Chargers Halt Colts' Drive for Perfection

Up until yesterday, the Indianapolis Colts (which still looks wrong – the Colts belong in Baltimore), had a chance to do what no NFL team has done since 1972, go undefeated. Had they done so, their effort would have been more spectacular than the famous Miami Dolphins team since the NFL has added 2 games to the season since 1972. The San Diego Chargers, however, ended the Colts efforts at perfection for the year, winning 26-17 in Indianapolis.

The entire idea of the NFL is to win the Super Bowl. To paraphrase golfers, it isn’t how on gets there, but how many times one wins it. Sometimes, 11 wins and five losses is good enough to get to the big game, and then, it becomes a matter of “any given Sunday, any team can beat any other.” Players, coaches and fans turn up and break records for that.

Yet, when a team has some magic, in any sport, the championship is merely the crowning moment. The 1972 Dolphins were Super Bowl Champs, but to this day, they carry something special about them other than those rings – the only team in NFL history to know only victory. While the Indianapolis Colts may say that the Super Bowl has been their motivation all along, it is difficult to believe that these competitors didn’t want to take that unique status from the 1972 Dolphins, the old men who raised a glass of Diet Coke rather than champagne if Don Shula is to be believed.

The Chargers, fighting for their play-off spot, jumped out to a 16-0 lead. The Colts did what all champions do, persist. This may not make them the champions come January, but it is the vital ingredient. When they came back to make the score 17-16 just as the third quarter was ending, the crowd exploded at the RCA Dome (corporate sponsorship pollution again – how about, Colts’ Stadium, the Indiana Dome, Hoosier Stadium or even Dan Quayle Memorial Field?). It just wasn’t enough, as the Chargers put up a TD and field goal before the fourth quarter ended.

Now, though, the pressure is off. The Colts will have the best record in football, 13-1 right now, and 13-3 at worst. If they don’t make it to Super Bowl XL, it will be an injustice. In 1998, the Denver Broncos had a 13-0 start and lost game 14 as well, and then won the Big One. Many of the players from that team said yesterday that they were able to relax and play the team on the field rather than the 1972 Dolphins after that. Starters can rest, the games now meaningless.

Yet, even some of the 1972 Dolphins were cheering, sort of, for the Colts. Running back Mercury Morris said, “If they had been able to go undefeated, then we could have someone to talk to who would understand the experience. It's like trying to describe to someone what it's like to walk on the moon. It's only a description -- they'll never know until they go.” QB Bob Griese said, “In the end, I was sorry to see them lose, because it would have been great for a team like that to win them all. It’s not like they are the Oakland Raiders, where it would be hard to root for them to go undefeated.” Still, had they done it, what would the Colts have to shoot for next year?

© Copyright 2005 by The Kensington Review, J. Myhre, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.
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