Peyton Manning Wins It for Colts, NOT Bill Belichick

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

In a Football Night In America segment, former Patriot Rodney Harrison was asked what coach Bill Belichick would be telling his players as they suited up for this fierce rivalry.

The answer ran something like this; “He’s telling them to play all 60 minutes, to really finish the game.”

In the highly anticipated showdown between what may be the two best quarterbacks to ever run out onto the field, that’s exactly what the Patriots failed to do.

The meeting between Indianapolis and New England has been circled on every football fan’s calendar since September. As last year’s meeting was sans Brady, there may have been even more excitement leading up to the game as the rivalry was renewed.

And while many highly anticipated matches disappoint (remember that Giants vs. Saints “battle of the unbeatens?”) the Colts/Patriots clash managed to deliver.

It might not have been exactly the game we expected, but what looked like a rout early on turned into a down to the wire battle with a stunning finish.

Yet in this back and forth, intense game, a single call by Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has stolen all the thunder from the Colt’s comeback win.

Brady and the Patriots began the game by putting up a lot of offense fast, scoring twenty four unanswered points over the first half.

As Brady’s 63-yard touchdown pass soared over the heads of Colts defenders and into the hands of Randy Moss, the Patriot offense looked as though they could score at will.

If the Colts couldn’t stop the Patriots offense, they would have to put up points of their own if they wanted to stay in the game.

With Peyton Manning at the helm, scoring wouldn’t seem like a problem. But while Brady missed last year’s game, at some points it looked as though Manning didn’t show up for this year’s showdown.

After scoring early, Manning and the Colts were uncharacteristically sloppy. Manning threw an unprecedented two interceptions as well as a few wobbly passes.

But there was a reason Harrison stressed finishing as a key to the Patriots victory.

There was also a reason why former Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy said he would take Peyton Manning over Tom Brady with little time left on the clock and the game on the line.  

Even though they were trailing by seventeen at the start of the fourth quarter, the Colts were never out of the game.

The Colts came alive on both sides of the ball in the second half. They finally got some pressure on Tom Brady, coming up with two sacks and a crucial interception in the red zone.

The Colts D also held New England to a field goal with roughly four minutes to go in the fourth quarter, keeping the game winning touchdown within reach for Manning.

Trailing by 13, Manning led the Colts down field with the cool efficacy we’ve come to expect from him. His scoring drives took roughly two minutes each.

Still, the Patriots had the lead, and the ball, with 2:23 to go in the fourth. If they converted on third down, the game would essentially be over. The Pats could run out the clock, or at least hand the ball back to Manning with too little time even for him to score.

But the Patriots failed on third down. Then came the decision that everyone has been picking apart. With a little more than two minutes to go, Bill Belichick went for it on fourth down.

This is the call that has become central to analyzing this game. The Patriots didn’t get the first down as Brady’s pass to Kevin Faulk was bobbled and he came up short.

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