of the sticks on third down, the Chargers rolled the diced and went for it on fourth-and-seven. Herbert faked a handoff to Vidal before ripping a pass to Johnston for their first touchdown of the game. The score minimized the deficit to 23-10 with 13:01 remaining in the quarter.
After the much-needed score, the Chargers let up an 80-yard kickoff return to veteran back Ameer Abdullah. Two plays later, Jonathan Taylor took a jet sweep and beat everyone to the pylon for his second touchdown on the ground. Someone missed their assignment on the two-point try as Pittman Jr. was left wide open.
So just like that, the Bolts were again down three scores with the scoreboard showing 31-10.
Herbert pushed the offense right back down the field, going 76 yards in 10 plays. Keenan Allen did a lot of work on the drive, catching two different passes of 17 yards before hauling in the touchdown to cap it all off. Once again, the Chargers minimized the lead to 14.
But alas, the Colts train could not be stopped on the other side.
Indianapolis went 73 yards in just five plays thanks to big0time efforts by their stars. Warren got the drive going with a 29-yard catch and run on the first play and Taylor went nearly untouched for a 19-yard score to put the Colts back up by three touchdowns.
Fourth Quarter
Oronde Gadsden continued his career day by scoring the first touchdown of his career from 15 yards out. Herbert stepped up in the pocket, floated to his right, and rifled a pass to the rookie to once again being the score back within two touchdowns at 38-24. Gadsden was now up to 156 yards on only six receptions.
For one of the few times in this game, the Chargers forced another punt from the Colts. Needed to score two touchdowns, the Bolts had all the pressure on them to march down the filed once more after finding the end zone on the previous three drives.
Herbert and Co. faced a fourth-and-seven deep in their own territory early on. Rookie wideout Tre’ Harris got open on a quick slant to convert and the drive continued.
The final drive for the Chargers lasted 21 plays but ultimately ended with a turnover on downs as they could not convert a fourth-and-27 (their fourth fourth down of the drive). The Bolts had first-and-10 at the Indy 28 but a sack from DeForest Buckner set them back to second-and-22. That was then followed up by an incompletion on third and a delay of game penalty to back them up even further. The final play for the Chargers was a 23-yard gain by Johnston who could not make the line to gain.
Once the Colts got the ball back, they never relinquished it thanks to Taylor’s legs. Indianapolis would go on to kneel out the clock and improve to 6-1 while the Chargers fell to 4-3.
