Colts rally past Jaguars, 35-31

The Indianapolis Colts kept their undefeated season alive with a 35-31 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Colts took the best shot the Jaguars had to offer and still ended up standing in the ring victorious when it was all said and done.

Quarterback Peyton Manning had a huge game, throwing for over 300 yards and four touchdowns.

Tight end Dallas Clark had two scores while wide receivers Austin Collie and Reggie Wayne each had one.

It remains to be seen whether the Colts will continue to play their starters the rest of the season or give them a breather before the playoffs.

Thursday, December 24, 2009 at 11:50 am by steve

Colts roll past Broncos, 28-16

The Indianapolis Colts jumped out to an early lead and never looked back in a 28-16 win over the Denver Broncos.

Running back Joseph Addai had one of his best games of the season, finding the end zone twice.

The defense deserves credit for forcing quarterback Kyle Orton to try to win the game with his arm, which he couldn’t.

It was nice to see Indianapolis jump out to an early, big lead after falling behind almost every game this season.

The team now has to decide whether it will rest its starters or continue to put them out there the rest of the way.

Friday, December 18, 2009 at 5:45 pm by steve

Colts roll past Titans, 27-17

The Indianapolis Colts got off to a quick start for a change en route to a 27-17 win over the Tennessee Titans.

Running back Joseph Addai led the way with two rushing touchdowns, taking some of the pressure off of quarterback Peyton Manning.

That’s a good thing, because both tight end Dallas Clark and wide receiver Reggie Wayne had very quiet games.

It was another strong effort from the Indianapolis defense, which somehow managed to keep running back Chris Johnson out of the end zone.

The undefeated Colts are very close to clinching homefield advantage throughout the playoffs, at which point they will have to decide whether or not to rest their starters.

Friday, December 11, 2009 at 4:05 pm by steve

Colts Stay Undefeated, Ride Addai Past Titans, 27-17

The Indianapolis Colts have had their share of inexplicable, lucky, nearly unfathomable wins (like the Saints yesterday – think back to the Colts/Patriots game)… but they didn’t need any of that on Sunday, as they rode Joseph Addai to a comfortable 27-17 win over the Tennessee Titans, in a game that likely ends the Titans’ faint hopes of the playoffs.

Peyton Manning was his usual MVP self, going 24-of-37 for 270 yards and a touchdown, but he was more than content to hand off to Addai and watch the magic unfold.

Addai ran 21 times for a season-high 79 yards and two touchdowns, his first multi-TD game in over a year.

More importantly, the Colts stretched their record to 12-0 – along with the Saints, this is the latest in NFL history that two teams have remained undefeated. The Colts won their record-tying 21st straight regular season game, and have a chance to snap that record (set by the Patriots from 2006-08) against Denver this weekend.

“You try to tell these guys that when you win a couple in a row, or three or four in a row, this is not normal,” Manning said. “It’s not normal to win 10 or 11 or 12 games every year. But these guys that have been here five years would tell me it is normal for us. That’s all they’ve done.”

The Colts have won 12 games for an NFL-record seven straight seasons.

“It [the record] is one of those things we talk about. We kind of identify the milestones on Wednesday morning when we get in. We talk about some of the things we’re accomplishing,” coach Jim Caldwell said. “The guys appreciate it, but it’s not something that goes to their heads.”

Tuesday, December 8, 2009 at 12:12 am by bryan

Colts rally past Texans, 35-27

The Indianapolis Colts mounted a furious second-half rally to come back and beat the Houston Texans, 35-27.

The Colts dug themselves a 17-0 hole, and it looked like their undefeated season was heading down the tubes.

Quarterback Peyton Manning rallied the troops like he always seems to do, and the defense stepped up and held down Houston’s offense.

Manning threw touchdown passes to Reggie Wayne, Pierre Garcon and Dallas Clark in the rally.

The defense added an interception returned for a touchdown, and a deficit quickly turned into a two-touchdown advantage.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009 at 7:15 pm by steve

Colts Still Undefeated, Rally to Beat Texans 35-27

Staring down a 20-7 halftime deficit, Colts coach Jim Caldwell knew not to panic. He had Peyton Manning in his locker room.

Manning led a second-half explosion from the Colts, as they reeled off 28 unanswered points to move to 11-0 on the season and make Caldwell the first coach in NFL history to win his first 11 games as a head coach.

The Texans jumped on the Colts early, opening up a 14-0 lead in the fourth quarter, partially thanks to two uncharacteristic first-half interceptions from Manning. Despite a touchdown from Manning to WR Pierre Garcon late in the half, the Texans looked like they were cruising on their way to a huge upset over a divisional rival.

But the Colts came out cool, calm, and collected in the second half, and Manning began dissecting the Texans’ defense.

“We don’t get overexcited certainly when things aren’t going the way we want them to,” Manning said. “We don’t panic, we don’t yell, we don’t throw helmets. We just try to put the series behind us and move on to the next one. There was a lot of that [Sunday].”

“If you doubt, you’re done,” WR Reggie Wayne said. “It’s just like showing a bad poker face. If they see that, you’re in trouble. Guys just stick with it. We knew the defense was going to pick it up. We know we have to take care of the offense and get some drives going.”

Manning ended up the day completing 27-of-35 passes for 244 yards and three touchdowns, along with the two first-half interceptions. And the Colts rode along to becoming 11-0 (along with the Saints), winning the AFC South once the Jacksonville Jaguars lost to the San Francisco 49ers later in the day.

Now, with the pursuit of perfection only five games from being completed, the question remains: Will Caldwell take after Tony Dungy, and rest his players once they clinch home-field advantage throughout the playoffs?

Tuesday, December 1, 2009 at 11:19 pm by bryan