Manning, Colts feeling incomplete

A dejected Peyton Manning hangs his head after failing to lead the Colts to points on their final drive. (Darren Cummings/Associated Press)

INDIANAPOLIS - There was a shower to be taken, but that wasn't going to wash away the utter shock, so Peyton Manning clearly was not in a rush. Reporters were waiting, but Manning offered perhaps his final audible of the NFL season and moved to his left.

"I'm sorry," is all Manning could say as he shook hands with his center, Jeff Saturday, and two other offensive linemen, Ryan Lilja and Ryan Diem.

Navigating his way through a locker room obstacle course of strewn uniforms and rolls of tape, Manning's body was red from the hits he had taken, but his mood matched the team's official color - blue.

The defending Super Bowl champions had been stunned by the San Diego Chargers, 28-24, in an AFC Divisional playoff game yesterday, and not enough time had elapsed for them to absorb the finality of it all. No tears, but neither were there many words. That spoke volumes for what had just transpired inside the RCA Dome.

"It means you care. It means you worked hard and certainly we have put a lot into this season, going all the way back into March," said Manning.

He had completed his first 14 pass attempts of the game, but that was ancient history.

He had misfired on his final three attempts. That is the reality that stuck in his throat like a bad taste he couldn't swallow.

"I think that means it matters to you," said Manning.

Dressed in a gray pinstripe suit, Manning looked like he was ready for grand things, but the truth is, for the ninth time in his brilliant 10-year NFL career he was heading home before reaching the big dance. The chance to defend his Super Bowl title? That wasn't the shock of it. No, the shock of it was Indianapolis didn't check out against the Patriots, but against a San Diego team that played healthy chunks of the game without running back LaDainian Tomlinson and quarterback Philip Rivers, and in a game in which the Colts had leads of 7-0, 10-7, 17-14, and 24-21.

Each time, the Colts' defense squandered the lead. Then, the Colts' offense marched well but finished poorly.

"Of course, it's disappointing that we couldn't get it in there in the end," said Manning when asked about those crucial fourth-quarter drives that ended in a fashion so unfamiliar to Colts fans.

First, Manning had led Indianapolis to the Chargers' 9, where it was first and goal, but suddenly it was as if his bottomless well of offensive outlets went dry. Four straight plays to Joseph Addai, a 2-yard run followed by three straight incomplete passes, and the ball was turned over, much to the dismay of the 56,950 who had come to bear witness to the last-ever game inside the RCA Dome, which will be torn down in favor of next year's home, Lucas Oil Stadium.

After the Chargers went three and out, the Colts had the ball one last time, starting from their 32. There was 1:30 to play. Little did anyone inside the big bubble suspect that it was all that was left to the season, but that is how it unfolded. A harmless 5-yard pass to Addai was followed by three incompletions, first to Addai, then to Reggie Wayne, then to Dallas Clark.

The game was over. The season was over. The shock was overwhelming, so only hushed words were spoken in the locker room, and they only came after nearly 20 minutes of heads hung low. Clark (six catches, 95 yards) stared into his locker for the longest time. Wayne (seven catches, 76 yards, one touchdown) looked stunned. Quietly, Marvin Harrison, who had just two catches for just 27 yards in his first action since getting hurt against Carolina back in October, talked of the collective pain.

"All I wanted to do was play," said Harrison, when it was suggested he didn't look like his old self and perhaps wasn't ready. "I worked hard, day-in and day-out. I was ready."

To a man, the Colts praised the Chargers, but criticized themselves.

"It's tough to play so well [down the stretch], especially on defense, then go out and play like that," said left end Raheem Brock, whose team had won six straight before resting all of its key players in a meaningless regular-season finale. "I can't explain it, but we couldn't make plays when we needed to."

Not on offense, because the Colts were thwarted constantly in the red zone.

And not on defense, because the Chargers converted on six of 10 third-down chances, perhaps none as important as the one that came late in the third quarter.

Trailing, 17-14, the Chargers were faced with third and 14 from their 22, and the roar of the crowd was deafening. Then, in mere seconds it was silent, for Rivers completed a 22-yard pass to Chris Chambers. After an incomplete pass, he dumped it off to Darren Sproles, who ran 56 yards for a touchdown, leaving Colts defenders grasping at air.

"Regardless of who is in there, you've got to make the plays," said Indianapolis defensive tackle Darrell Reid, when it was suggested the Colts had to be licking their chops when first Tomlinson and then Rivers went out with knee injuries. "We didn't make the plays."

Said defensive back Marlin Jackson, who was part of a secondary that got burned by three touchdown passes, for 14, 30, and 56 yards as Rivers and his replacement, Billy Volek, combined for 312: "I have no idea why, but we just didn't execute."

Outside the locker room, team owner Jim Irsay talked about it being the final game inside the RCA Dome ("We wanted to make the last game in the RCA Dome a victory," he said), but inside, the talk revolved around beloved coach Tony Dungy. One year removed from becoming the first African-American to coach a Super Bowl winner, there is swirling speculation that his tenure as Colts coach could be over.

"Are you kidding me?" said placekicker Adam Vinatieri when asked if he would like to see Dungy stay on. "There's not a man I respect more than him. He's a great man, a great coach, and he touches everyone he makes contact with. Selfishly, I'd love to have him back, but his life is more than this game and more than football."

Dungy could choose to return to the Tampa area and spend more time with his family, and he often has talked of his passion for prison ministry, but no, he didn't say anything about that to his players following this bitter defeat. Instead, he had tried his best to help them deal with it.

"We weren't quite sharp enough. We got down there a few times and had some giveaways," said Dungy, conceding that two interceptions and a fumble by Harrison halted deep drives. But he wasn't about to reveal his future plans.

"I will sit down with my wife and talk with Jim [Irsay] and we will come to a conclusion," he said.

"It's a hard pill to swallow," said Vinatieri. "It will be hard to watch other teams continue on."

Even when you have so many friends on one of those teams, Vinatieri might have added. But he didn't. That's because on this day, with the air so thick with shock, words were hard to find.

Jim McCabe can be reached at jmccabe@globe.com.