The Indianapolis Colts came into Sunday’s game needing a win to get to 2-2 and attempt to keep pace with the Titans who were 4-0 (now 5-0). As the game played out throughout the day, it appeared the Texans were going to walk away with this one until with about 4 minutes left, the game became interesting.

            The Colts started the game looking sharp with Manning receiving some great protection from his offensive line, making great throws, and Joseph Addai complimenting with some adequate runs. After an Addai touchdown, the Colts were off to an early 10-0 lead in the first quarter. At this point, although it was early, all indications forecasted that the Colts were going to handle this game from beginning to end. However, Sage Rosenfels, the surprise starter for an injured Matt Schaub, started making some great drives and putting the ball in WR Andre Johnson’s hands to make some big plays. Pretty soon, a Steve Slaton TD and a Texans field goal had the home crowd pumped and the home team all squared at 10-10 with the Indianapolis Colts.

            The theme of this game was centered around Hurricane Ike and the brutal toll it took on the community of Houston and its people. The crowd and the Texans were charged and relentless deep into the 2^nd quarter when Rosenfels added a touchdown to his team’s totals by hooking up with Andre Johnson with 30 seconds left in the half. Texans went into the break with a 17-10 lead and the Colts appeared to have lost all momentum.

            In the third quarter, much of the same continued and Rosenfels and company were succeeding at controlling the clock and moving the ball on the ground and through the air. Slaton managed to add another score and a field goal was added to give the Texans a substantial 27-10 lead going into the 4^th quarter. This is the point when hopefully some of you tuned in to catch what was a truly inspirational performance for the Colts and a devastating heartbreak for the Texans. Manning managed to move down the field and connect with Tom Santi on a TD pass to make the game 27-17 with 10 minutes on the clock. The Texans drove the ball just past half when with 8 minutes left disaster struck for the Texans. Rosenfels  ran a bootleg to the left when he decided to attempt to forward for the first down. Three Colts converged for the hit and Rosenfels fumbled the ball to Gary Brackett who returned it all the way for the TD. On the next drive Rosenfels made another huge mistake holding on to the ball too long when Robert Mathis swatted it from his hands and the Colts recovered near the 20 yard line. Manning quickly hit Wayne for the score on what was a truly amazing display of athleticism by Wayne who caught a fade route with both feet in bounds and the ball caught in one hand. With the Colts leading 31-27, the Texans had 2 minutes to try and take the lead with a score when Rosenfels made his final mistake of the afternoon throwing an interception to Bullitt.

            This game was a truly entertaining game which saw the Colts scrape this win out when they truly needed it. The Texans showed their inexperience and affinity for losing tight games when they failed to close this one out. There has to be something said for having a veteran roster like the Colts that knows what it takes to win. While we must concede that extraordinary luck and circumstance even allowed the Colts back into this one, they were opportunistic when they needed to be and mistake free in the most important part of the game. Manning continues to get better every week and the knee appears to be healing for the veteran. I believe that Houston has a great base of young players right now to have a winning team down the road; however, they play in one of the toughest divisions in football and may have the worst quarterback situation in the division. While I applaud the 52 minutes of great football, you have to be play a 60 minute game to get wins in this league and I’m sure that will be re-iterated to both teams after this exciting match.

 

Hope to hear your comments and questions,

 

 

 

Mike Crupi

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Tags: AFC South, Andre Johnson, Gary Brackett, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Joseph Addai, Matt Schaub, Mike Bullitt, Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne, Robert Mathis, Sage Rosenfels, Steve Slaton