EL SEGUNDO — Memories of Indy …
“That was like being dipped in magic waters,” Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh said of playing with the Indianapolis Colts in the 1995 season, when he quarterbacked them to a 9-7 regular-season record and then guided them to the AFC championship game. “That’s what it felt like the entire season.
“Everything just fell into place and you knew it. There was a great rapport among the players and coaches. It was a ball team. It was just really a ball team. One of my favorite ball teams I’ve ever been on. Just everybody getting to it. Working. We just worked hard and had fun doing it.
“A bunch of great guys.”
Harbaugh played four of his 14 seasons in the NFL with the Colts, from 1994 to ’97, but the ’95 season was his finest. He was a Pro Bowl selection for the only time in his career after completing 63.7% of his passes for 2,575 yards with 17 touchdowns and five interceptions in 15 games.
Now, Harbaugh and the Chargers, first in the AFC West, will face the Colts, first in the AFC South, on Sunday at SoFi Stadium. Playing his old team for the first time since returning to coach in the NFL brought back a flood of great memories for Harbaugh thanks to some prodding this week.
“The come-from-behind wins,” Harbaugh said of what stands out some 30 years later. “They started calling us the Cardiac Colts and things like that. Just finding ways to win. It could come from anybody on the roster. It could be Marshall Faulk. It could be Marcus Pollard. It could be anybody.”
Faulk was a standout running back from San Diego State who went on to help the then-St. Louis Rams win a Super Bowl after the 1999 season and was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 2011. Pollard was a rookie tight end in ’95 who played the first 10 of his 14 seasons in the NFL with the Colts.
“It seemed like every game there was somebody else who stepped up mightily,” Harbaugh said. “It was great for morale. I say, ‘it’s dipped in magic waters’ because there were some magical moments. There was some magic made. So, as far as being a player, that was by far my favorite season, the ’95 season.”
MACK UPDATE
If it was up to outside linebacker Khalil Mack, he would pull on his shoulder pads, his No. 52 uniform and his helmet with the lightning bolt on it and play Sunday against the Colts for the first time since dislocating his left elbow during the Chargers’ Sept. 15 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders.
It’s not up to him, though.
“You have to ask Coach Harbaugh what he’s thinking,” Mack said.
One thing is for sure, though. Mack said he’s had enough of standing on the sideline while he’s been on injured reserve for the past four games, unable to help his teammates on the field. He practiced on a limited basis Thursday for the second consecutive day.
“Slightly ready to go,” he said.
Only slightly?
“I can’t give you a percentage, but I feel good,” he said when the laughter died down. “It doesn’t hurt at all, so that’s always a bonus.”
Asked if he believed he could play Sunday, he said, “Oh, for sure.”
The Chargers need Mack’s ability to rush the passer and also slow the run against a Colts team that leads the NFL by averaging 32.3 points per game, is fourth in the 32-team league with 376.8 net yards per game and sixth in net rushing yards per game with an average of 131.8 yards.
INJURY UPDATES
Left tackle Joe Alt was a limited participant in practice after sitting out since he sprained his right ankle in the Chargers’ loss to the New York Giants on Sept. 28. … Center Bradley Bozeman (illness), linebacker Troy Dye (thumb), safety Elijah Molden (thumb) and right tackle Trey Pipkins III (knee) didn’t practice.
