Lions-Colts: Detroit Remains Winless, Lose to Colts, 31-21

The Indianapolis Colts offered the Detroit Lions arguably the best opportunity to get into the win column, as their defense was rather tired and short-handed, as well. Yet for whatever unexplainable reason, they allowed the Colts to do what they’ve become very proficient at doing as of late—go down the field and get clutch scores.

In Sunday’s game, Peyton Manning led a pair of scoring drives, which allowed Indianapolis to beat Detroit 31-21 at Lucas Oil Stadium.

The first quarter scoring commenced as Colts running back Dominic Rhodes ran in for a 1-yard touchdown while Detroit’s Jason Hanson nailed a 51-yard field goal, taking both teams into the second quarter with the Colts holding onto a 7-3 lead.

Indianapolis would add to their lead with a two-yard TD run by Chad Simpson with 5:29 left in the first half; the Lions would respond with a score of their own as QB Dan Orlovsky connected on a 33-yard touchdown pass to Calvin Williams which narrowed the gap to 14-10; however, Manning would throw a TD pass to Dallas Clark, extending the Colts’ lead to 21-10 going into halftime.

The third quarter was rather uneneventful as the only score was courtesy of a Hanson FG with 10 minutes left in the period, which narrowed the Colts’ lead to 21-13; early in the fourth quarter, Detroit would tie the game at 21-all on a one-yard TD run by Kevin Smith and a successful two-point conversion.

But the Lions’ defense just wasn’t up to the task as Manning took the Colts on a pair of scoring drives—the first resulting in another TD run by Rhodes while the second resulted in a 31-yard FG by Adam Vinatieri with 39 ticks left on the game clock.

Manning had a decent effort, going 28-of-37 for 318 yards and a TD while Orlovsky wasn’t too shabby himself as he went 23-of-34 for 233 yards and a score. Rhodes led all Colts rushers with 86 yards with a pair of TDs while catching four passes for 30 yards; Smith led the Detroit running attack with 88 yards on 20 carries and a TD while catching six passes for 31 yards.

Clark set a Colts tight end single-game reception record while also setting a team record for receptions and season-high yardage; Clark caught 12 passes for 142 yards and a score while Reggie Wayne caught seven passes for 104 yards. Detroit’s leading receiver was Johnson with nine receptions for 110 yards and a score.

Indianapolis (10-4) has a short week as they travel to Jacksonville to face the Jaguars on Thursday while Detroit (0-14) returns home for their last hosted game as they welcome the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.