Indianapolis Is Off To Miami: Here's Why the Colts Won and the Jets Lost

One ticket to the Super Bowl in Miami has been punched. The Indianapolis Colts defeated the Jets 30-17 in what was turn of events in the first half. Down by 11 in the first half, the Colts scored 24 unanswered points to secure a berth in the title game.

Peyton Manning put together the best game any quarterback has against the No. 1 New York Jets defense this season, completing 26 of 39 passes for 377 yards along with three touchdowns and no interceptions.

The Colts' defense had a rough first half but played up to their potential in the second, shutting down the Jets' running game and making them one-dimensional.

How did the Colts win and the Jets lose, you ask? Here's why.

Why The Colts Won

The story of this game is how the Colts managed to exploit the league's No. 1 defense and to never hold back. The running game, which was last in the NFL, had themselves a better day than the rushing attack of the Jets.

Indianapolis accomplished everything they wanted to, which was to create balance and open up the passing attack.

The players of the game were Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie, the leading receivers for the Colts. The Jets did their best of containing Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark, who both had a handful of catches, but did not see a big game between either guys. However, the Colts always achieve sharing the ball with all their targets, and the Jets' secondary did not have an answer for Garcon or Collie.

Collie had seven receptions for 123 yards and one touchdown. On the other side of the field, Garcon had 11 catches for 151 yards and one touchdown.

Manning had trouble with the Jets' dominant blitz attack at first. However, the time came where the line gave him great protection and he was able to find Collie and Garcon downfield in one-on-one coverage.

You also need to give credit to the defense of the Colts. After a first half where they gave up the play through the big air, the group never allowed the Jets to get a groove going in the running game, finishing under 100 yards for the game.

Why The Jets Lost

The New York Jets saw their playoff run end in defeat, with a few problems arising in the process.

New York's defense was in total control of Manning and the Colts' offense, holding them to six points and holding a comfortable 11-point lead heading into half.

However, Manning is always known for his second half adjustments, which showed during the rest of the game. The Jets were unable to put pressure on Manning as they did in the first half, which created a mismatch for the secondary.

The running game of the Colts, which produced 101 yards, caused problems for the Jets. Joesph Addai and Donald Brown fought for every yard and, by pounding the rock, really put this defense on their heels.

Due to the balanced offense, there was miscommunication in the secondary and unbalance was seen throughout the defense.

The Jets' offense also came to a stalemate in the second half, unable to find the long play down field similar to the passes in the first half.

New York's objective heading in was to run the ball down the defense's throat, which did not work as hoped.

I also put into question the playcalling of the Jets' offense. With about 10 minutes in the fourth quarter and already down by a touchdown, New York continued to run the ball, resulting in three and outs.

Look, I understand why they kept the ball out of Mark Sanchez's hands. But when you're playing the Colts, you need to keep up with them on the offensive side of the ball. Braylon Edwards disappeared in the second half after his early success, which resulted in not many options left in the passing game.

Overall it was a great season by the Jets, being that they can only build on this season for 2010.

Final Thought

Though I wasn't surprised by the Colts via my prediction earlier in the day, I didn't expect Indianapolis to top 30 points on the Jets defense. The stat of the day that caught my eye: the Colts outran the Jets, and their win results in the third largest comeback in playoff history.

So Peyton Manning returns to Miami for the Super Bowl, where he did in fact win his only Lombardi trophy.

Matt Miselis is an NFL writer for BleacherReport.com.