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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Bolts halt Colts

Chargers’ victory snaps Indy’s win streak at three

The Chargers’ running game, led by Ryan Mathews, was too much for the Colts. (Associated Press)
Associated Press

Philip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers kept Andrew Luck on the sideline most of the night, giving the Indianapolis Colts quarterback no chance at another comeback.

Rivers threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to rookie Keenan Allen and Nick Novak kicked four field goals to give the Chargers a 19-9 victory against the visiting Colts on Monday night.

Rivers methodically moved the Chargers (3-3) on three scoring drives of at least 74 yards as he rebounded from a three-interception performance in a dismal loss at Oakland last week.

That, and a lot of dropped passes by Colts receivers, snapped a three-game win streak for Indianapolis (4-2) and kept the Colts from taking a two-game lead over Tennessee in the AFC South.

A week earlier, Luck helped rally the Colts to a 34-28 victory against Seattle.

He had no chance against the Bolts because of two long drives in the second quarter that helped contribute to the Chargers dominating the time of possession 38 minutes, 31 seconds to 21:29.

Novak had field goals of 31, 33, 34 and 50 yards, with the final one coming with 1:55 left to go in the game.

Chargers cornerback Derek Cox snuffed out Indy’s final chance when he intercepted a pass that was tipped by receiver Reggie Wayne with 1:07 to play.

Rivers was 22 of 33 for 237 yards and no interceptions. Luck was 18 of 30 for 202 yards.

San Diego also established its running game with 147 yards. Ryan Mathews ran for 102 yards on 22 carries, his first 100-yard game of the season.

Bills sign Flynn

A week after being cut by Oakland, quarterback Matt Flynn has signed with Buffalo (2-4). The sixth-year player is now on his third team since December; the Raiders acquired him in a trade with Seattle this past offseason.

Last week the Bills promoted Thad Lewis from the practice squad after rookie starter EJ Manuel sprained his right knee in a loss to Cleveland on Oct. 3.

Lewis is still expected to start at Miami (3-2) Sunday, with Flynn initially being groomed to serve as Lewis’ backup ahead of undrafted rookie Jeff Tuel out of WSU.

Around the league

Construction is slated to restart today at the new $1.2 billion San Francisco 49ers showcase stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., after police and fire investigators determined a worker’s death was an accident and not a crime. Officials at the scene say a delivery truck driver was crushed early Monday by a bundle of rebar being unloaded from his truck. … Jets running back Mike Goodson posted on his Twitter page that he tore the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his left knee during the fourth quarter of Sunday’s loss to the Steelers.