The NFL‘s Week 16 closes with the traditional Monday Night Football in which the Los Angeles Chargers look to take the final step to secure their place in the playoffs when they visit Lucas Oil Stadium and face the Indianapolis Colts whose mission is to close a chaotic season with dignity.
Prior to the start of Week 16, the Chargers required a combination of multiple games to clinch a playoff berth on Monday. All of those results have gone the way of quarterback Justin Herbert’s team, which could secure its postseason debut as the Los Angeles Raiders lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday, the New England Patriots failed to beat the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday and the New York Jets were unable to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday.
Los Angeles Chargers at Indianapolis Colts live updates, Monday Night Football Week 16 2022 at Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN
In Week 15, the Chargers had clinched the AFC playoff picture with a hard-fought 17-14 win over the Tennessee Titans, their third win in the last four games, as Herbert improves from a rib ailment that has bothered them throughout the 2022 NFL season.
Matt Ryan and the Colts’ monumental collapse in Week 15
The case for the Colts is almost the opposite, as they blew the largest lead in NFL history last week, leading 33-0 at halftime and ended up losing a 39-36 home game to the Minnesota Vikings. Matt Ryan again saw a huge lead slip away just as it did with the Atlanta Falcons when they lost the biggest lead in the history of the NFL Championship Game in Super Bowl LI after going up 28-3 only to lose 34-28 to the New England Patriots.
As a result, interim head coach Jeff Saturday’s team decided to bench Ryan and in his place, Nick Foles, who the following year would beat Brady’s Pats in Super Bowl LII, will make his debut with the horseshoe team.