Chargers 19, Colts 9

SAN DIEGO — Philip Rivers and the Chargers kept Andrew Luck on the sideline most of the night, giving the Colts quarterback no chance at another comeback.

Rivers threw a 22-yard touchdown to rookie Keenan Allen and Nick Novak kicked four field goals Monday night to give San Diego a 19-9 victory against Indianapolis.

Rivers led three scoring drives of at least 74 yards. That, and a lot of dropped passes by Colts receivers, kept Indianapolis from taking a two-game lead over Tennessee in the AFC South.

Two long drives in the second quarter helped contribute to the Chargers dominating the time of possession, at 38:31.

"We knew if we didn't turn the ball over and we sustained drives, which we did — we had some 12-, 14-, 16-play drives — that we'd give ourselves a chance to win," Rivers said.

Allen got behind safety Delano Howell and cornerback Vontae Davis on a post route for the TD, completing a 12-play, 74-yard march that took 6:14 and gave San Diego a 7-3 lead. Novak's first field goal capped a drive that went 79 yards in 17 plays in 7:58.

All the talk entering the game was about the Colts' offense.

"I wasn't sure who the Colts were playing this week all the ads I saw," Rivers said.

Colts star receiver Reggie Wayne got his 1,000th career catch in the fourth quarter, the ninth player to hit that mark.

There were family ties in this one: Chargers defensive coordinator John Pagano beat older brother Chuck, the Colts' coach.

Rivers, who had a chance to become the first quarterback in league history to pass for 400 yards in three consecutive games, threw for 237.