Depleted Bolts follow Turner's bold lead in Indy upset

This time last year, it would have been hard to imagine Norv Turner and Billy Volek getting credit for a Chargers playoff victory. AP

INDIANAPOLIS -- Go ahead, Norv Turner. Say, I told you so. Laugh in the face of your critics, me included.

I said in the preseason that if the Chargers won this season, it would be despite Turner, not because of him. I was wrong.

What Turner accomplished Sunday in a 28-24 win over the defending Super Bowl champion Colts in Indianapolis was masterful. He took guys that most people passed up in fantasy-league drafts and used them to earn a trip to the AFC Championship Game, where the Chargers will face the undefeated Patriots next weekend in Foxboro, Mass.

Think about it: All-Pro tight end Antonio Gates was limited the entire game because of a dislocated toe; All-Pro running back LaDainian Tomlinson missed the final 40 minutes with a bruised left knee; and quarterback Philip Rivers was out the entire fourth quarter with an injury to his right knee -- against a defense ranked No. 3 overall and No. 1 in points allowed. Yet the Chargers offense never blinked, largely because the man calling the plays never flinched.

Turner stuck with his game plan. He had talked throughout the season about believing in each other and trusting each other; and against the Colts, he proved his words were more than coachspeak. Instead of going conservative and tossing out pages from his playbook, he kept running his offense with Michael Turner and Darren Sproles subbing for Tomlinson and Billy Volek replacing Rivers.

"I was kind of in awe with the people we had down that we were still kind of doing what we wanted to with Indy," said Tomlinson.

When the Colts drove 56 yards in three plays to take a 24-21 lead with more than 10 minutes to play, Turner didn't panic and rush/force Rivers back to the field (Rivers said afterward he could have given it a go). Instead, he showed confidence in the backup -- who had struggled earlier in the year -- and the result was an eight-play, 78-yard drive that put the Chargers ahead for good (28-24) -- with the decisive touchdown coming on a 1-yard sneak by Volek.

Turner called for a pass on first down from the San Diego 22; it went for 15 yards to Chris Chambers. He called for another pass on the next play; it went for six yards. On second-and-4, he tried to cross up the Colts with a run. Like any good play-caller, he wanted to keep the defense off balance, and he capitalized again after a facemask penalty gave the Chargers a first down at the Indy 42. Volek dropped back and found backup wideout Legedu Naanee with a short pass that went for 27 yards.

It was not the first time that Turner put the Colts on their heels. Early in the third quarter, after consecutive runs of seven yards by Michael Turner, the coach called for a deep route to Chambers. The result: a 30-yard touchdown.

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