"As soon as Indianapolis Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney had showered then toweled off the stench of Sunday night's 36-14 home loss to San Diego, he reminded anyone who would listen that all was not lost amid the embarrassment.

"It's not the end of the world," he said of the Colts' worst home loss since 1997.

It just seemed like it.

The Colts typically don't lose like this. They don't get blown out.

Especially not at home.

"That was a butt-whipping, plain and simple," said Colts left tackle Charlie Johnson. "There's really no other way to sugar coat it or say it.

"They came in here and they put it on us pretty good. It happened. You've got to live with it."

Optimists in need of hope might find comfort in the reality, as Freeney advised. The Colts, after all, are 6-5 and still tied for first place with Jacksonville in the AFC South. Those teams meet at Lucas Oil Stadium Dec. 19. Freeney correctly stated his team, despite this discouraging effort, can still control its destiny by winning out.

Still, the Colts didn't seem to have much in control this night. And it's the Chargers leaving town looking a lot better at 6-5 with a four-game win streak.

"The problem is, there haven't been very many times where this has happened to us," Johnson said. "We've done it a couple times in the past to teams. We got a little taste of our own medicine."

Most in a sellout crowd of 66,085 began their stadium exodus in the early stages of the second half. The visiting Chargers outscored the Colts 20-0 after halftime. The Colts were fortunate to be down just 16-14 at halftime.

"Obviously, you don't like it," said defensive lineman Eric Foster, who had one sack. "We've just got to regroup. We'll be fine.

"You never like getting beat like that. It is what it is. They were the best team tonight. We'll look at film and we'll get it back together."

The locker room was quiet, always how it is after a loss. But this seemed even more still.

Maybe it was because a few guys were angry, yet they bit their lips and didn't want to verbalize it."