By Dave Melton, For The Herald Bulletin
INDIANAPOLIS — A 24-point first half and two red zone stands by their defense led the Indianapolis Colts to a 27-17 victory over the Tennessee Titans, tying an NFL record with their 21st consecutive regular season victory.
“Certainly it’s not something you take for granted,” Peyton Manning said after throwing for 270 yards and a touchdown against Tennessee. “You have to tell the guys, after we win three or four in a row, that it’s not normal. But some of the these guys that have been here for five years look at me and say, ‘it is normal for us.’ It’s all we’ve done.”
The Colts wasted little time on their opening possession. Manning’s first pass tipped off the hands of Austin Collie and into the arms of Pierre Garcon for a 27-yard gain. Four plays later, Joseph Addai scored from eight yards out, giving the Colts a 7-0 lead just 1:58 into the game. Garcon, who would lead all receivers with six catches and 136 yards by the end of the game, caught two balls for 63 yards on that first drive.
“He made some huge plays on that first drive,” said Manning. “It seemed like Tennessee was really focused on where Reggie (Wayne) was, double-teaming him and rolling coverages to his side.”
Tennessee countered with a methodical 13-play, 69-yard drive that took 6:28 off the clock, but the Titans were forced to settle for a 29-yard Rob Bironas field goal.
The Colts extended their lead to 11 points early in the second quarter when Addai found the end zone for the second time, this time from one yard out.
The second quarter ended with a scoring flurry, as the teams combined for 17 points in the final 1:55. First, the Colts turned a Jacob Lacey interception — the second Tennessee turnover of the quarter — into a 4-yard touchdown reception by Austin Collie. Titans quarterback Vince Young recovered quickly, completing five of his next six passes, including a 6-yard touchdown to Kenny Britt, as the Titans covered 66 yards in eight plays and just 1:35.
With only 17 seconds left in the half, the Colts moved 38 yards — aided by a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Tennessee’s Tony Brown — to position Matt Stover for a 43-yard field goal. Indianapolis went into the half leading 24-10, scoring 10 of those points on their final two drives of the half.
“We’re a no-huddle team the majority of the game, so that doesn’t hurt us in those two-minute situations,” said Manning. “We’re efficient at getting lined up and getting plays called in a short amount of time. We’ve been doing a good job of saving our timeouts, too. If we don’t have two timeouts, there’s no way we’re going to get a field goal in that situation. We’re probably not even going to take a chance. We’re probably going to take a knee.”
The 14-point halftime lead was a welcome change from some of the Colts’ recent games, which required second-half comebacks.
“It was definitely the start we’ve been looking for,” said center Jeff Saturday. “We played well early and got out to a good jump. That let our defense pin their ears back and get after them. The second half wasn’t exactly what we wanted, though. We only scored three points. There’s always room for improvement.”
Late in the third quarter and still trailing by 14, Tennessee moved down to the Colts’ 1-yard line, facing a first-and-goal. Three plays later, a Young pass intended for Britt fell incomplete on fourth-and-goal from the two, and the ball went back to Indianapolis.
With the Colts unable to gain a first down on the ensuing possession, Indianapolis punted it back to the Titans, who again drove into the red zone. Just like the previous drive, though, a fourth-down pass attempt from Young fell incomplete, turning the ball over on downs for the second consecutive time.
“They are an aggressive bunch, that’s how they’re coached. We go after (the offense), we don’t sit back on our heels,” said Colts head coach Jim Caldwell. “They take pride in being able to walk off the field holding them to no points.” After the Titans turnover, the Indianapolis offense marched 69 yards on 15 plays, eating up nearly half of the fourth quarter and extending its lead to 27-10 with a 36-yard field goal by Stover.
“Our guys have been in that situation before and our guys knew what was at stake and they knew what had to happen,” said tight end Dallas Clark. “People just stepped up and made the plays they had to. Reggie made a few huge plays, Addai had a few good runs and the line did a great job of blocking.”
Tennessee did not go away quietly in the final three minutes, though. A late touchdown pass to Bo Scaife and an onside kick recovery by the Titans did add some interest, but four straight incomplete passes ended Tennessee’s final drive with 57 seconds left, and the Colts ran out the rest of the clock.
Even with a winning streak of 21 regular season games and a 12-0 record this season, Caldwell maintained the same perspective he’s had all season long after the game.
“We had some real good defensive stops which were key,” he said. “There were enough good things to make us feel pretty good about ourselves, but there were certainly some things to humble us as well. We know we have a lot of work to do before next week.”
