SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego Chargers, of course, let a victory slip away in the season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1.
That game would have been just the team's second road victory in over a year. San Diego coach Mike McCoy's teams are just 5-12 in road games since 2014.
If the Chargers want to be considered a playoff team, they have to start winning some of these tough games away from Qualcomm Stadium.
The Chargers are 3-point underdogs on Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts. At 0-2, the Colts had a chance to win both of their games in the final quarter, but Indianapolis has been unable to do the little things to seal a win.
So you can bet the Colts will be desperate to get the team's first victory of the 2016 season when the Chargers travel to Indianapolis.
San Diego's defense should have some familiarity with talented Indianapolis quarterback Andrew Luck.
Chargers defensive coordinator John Pagano devised a good scheme that held the Stanford product to just 202 passing yards, no touchdowns and an interception in a 19-9 win for the Chargers on October 14, 2013 at Qualcomm Stadium.
“He's a very talented player,” McCoy said about Luck. “He's one of the best in the business, and very efficient at what he does. Not only can he beat you throwing the ball all over the place in the style of play that he's played with his entire NFL career to this point in time, but he can beat you with his feet.”
Here are six players to watch, courtesy of ESPN Colts reporter Mike Wells:
OFFENSE
QB Andrew Luck: The Broncos sacked Luck five times, hit him 11 times, intercepted him once and caused him to lose a fumble while also limiting him to just 197 yards passing. Luck's struggles came a week after he threw for 385 yards and four touchdowns against the Detroit Lions in Week 1. Expect Luck to come out with redemption on his mind because his pick-six and strip-sack that was returned for a touchdown ended up costing the Colts the game. It also helps that he'll be facing a San Diego defense that's giving up 325 yards a game through the air.
WR Phillip Dorsett: The comfort level Luck has in Dorsett is already noticeable. The quarterback has no problem throwing the ball up and letting the 5-foot-10 receiver go get it. Dorsett leads the Colts in receiving yards (124), yards per catch (24.8) and catches of at least 20 yards (three). Luck will depend on Dorsett even more with the possibility that Donte Moncrief could miss some time with a shoulder injury. Dorsett, the Colts' first-round pick in 2015, wasn't able to show much of his speed last season because he missed five games with an ankle injury.
RB Frank Gore: Surprise, surprise the Colts are still trying to get their running game going. They're now up to 52 straight games without having a 100-yard rusher. Their last 100-yard rusher was Vick Ballard in Week 15 of the 2012 season. Gore has rushed for 103 yards through the first two weeks of the season. He's averaging 3.8 yards a carry. The issue is he's only had 27 carries so far. The Colts went away from the run game early against Detroit because they dug themselves a 21-3 hole. The Colts purposely limited the 33-year-old Gore's workload in the preseason with the vision that they'd be fresh in the regular season. At some point, the Colts have to turn to their running game to help try to lighten the load on Luck.
DEFENSE
LB D'Qwell Jackson: The veteran has led the Colts in each of the past two seasons. But he's a non-factor on the defense so far this season. His six tackles are tied for sixth on the team. Tackling has been an issue in each of the first two weeks of the season for the Colts. Detroit had more than 200 yards after the catch in Week 1 and Denver had extended drives because of the Colts' inability to tackle. Jackson is the vocal leader of the defense. Now he needs to lead by example to help the Colts get off the field so that Luck and the offense can have the ball back.
LB Robert Mathis: The Colts only have two sacks on the season. Mathis isn't responsible for either one of those sacks. Mathis didn't play a snap in the preseason to avoid any additional wear and tear on his 35-year-old body. The extra time off isn't paying off yet for Mathis and the defense because he's had minimal impact on the quarterback in the first two weeks. The Chargers are hurting at the skill position on offense, but that doesn't mean quarterback Philip Rivers can't have success against Indianapolis. He has completed 70.3 percent of his pass attempts and only been sacked by the Colts eight times in four career meetings against them.
The cornerbacks: It's easier to lump them in as a group because you don't know who will be available due to the number of injuries they're dealing with at that position. The goal is to have starting cornerback Vontae Davis (ankle) and Patrick Robinson (concussion) practice this week, but they're availability is uncertain. Darius Butler, the team's third corner, is out an extended period with a hamstring injury. That leaves the veteran Antonio Cromartie, who the Chargers are familiar with, Darryl Morris and Rashaan Melvin as the only healthy cornerbacks currently on the roster.
