Colts escape Ravens, 17-15

The Indianapolis Colts tried to give the game away on numerous occasions but still emerged with a 17-15 victory over the Baltimore Ravens.

Quarterback Peyton Manning did not bring his A-game, throwing two interceptions and failing to hit the 300-yard passing mark.

The Colts also fumbled the ball at the Ravens’ goaline, costing them what would have been almost a sure touchdown.

Running back Joseph Addai did find significant success on the ground against the Ravens and also scored a touchdown.

The win keeps the Colts undefeated and safely ahead of other teams in the race for homefield advantage throughout the playoffs.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009 at 6:21 pm by steve

Colts Escape Ravens, 17-15, Stay Undefeated

Each week, the Indianapolis Colts are relying on a Houdini act to keep them alongside the New Orleans Saints in the ranks of the undefeated.

While it’d be hard to top last week’s comeback against the Patriots, the Colts managed yet another thriller, as they edged by the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, 17-15.

Peyton Manning was not his usual, sharp self; although he completed 22-of-31 passes for 299 yards, he also threw two momentum-crushing interceptions.

But the Colts defense was the star of the day, holding the Ravens without a touchdown all day. The Ravens had first-and-goal at the Colts’ 1-yard line in the fourth quarter, yet were forced to settle for another field goal after the drive stalled.

“We are definitely a bend-but-not-break defense,” linebacker Gary Brackett said. “They drove a couple of times on us, but we held them to field goals.” Brackett iced the game with an interception of Ravens QB Joe Flacco with just over two minutes left.

The win moves the Colts to 10-0, giving the Colts their 19th straight regular season win – they’re only two off the NFL record set by the Patriots from 2006-2008, and they just registered their eighth straight 10-win season.

“It’s really not on anybody’s minds. At least not on my mind,” Manning said. “We’re relieved we got this win. Obviously, it’s a great team effort.”

at 1:49 am by bryan

Manning’s Heroics Lead Colts Past Patriots, 35-34

In a string of classic games between the Colts and the New England Patriots that have been played out this decade, this one ranks up there.

The Colts squeaked past the Patriots on Sunday night, 35-34, after Patriots coach Bill Belichick made a controversial decision that will be debated in New England for the rest of the season. With a fourth-and-2 on their own 28-yard line with 2:08 remaining, the Patriots kept QB Tom Brady and the offense on the field, seemingly to draw the Colts offsides. That is… until Brady snapped the ball, threw complete to RB Kevin Faulk on a short pass, but because Faulk bobbled the catch on the way down, he did not gain enough forward progress to move the chains… and the ball was Indy’s with two minutes left.

“We tried to win the game on that play,” Belichick explained. “I thought we could make the yard. We had a good play, we completed it. I don’t know how we couldn’t get a yard.”

Needless to say, given two minutes and a short field, Peyton Manning went to work. After being stymied by the Patriots defense for most of the game, Manning had been slicing and dicing his way through the Pats’ D in the fourth quarter, leading two quick touchdown drives in the fourth quarter to turn the Patriots’ once-firm 17-point lead into a narrow 6-point advantage. Manning led two 2-minute drives for touchdowns in the fourth quarter, giving Belichick hesitation about his defense’s ability to stop Manning on one final drive.

“When you see them going for it on fourth down, you get a little nervous, but our defense blitzed them, pressured them and got the stop,” Manning said. “It certainly changed our philosophy. In practice, we’re going 60 or 70 yards. So we figure we’re going to have to go five, six, seven plays. In the huddle, I said, ‘Obviously, we need a touchdown, but let’s not be in a hurry.’”

After being down 31-14 after one minute had gone by in the fourth quarter, Manning and the Colts kept their blood pressure low and managed not to hurry their final two-minute drill. The Colts mixed in a nice combination of run/pass, and Manning capped the drive with a TD pass to WR Reggie Wayne, his second of the night.

With the win, the Colts move to 9-0 on the season, but they’re not the only undefeated team remaining. The New Orleans Saints managed to keep their magical season alive with a sloppy win over the St. Louis Rams on Sunday – this is only the third time in NFL history that two teams have been undefeated this late into a season.

Monday, November 16, 2009 at 11:18 pm by bryan

Colts rally to stun Patriots, 35-34

The Indianapolis Colts provided the best comeback of the season so far in a 35-34 win over the New England Patriots.

Trailing by 17 just a few minutes into the fourth quarter, the Colts rallied back for the stunning victory.

Quarterback Peyton Manning rebounded from a disappointing first-half performance to toss four touchdown passes, two of which came in the fourth quarter.

Wide receiver Reggie Wayne had a big night, catching two touchdown passes and easily topping the 100-yard receiving mark.

The win keeps the Colts undefeated heading into a difficult game in Baltimore against the Ravens.

at 6:18 pm by steve

Colts hold off Texans, 20-17

The Indianapolis Colts used some skill and some luck in holding on for a 20-17 victory over the Houston Texans.

The Colts trailed for much of the day and needed a game-tying field goal attempt to sail wide as time expired to clinch the victory.

Quarterback Peyton Manning once again topped the 300-yard passing mark and tossed a touchdown to Joseph Addai.

Addai had one of his better games of the season, rushing for 64 yards and a touchdown and catching another score.

The Colts remain undefeated heading into next week’s showdown with the New England Patriots.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009 at 2:20 pm by steve

Colts 8-0 After Squeaking By Texans, 20-17

Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts kept their undefeated season alive on Sunday, as they beat their divisional rival, the Houston Texans, 20-17 when Houston’s Kris Brown missed a 42-yard field goal at the end of regulation.

Manning and the Colts jumped out to a quick 10-0 lead, as Peyton and the Colts methodically marched down the field twice (weird stat: Colts ran 37 of the first 44 plays of the game), leading to scores.

But the Texans took control of the game from there, with Houston QB Matt Schaub getting the passing game to WR Andre Johnson going (Johnson finished with 10 catches for 104 yards), and with RB Ryan Moats, in the starting lineup to replace fumble-prone Steve Slaton, scoring on a 1-yard TD in the third quarter.

The Texans took the lead in the fourth quarter on a TD run by Slaton, making the game 17-13, but Manning and the Colts responded with an eight-play, 61-yard drive that ended in a touchdown run by RB Joseph Addai.

Schaub drove the Texans down into Colts territory, setting up a potential game-tying field goal that would send the game to overtime, but Brown pushed the kick left, and the Colts could celebrate 8-0.

“I missed the kick,” Brown said. “I was going through my routine, and I felt good walking on the field. I take a lot of pride in kicking, especially in these situations. To have that happen is very disappointing.”

Manning finished 34-of-50 for 318 yards and a touchdown, and as Peter King of Sports Illustrated says, “[If he keeps throwing] at this rate, at this rate, Peyton Manning’s arm will fall off by New Year’s Day.”

“Huge win, great effort,” Manning said. “It was a great job kind of hanging in there. Obviously, everything wasn’t perfect, but we did a good job of just kind of fighting, and came away with a big win.”

Tuesday, November 10, 2009 at 7:09 pm by bryan

Colts Injury Woes Pile Up

The Colts announced on Friday that they have placed starting corner Marlin Jackson on injured reserve, ending his season, and that injured WR Anthony Gonzalez underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on Thursday after a setback in his recovery.

Jackson tore his ACL on the final play of practice on Wednesday, during a non-contact drill. He is expected to have surgery next week.

Gonzalez suffered his setback in practice, causing him to need to surgically clear out loose particles in his right knee. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that Gonzalez is expected to miss two to three weeks, leaving questions about whether a healthy Gonzalez will ever see the field for the Colts this year. (Although, with the production of Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon, Gonzalez’s presence hasn’t been missed so far.)

In more bad news for the Colts, safety Bob Sanders spoke with Dr. James Andrews this week about an elbow injury that he suffered in the Colts’ win against the San Francisco 49ers last Sunday. Sanders made his season debut only a week ago in Week 7 against the St. Louis Rams, after missing all of the Colts’ training camp, preseason, and first five games.

To replace Jackson on the roster, the Colts signed veteran defensive end Josh Thomas, who played with them from 2004 through 2008. He started 12 games (in 68 apperances), and earned 172 tackles, and six sacks.

Saturday, November 7, 2009 at 1:15 am by bryan

Colts rally past 49ers, 18-14

The Indianapolis Colts turned in a sluggish performance but did just enough to come away with an 18-14 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.

Quarterback Peyton Manning threw for well over 300 yards but did not throw a touchdown pass, which is the first time this year that has happened.

However, running back Joseph Addai did throw a touchdown pass on a halfback toss for what proved to be the winning score.

The touchdown to wide receiver Reggie Wayne completed the Colts’ comeback, as the team trailed the 49ers almost the entire game.

Give some credit to the Indianapolis defense, which really tightened up after allowing a long touchdown run by running back Frank Gore.

The Colts remain undefeated heading into Week 9.

Friday, November 6, 2009 at 6:02 pm by steve

Colts Place LB Hagler on IR

The Indianapolis Colts will be without starting linebacker Tyjuan Hagler for the rest of the season after he ruptured his biceps.

Coach Jim Caldwell said that the Colts placed Hagler on injured reserve Wednesday, freeing up his roster spot for someone else. Hagler was fourth on the squad with 36 tackles so far this year.

The Colts hope to replace Hagler with second-year LB Philip Wheeler and undrafted rookie Ramon Humber. They also expect to promote rookie LB Cody Glenn from the practice squad onto the active roster.

In other Colts injury news, RB Donald Brown (shoulder) practiced on Wednesday after missing last week’s game against the San Francisco 49ers, while cornerback Marlin Jackson (knee) missed practice. Receiver Anthony Gonzalez (knee) continued to miss practice while rehabilitating from an injury suffered very early in the season, while cornerback Kelvin Hayden (knee) and safety Bob Sanders (elbow) also sat out. Defensive end Dwight Freeney was held out of practice to rest.

Thursday, November 5, 2009 at 8:07 pm by bryan

Colts Stay Undefeated, Ride Past 49ers

Down three in the fourth quarter and the Colts throw a TD pass… would you have ever guessed that it didn’t come from the arm of Peyton Manning?

Some creative playcalling and a career day from WR Reggie Wayne kept the Indianapolis Colts undefeated, as they squeaked past the San Francisco 49ers, 18-14.

Peyton Manning was held without a touchdown for the first time all season (although he did complete 31 of 48 passes for 344 yards, his sixth 300+ yard day in seven games this year), as the Niners defense personified the bend-but-don’t-break strategy that defensive coordinators often try to employ against the Colts. Manning moved the offense up and down the field, but repeatedly stalled as the Colts got into the red zone, settling for field goals on four separate occasions.

The biggest play of the game came in the beginning of the fourth quarter, with the Colts once again threatening inside the Niners’ red zone. This time, instead of handing the ball to Manning and watch him spin his magic, the Colts gave the ball to RB Joseph Addai, who started running left, pulled on the brakes, and lofted a 22-yard pass to Wayne into the end zone for a TD.

“I was just trying to get the ball out there,” Addai said. “In practice, I’m just kind of spotting up there, kind of looking, reading my keys. I don’t really have a key to read, but I kind of sit back there like a real quarterback.”

Wayne had one of his best days in the NFL, as he caught a career-high 12 passes for 147 yards and the aforementioned TD.

“We need these games if we’re going to push toward our goal, which is the Super Bowl,” Wayne said. “We’re going to need these close games, we’re going to need to fight through a little adversity and push forward. We were able to do that today. It was a grinder. We figured out a way to win.”

With the win, the Colts have now won 16 straight regular season games. They now prepare to face the 5-3 Texans on Sunday, in a game that’s already being dubbed as the biggest game in Texans franchise history.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009 at 6:49 pm by bryan