By Mark Lamport-Stokes
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The resurgent San Diego Chargers know they have very little time to prepare for perhaps their toughest challenge of the season when they travel to Indianapolis to face the Colts on Sunday.
Quarterback Philip Rivers and his team mates will still be licking their lips after eating Thanksgiving turkeys when they fly out of San Diego on Friday in pursuit of a fourth successive victory to lift them above the .500 mark.
"We know what a challenge it is to go to Indy and win but we'll be up for it," Rivers told reporters after the Chargers pounded the Denver Broncos 35-14 at Qualcomm Stadium on Monday.
"This is a short week (with) Thanksgiving and the travel to Indy so we've got to get geared up and be ready to go and play a tough Indy team.
"We finally got back to .500. It seemed like it was a long way away but we got there. We've still got a long ways to go but we are looking forward to Sunday."
The defending AFC West champion Chargers had slipped to a dismal 2-5 start to the season after being hampered by injuries, bizarre blunders and a rash of turnovers but Monday's commanding win put them at 5-5.
They now share second place in the AFC West, a game behind the pacesetting Kansas City Chiefs, while the Colts (6-4) are tied with the Jacksonville Jaguars atop the AFC South.
ROAD GAMES
Playing on the road is never easy but the Chargers, who lead the National Football League in both offense and defense, will have two other factors in their favor when they take on Peyton Manning and the Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium.
They have beaten Indianapolis four times in their last five meetings and on Sunday will be boosted by the return of Pro Bowl wide receiver Vincent Jackson, who ended his holdout from the team by accepting a one-year contract tender last month.
While Chargers coach Norv Turner showered his team with praise after their impressive display against the struggling Broncos, he was wary of the threat posed by the Colts with their home field advantage.
"That is the most complete game we have had this season but we need to build on it," he said, referring to the Broncos blowout. "We have to get ready to start on Wednesday and then travel to Indianapolis on Friday.
"We have Thanksgiving so we have a short week to get ready for an outstanding football team so we need to do it (produce another complete game) back-to-back."
(Editing by Steve Ginsburg)
