The Chargers had a 24-9 lead in the 3rd quarter of their season opener against the Colts. But as has so often been the case for this franchise they didn't manager the lead well and ended up having to go to overtime to get a 30-24 win.
Philip Rivers threw for 333 yards and three touchdowns but he was also sacked four times and under almost constant pressure behind an offensive line that was expected to be an issue without Pro Bowl left tackle Russell Okung.
Indianapolis had plenty of chances to win this game but made a truckload of mistakes. In the 1st quarter they forced a 22-yard field goal but Denico Autry was called for a personal foul so the Bolts replaced the three points with a touchdown when Rivers hit Austin Ekeler from the 1-yard line for a 7-0 lead.
The Colts also thought they had forced a punt when Kemoko Turay ran right by left tackle Trent Scott to sack Rivers but Justin Houston was caught off-sides. Rivers hit Ekeler again, this time for a 55-yard score.
Special teams weren't great for either team, either. 46-year-old kicker Adam Vinatieri, who is likely going to the Hall of Fame one day, missed an extra point and two field goals for the first time in his 24-year career. The Chargers countered that with a turnover when Desmond King muffed a punt that set up what looked like a Colts touchdown.
Jacoby Brissett hit tight end Eric Ebron in the end zone but Ebron dropped it, another costly error for Indy because it set up one of Viniateri's misses.
After all that the Chargers led 24-16 in the 4th quarter and thought they were going to put it way but Rivers was picked off in the end zone when Malik Hooker made a fantastic one-handed catch and ran it back out to the 20 yard line.
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So the game was in the hands of Jacoby Brissett, the Colts QB who took over for the retired Andrew Luck. He converted on a 4th and 3 with a completion to wideout Devin Funchess and got the Colts down to the Chargers 19 yard line. That's where he hit T.Y. Hilton on a drag route.
Hilton made a pair of Chargers defenders miss tackles and dove in for a TD to make it a 24-22 game with 38 seconds left. Marlon Mack, who was a monster with 174 yards on 25 carries, pounded in for the 2-point conversion to tie it 24-24 and force overtime.
The Chargers got the ball to start OT and didn't let the Colts touch it. Ekeler ran in for a 7-yard TD to give the Bolts the win. Next week they head to Detroit to face the Lions.
