Week 11: Colts Make it 3 in a Row

            For the second time this season, the Colts defeated the Houston Texans. After the 33-27 win, the Colts are looking to be in good shape at 6-4. The game marked a few great signs for the Colts, some continued success and some success in areas where the Colts have previously been poor this season.

            On offense, the Colts executed very well in both the passing and the running game. Manning continued his great play of late with 320 yards and 2 touchdowns with zero interceptions. The Texans had virtually no answer for Manning who spread the ball around to 6 different receivers. Another telling stat in this game was the time of possession. For the first time in several games, the Colts won the time of possession which played a huge part in a game where the offense was rolling. In past games, the ball was not in the offense’s hands long enough for them to get in any real grooves and sustain long drives. Possibly the biggest reason for the Colts success with time of possession was the success in the running game. Joseph Addai had one rushing touchdown and his first 100 yard rushing game of the season. By running the ball, the defense was forced to respect the play-action and Manning was given more than enough time in the pocket to make some great throws. Marvin Harrison also had a great game where he made 9 receptions including two very tough catches that resulted in a touchdown and a big first down that killed off a lot of clock near the end.

            Defensively, the Colts were without the services of Bob Sanders once again which factored in heavily in the Colts ability to stop the run and running back Steve Slaton. In the first half, Sage Rosenfels was able to hook up with Kevin Walters and Andre Johnson on some long passes. The Colts defense was unable to stop the Texans from getting points on almost every drive and had trouble stopping the run. However, when the Colts were able to force the Texans into 3^rd and long or passing downs, we saw that the D-line was able to get to Rosenfels and Freeney recorded two sacks once again. The Colts also won the turnover battle 1-0 when Melvin Bullitt intercepted Sage Rosenfels to seal the game.

            This was a great win for the Colts who moved to 6-4 on the season and are in position to possibly take a run at a wildcard spot. San Diego is on the schedule next week where the Colts will hope to make it 4 straight wins.

 

Michael Crupi

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