The Indianapolis Colts look more like a walking M*A*S*H* unit lately in their secondary than an NFL team that found yet another way to get a big play from their defense to remain one of the NFL’s last remaining unbeaten teams Sunday, as they knocked off their division rival the Houston Texans 20-17.
Antoine Bethea forced Ryan Moats to fumble the ball on the Colts' one-yard line to give the Colts the ball back and save what could have been a go-ahead score for the Texans.
Well, that’s not exactly how it happened—the call was initially ruled a fumble out of bounds, but Indianapolis Colts head coach Jim Caldwell felt there was sufficient evidence for him to throw the red challenge flag to overturn the call on the field.
His challenge paid off.
After further review, it was determined that Moats fumbled the ball before he was down or out of bounds. Then rookie cornerback Jerraud Powers made a very heads-up play by jumping back in bounds before touching the ball, as he touched the ball on the goal line, resulting in a touchback and giving the ball back to the Colts on the 20-yard line.
There were plenty of "atta boys" to go around Sunday as the Colts went to 8-0, 4-0 in the AFC South with a three-and-a-half game lead over these same Houston Texans.
The Texans have now lost 14 of their last 15 games against the Colts and have never won a game at Indianapolis.
Caldwell became the first rookie head coach to start 8-0 since Potsy Clark in 1931.
Peyton Manning, the three-time NFL MVP, tied hall of famer Fran Tarkenton for fourth in all-time career victories with his 125th and became the first player in league history to throw for 40,000 yards in one decade of play.
Indy is now the fourth team in NFL history to have 17 straight regular season victories in a row. The Patriots did it twice, and the Bears accomplished this feat in 1933-34.
Colts running back Joseph Addai provided a second straight week with a game-winning score, and Indianapolis found yet another un-Colt-like way to win when Texans kicker Kris Brown missed on a 42-yard field goal as time expired in regulation to give the Colts the win, 20-17.
The Colts came out in a two-minute offense that had a pace of something similar to Usain Bolt's 100-meter time at the Olympics. Manning hit Addai over the middle for a seven-yard TD strike to the give the Colts the early lead.
Later in the first quarter, with the Colts still struggling to finish off drives, they had to settle for a Matt Stover 22-yard field goal to go up 10-0 with 3:57 to go in the first quarter.
Indy dominated the early portion of the game, running 37 of the first 44 plays on Sunday. But as in their last few games, the Colts still struggled to finish off drives for some reason and had to settle for field goals instead of touchdowns. As a result, Indy never led by more than 13-0 in the game.
Houston, not to be outmatched or outplayed, took a cue from the Colts' recent success and held on to the ball for all but three plays in the third quarter.
They got a one-yard TD pass from Matt Schaub to Moats and a one-yard scoring run from Steve Slaton to take the lead over the Colts for the first time of the day on the first play in the final quarter.
Manning and the Colts, not to be outplayed themselves, marched 61-yards down the field in eight plays, culminating in a two-yard run up the middle for Addai with 7:11 to go in the game.
The score was Addai's second TD on the day and his second game-winning score in as many games.
Peyton finished the day going 34 of 50 for 318 yards and one TD and a pick. This 300-yard performance netted him his seventh 300-yard passing game of the season, giving him the most in NFL history in the first eight games.
However, he and the Colts still waited out the Brown missed field goal before the celebration began.
“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.”
Up next for Indy is a much bigger challenge for their banged-up secondary as the New England Patriots come to town for a Sunday night game that is always billed as the NFL’s marquee matchup of the year.
Game Notes
Manning threw 25 passes in the first quarter, the most in an opening quarter since 1991.
Dwight Freeney extended his sack streak to nine straight games, besting Robert Mathis’ old club record. The NFL record is 10 straight, held by the Texans' Mario Williams, who sacked Manning in the fourth quarter, marking the first time that has happened all season.
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