MidValleySports.Com

By Tim Peterson

(Inglewood) – The Chargers fell behind 23-3 at halftime and could never overcome the deficit in a 38-24 loss to Indianapolis Sunday before 71, 124 fans at SoFi Stadium.

The Chargers came out hot in the third quarter and got within 14 points but their defense couldn’t stop the Colts and they came up short. Justin Herbert, who three for over 400 yards on the day, threw a touchdown pass to Oronde Gadsen to make it 38-24 with over 13 minutes left in the game but the Chargers never scored again.

Indianapolis started fast driving 75 yards on five plays on the opening possession. Jonathan Taylor scored on a 23-yard run to finish it. Michael Badgley missed the extra point as the Colts took a 6-0 lead.

On the Chargers first possession Cameron Dicker kicked a 43-yard field goal after the drive was halted at the Colts 25 to make it 6-3.

The Colts were aggressive on their next series as they went for it on fourth and one from their own 39-yard line and Taylor just did cross the line to gain for the first down. On the same drive they again went for it fourth down on the Chargers 19-yard line and Taylor picked up seven yards for another first down conversion.

Indianapolis cashed in on the third fourth down attempt on the drive when on a fourth and two from the four-yard line Daniel Jones hit Michael Pittman Jr. for a four-yard touchdown pass to cap a 17-play, 70-yard march. The Colts led 13-3 with 14:54 left in the second quarter.

After a Chargers punt, the Colts drove 80 yards on eight plays for another score. A 48-yard pass from Jones to Alec Pierce set up a five-yard touchdown strike to Tyler Warren to put Indianapolis up 20-3 with 8:56 left in the second quarter.

Lineman Grover Stewart batted a Justin Herbert pass in the air and then came down with it for an interception on the next series and the Colts took over at their own 37-yard line. But the Colts were unable to take advantage and punted the ball away.

A big opportunity was missed by the Chargers on the next possession as they drove all the way down the field but Herbert was picked off in the end zone by Nick Cross with 1:54 left in the first half.

The Colts made them pay with a march of their own down into Chargers territory. Badgley booted a 36-yard field goal as time ran out in the second quarter and Indianapolis took a 23-3 lead into halftime.

Then the Chargers warmed up. They opened the second half with a 6-play, 70-yard scoring drive. A 53-yard pass from Hebert to Gadsden set up a 7-yard touchdown pass to Quentin Johnston to cut the Colts lead to 23-10.

Less than a minute later the Colts got the touchdown right back. Taylor scored on an eight-yard run and then Jones hit Pittman on a pass for the two-point conversion to make it 31-10. The touchdown was set up by an 81-yard kickoff return by Amir Abdullah.

The Chargers responded with a 10-play, 76-yard drive. Herbert hit Keenan Allen on a five-yard touchdown pass to cut the Colts lead to two touchdowns with 6:13 left in the third quarter.

Three minutes later Taylor got his third score of the night on a 19-yard run to cap a 73-yard Colt drive to give Indy a 38-17 lead with 3:33 left in the third quarter.

The Chargers answered again. Gadsden hauled in a 15-yard pass from Herbert to complete a 76-yard drive. The Chargers were within 38-24 with just over 13 minutes left in the fourth quarter but that was where the rally ended.

After Indianapolis was forced to punt the Chargers moved the ball down into Colts’ territory but a pass down to the 22-yard line on fourth down left the Chargers short with 3:27 left. The Colts took over from there and were able to run out the clock.

Herbert finished with 420 yards and three touchdowns passing as he completed 37 of 55 but he was also hurt by two interceptions. Gadsden had seven receptions for 164 yards and a touchdown and Allen had 11 for 119 and a score. Ladd McConkey hauled in nine catches for 67 yards.

For the Colts Jones was 23 of 34 for 288 yards and two touchdowns. Taylor ran for 94 yards and three touchdowns. Former USC Trojan Pittman had seven catches for 58 yards and a score.

Indianapolis improved to 6-1 with the victory while the Chargers dropped to 4-3. Next up for the Chargers is a home game on Thursday Night Football this week against Minnesota.

IN 06 17 15 00 38

LA 03 00 14 07 24