darren sproles: Sproles leads Chargers to playoff win

SAN DIEGO | Darren Sproles ran and ran and ran for all he was worth.

And Sproles, San Diego’s diminutive running back, will be worth quite a bit more after his tour de force performance in the Chargers’ dramatic 23-17 overtime victory over Indianapolis in an AFC wild-card game on Saturday night at Qualcomm Stadium.

Sproles, the former Olathe North and Kansas State star pressed into service because of a groin injury to LaDainian Tomlinson, scored two touchdowns, including the game-winning score on a 22-yard burst with 8 minutes, 40 seconds left in overtime, capping one of the great playoff performances in NFL history.

Sproles – a free agent at the end of this season – amassed 328 all-purpose yards rushing (105), receiving (45), on kickoff returns (106) and punt returns (72). That's third all-time to the Chiefs’ Ed Podolak in 1971 (350 yards) and Charger legend Keith Lincoln in 1963 (329 yards).

“The guy who typifies our season and what our guys are about is Darren Sproles,” said said Chargers coach Norv Turner, whose Chargers, 9-8, have won five straight since beginning the season in a 4-8 hole.

Sproles could have scored a touchdown after catching a pass in the third quarter but fumbled at the 2 while trying to get into the end zone, but he didn’t let it get him down.

“When that happened, there wasn’t any doubt in my mind he was going to make a big play that was going to have a major effect on this game,” Turner said. “That’s what that guy is about.

“I didn’t know when or where … he made a bunch of them in the overtime … you just knew what he was going to do. He wasn’t going to leave this game with that fumble on his mind.”

After San Diego kicker Nate Kaeding sent the game into overtime with a 26-yard field goal with 31 seconds left in regulation, the Chargers won the toss to begin overtime.

Sproles fielded the overtime kickoff six yards deep, but instead of taking a knee, he blasted out of powder-blue covered end zone and returned it 31 yards to the 26.

Sproles sustained the overtime drive when on third-and-11 from the 24, he grabbed a low Philip Rivers pass at his shoetops and motored for 13 yards and a first down.

During the drive, Sproles alternated plays with former Chiefs backup Michael Bennett. Taking advantage of two Indianapolis defensive penalties, linebacker Clint Session’s yanking Sproles’ facemask, the Chargers appeared to be lining up for another Kaeding field goal.

“He was on the sideline during the overtime,” Turner said of the 5-foot-6, 181-pound Sproles, who handled the ball 35 times, “and he said, ‘One more play.’ I said, ‘No.’

“He ran in. He’s just a great competitor.”

Turner sent in “30 Iso” and an exhausted Sproles broke it to his left, dashed the 22 yards and electrified the crowd of 68,082.

Indianapolis, 12-5, and MVP quarterback Peyton Manning, never saw the ball in overtime.

“When I got the handoff, I saw the end slant in,” Sproles said. “Once I saw that, I saw green grass outside and tried to score.

“When your number is called, you really have to be ready to step up and help this team. After that fumble I had, it was still on my mind.”

While the Colts’ defense stonewalled Sproles for losses and short gains on some plays, they had problem bringing him down once he got a seam in the defense.

“Sometimes they can’t see me when I get up in the hole,” he said with a twinkle in his eye.

Sproles came into the playoffs on a roll. After Tomlinson was injured in last week’s playoff-clinching win over Denver, Sproles recorded his second-career 100-yard rushing performance with 115 yards and a 2-yard touchdown run. He set up that score with a season-best 37-yard run to the 2. Sproles also scored on a 13-yard reception.


Source: kansascity.com