Manning's Colts defeated the Chargers in 1998 and 1999, but in 2004 with Leaf long gone from the game the revamped Chargers behind Drew Brees erupted into playoff contention ; on December 26 with both teams at 11-3 the Colts hosted the Chargers with Manning close to matching Dan Marino's touchdown record ; the Chargers stormed to a 31-16 lead, but Dominic Rhodes ' kickoff return put the Colts within eight points, then with one minute remaining Manning rifled a 21-yard touchdown to Brandon Stokley, breaking Marino's record ; the two-point try succeeded, then after Brees was intercepted the game went to overtime and the Colts won 34-31 on a field goal.

First on November 11, with the Chargers up only 23-21 and despite five Manning interceptions, the Colts closed to range of a 29-yard field goal try for Adam Vinatieri, a kick that shockingly missed ; Manning then threw a sixth interception and the Chargers won.

QB Bob Greise was victim to a broken leg and dislocated ankle in Week 5 versus the San Diego Chargers and was replaced by veteran Earl Morrall for the rest of the regular season, but returned to the field as a substitute during the AFC Championship game versus the Pittsburgh Steelers and then started in Super Bowl VII.

In the 34 years since then, the Chargers have made ten trips to the playoffs and four appearances in the AFC Championship game.

But by then, the Chargers fell on hard times ; Gillman, who had returned as general manager, stepped down in 1971, and many of the Charger players from the 1960s had already either retired or had been traded.

The team then used their second first round selection on defensive tackle Luis Castillo. The Chargers started the season without tight end Antonio Gates as he was suspended two games by Smith for holding out in training camp.

The Chargers would retake the lead on a field goal by Kaeding then scored again on an 83-yard touchdown run by Michael Turner.

The Chargers then went on another second half run with four straight wins but this time instead of keeping the streak going the entire second half they had a big let down losing at home to the Raiders again, this time 28 – 13 ( ending their shared NFL record, with the Dolphins, of 18 straight wins in December ).

The Chargers then began a three game winning streak most notably beating the Ravens by more than any team has beat them this season.

On October 27, 2003, the Chargers wore their navy pants with their navy jersey for a Monday Night Football game versus the Miami Dolphins that was played at Sun Devil Stadium, then the home of the Arizona Cardinals, due to wildfires in southern California.

The Bengals went on to win their first ever playoff game by defeating the Buffalo Bills, 28-21, and then defeated San Diego Chargers, 27-7, in a game known as the Freezer Bowl because of the-59 windchill conditions at Riverfront Stadium.

The Chargers then took a 17-13 lead when Martin beat the Steelers secondary ( particularly a badly overmatched Tim McKyer ) down the right sideline for a 43-yard touchdown reception.

After forcing the Chargers to punt, the 49ers advanced 79 yards in four plays, with Young rushing for 21 yards and then throwing 51-yard touchdown pass to running back Ricky Watters to give San Francisco a 14-0 lead less than 5 minutes into the first quarter, and setting a Super Bowl record for the fastest " second " touchdown scored by a team.

The Chargers then took the ensuing kickoff and drove 62 yards from their own 25-yard line to the San Francisco 13, featuring a 33-yard gain on a screen pass from Stan Humphries to Eric Bieniemy, San Diego's longest play of the game.

Cowher then led the Steelers into the playoffs in 1993 and 1994 but were also eliminated, including a 17 – 13 upset loss to the San Diego Chargers in the AFC Championship Game.

He then moved to the ranks of professional football, where he headed the NFL's Los Angeles Rams ( 1955 – 1959 ), the American Football League's Los Angeles and San Diego Chargers ( 1960 – 1969 ), and the NFL's Chargers ( 1971 ), and Houston Oilers ( 1973 – 1974 ), amassing a career record of 123 – 104 – 7 in the National Football League and the American Football League.

The 2001 Chargers ended their season with a loss to the Seattle Seahawks, after Doug Flutie passed for 377 yards and drove for the tying field goal with 16 seconds remaining, but poor special teams play led to a long Seahawks kick return and subsequently a 54-yard winning field goal.

New York took the opening kickoff and drove to the Chargers 11-yard line.

After an exchange of punts in overtime, the Chargers drove to the Jets 22-yard line, but Kaeding missed a 40-yard field goal attempt late in the extra period, allowing the Jets to come back down the field.

While a member of the Chargers in 2006, Akbar routinely drove back-and-forth from San Diego to Los Angeles to spend time with his father.

Following their Super Bowl championship, the Colts would go onto a 13 – 3 record during the 2007 season and would lose to the San Diego Chargers in the divisional playoffs, which would be the final game the Colts played at the RCA Dome, with the Colts moving into Lucas Oil Stadium in 2008.

When the AFL-NFL Merger was completed for the 1970 season, the very first opponent for the Colts in their new environment of the American Football Conference was the San Diego Chargers at San Diego.

The Chargers play their home games at Qualcomm Stadium.

The Chargers were the originators of the term " Fearsome Foursome " to describe their all-star defensive line, anchored by Faison and Ernie Ladd ( the latter also excelled in professional wrestling ).

The Chargers acquired veteran players like Deacon Jones and Johnny Unitas, however it was at the later stages of their careers and the team struggled, placing third or fourth in the AFC West each year from 1970 to.

On December 17, the Chargers defeated the Denver Broncos 17 – 7 for their first AFC West division title since the AFL-NFL merger before a national Monday Night Football television audience and their home crowd.

Kellen Winslow caught 10 passes for 171 yards and Chargers clinched their second straight AFC West title by defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers 26 – 17 and finished the regular season with an 11 – 5 record.

In, the Chargers won their third straight AFC West title with a 10 – 6 season.

However, the eventual-AFC Champion Cincinnati Bengals, playing in their first AFC Championship Game, defeated the Chargers 27 – 7 in what became known as the Freezer Bowl.

The Chargers made it back to the playoffs, but after beating the Steelers in the first round, they lost to the Dolphins 34 – 13 in a rematch of their playoff game from the previous season.

The Chargers finished with an 8 — 7 record, their first winning record since 1982, despite winding up with six straight losses.

The Chargers would lose their first four games of the season and come back to become the first 0 – 4 team to make the playoffs as they won 11 of the last 12 games and clinched the AFC West title.

In, the Chargers finished 8 – 8 ( fourth in their division ).

In the 1994 season, the Chargers made their first and, so far, only Super Bowl appearance, against the 49ers in Super Bowl XXIX.

The Chargers selected Kevin Gilbride to become their new head coach.

Jones would leave the team at the end of the season to coach at the University of Hawaii and the Chargers would name former Oregon State University head coach Mike Riley as their new head coach.

Facing the 13 – 0 Colts on the road, the Chargers took a 16 – 0 lead into the third quarter of the game, but the Colts responded with 17 points of their own to take a one-point lead in the fourth quarter.

The Chargers would go on to lose their season finale to the Broncos, with Brees suffering a dislocated shoulder to end the Chargers ' 9 – 7 season.

The 2007 San Diego Chargers season began with the team trying to equal their 2006 regular season success ( 14 – 2 ) and avoid another early departure in the playoffs.

The Chargers started off the 2011 season with a 4-1 campaign, with their only loss to the New England Patriots.

But finally on December 5, 2011, the Chargers got their first win in over a month against the Jacksonville Jaguars, beating their also-struggling team.