By George Bremer, Herald Bulletin Sports Writer
INDIANAPOLIS – Parity is just a rumor in Indianapolis.
Let other NFL cities fret over coaching changes, salary cap losses and the injury report.
Indy has Peyton Manning. Everything else seems to take care of itself.
Manning threw for 353 yards and two touchdowns Sunday, and the Indianapolis Colts routed the Seattle Seahawks 34-17 at Lucas Oil Stadium. The win moved the Colts to 4-0 on the season and pushed their regular-season winning streak to 13, the longest active run in the NFL.
”We really wanted to get off to a good start,” Manning said. “It’s always nice to take the opening drive and score. I thought the offense and the defense really fed off each other from then on.”
The Colts scored on four of their first five possessions, breaking out to a 28-3 lead. But the game hinged on two drives at the end of the second quarter.
Trailing 14-0, after a one-yard touchdown run by rookie Donald Brown and five-yard scoring pass to Reggie Wayne, Seattle took possession at its own 22.
Quarterback Seneca Wallace marched the Seahawks to a first-and-goal at the Indianapolis 9-yard line in just eight plays. Then the drive began to stall.
Wallace threw incomplete to T.J. Houshmandzadeh on first down, and Ray Willis was whistled for holding to bring up second down from the 19. Wallace completed a screen to running back Julius Jones for three yards before Colts defensive end Robert Mathis burst through the line for a five-yard sack.
Olindo Mare’s 38-yard field goal cut the Seahawks’ deficit to 14-3 with 1:26 to play in the half.
The early two-score lead gave the defense more freedom to come after Wallace, who gives Seattle more mobility than starter Matt Hasselbeck but less potential for big plays through the air.
Mathis, who finished with six tackles and three of the team’s five sacks, said that played right into Indy’s hands.
“Believe it or not, that’s how this team is built,” he said. “Our offense is very potent. Once we get a lead, we have a fast defense and we just fly around. These are the kind of games we love.”
Manning and the offense weren’t finished building that lead.
The Colts took over at their own 22 and quickly went into the 2-minute offense.
“That’s a situation where you’re really kinda thinking three (points), time-wise,” Manning said of starting the drive with just one timeout.
But the Colts work on similarly tough situations every day in practice, and they have their base no-huddle offense is a huge advantage. Because Indy is so often in hurry-up mode, the adjustment isn’t as great in the 2-minute drill.
Manning opened the drive with a 12-yard pass to tight end Dallas Clark. He followed with a seven-yarder to Wayne and an eight-yarder to rookie Austin Collie to put the ball at the 49-yard line with 48 seconds left.
“We got to the 50 pretty quickly,” Manning said. “From there, you can have a more aggressive approach.”
Manning hit Brown for 13 yards to the Seattle 38, and an illegal contact penalty on the defense – though declined – stopped the clock. Manning then found Pierre Garcon for 11 yards, and the Colts caught another break when the play was reviewed – which again stopped the clock – and upheld.
An incompletion to Clark and a holding penalty on center Jeff Saturday, however, pushed the Colts back to a second-and-20 at the Seattle 37.
No problem. Wayne broke free for a 21-yard reception, and Indy burned its final timeout with 13 seconds remaining. Manning threw incomplete on first down and uncharacteristically took a delay of game penalty on the following snap.
With nine seconds left, coach Jim Caldwell decided to try one shot at the end zone. Collie rewarded him with a diving catch for a 21-yard touchdown and a 21-3 lead.
“You may not try that with a more inexperienced quarterback,” Caldwell said. “But this guy’s been around awhile. He knows how to take care of the ball in that situation.”
Manning praised Collie for a “great catch,” and he truly appreciates Caldwell’s aggressiveness.
“Coach Caldwell’s trust in us allowed us to go for the end zone,” he said. “I’m glad we were able to come through for him.”
Joseph Addai capped a 12-play, 80-yard drive with a 12-yard touchdown run to start the third quarter, and the game was essentially over.
Adam Vinatieri added field goals from 37 and 19 yards in the fourth quarter, and Seattle scored a pair of meaningless touchdowns in the final 3:05.
Indianapolis was clearly happy with its balance on both of sides of the ball, but the Colts aren’t getting too far ahead of themselves.
“We’re playing at a high level,” Mathis said. “We just can’t get satisfied. Week in and week out, we have to keep doing the little things right.”
