INDIANAPOLIS — Colts wide receiver Pierre Garcon said he hoped to use Sunday’s AFC Championship Game to raise the hopes of relatives in earthquake-ravaged Haiti.
Sometime after he caught a 4-yard touchdown pass to give the Indianapolis Colts the lead in the third quarter and before he raised the Haitian flag on the postgame awards podium, he must have accomplished that goal.
Garcon caught an AFC Championship Game record 11 passes for 151 yards, and Indianapolis beat the New York Jets 30-17 to advance to Super Bowl XLIV.
“When called upon, Pierre was outstanding tonight,” quarterback Peyton Manning said. “He made a bunch of plays. He has had an emotional couple of weeks with everything going on in Haiti. We are proud of him for stepping up and playing like he did today.”
Manning became the first quarterback to throw three touchdown passes against the Jets this season, striking for 16 yards to Austin Collie, four to Garcon and 15 to tight end Dallas Clark.
He completed 26 of 39 passes for 377 yards and had a quarterback rating of 123.6 as he rallied the Colts from a 17-6 second-quarter deficit.
Rookie head coach Jim Caldwell, looking to become just the third man to win an NFL title in his first season on the job, embraced Manning after the game. They shared a short conversation, and Caldwell declined to give many details.
“We were just reminiscing a little bit,” he said, “and I was just congratulating him about what a tremendous job that he had done. He did just a great job of leading the way for younger guys, and he and I were just conversing briefly.”
Two of those younger guys — wideouts Garcon and Collie — played a huge factor in Sunday’s win. Collie caught seven passes for 123 yards, and he was the star on perhaps the game’s most important drive.
Indianapolis took possession at its own 20-yard line trailing 17-6 with 2:11 remaining in the second quarter. Manning threw incomplete to Clark on first down then hit Collie for 18 yards just before the two-minute warning.
A 46-yard strike to Collie immediately after the break set up the BYU product’s 16-yard touchdown catch and sliced the Jets’ lead to four at the half.
“That was huge,” Manning said. “It is hard to say that won the game, but it was huge. … You are trying to get some kind of rhythm. We hit two plays there before the two-minute warning. A lot of times after a timeout these guys (the Jets) dial up a blitz. So we ordered up a max protect and took a shot.
“The guy really had good coverage but just mistimed his jump. That play downfield to Collie before the touchdown is the play that really got us going and broke us open.”
Garcon’s touchdown catch capped an eight-play, 57-yard drive early in the third quarter and gave Indianapolis the lead for good. Manning’s touchdown pass to Clark with 8:57 remaining in the fourth quarter pushed the lead to 27-17, and Matt Stover capped the scoring with a 21-yard field goal with 2:33 to play.
New York rookie Mark Sanchez played well, completing 17-of-30 passes for 257 yards and two scores. But his lone interception killed the Jets’ last real scoring threat.
Fellow rookie Shonn Greene, a star throughout the postseason, was held to 41 rushing yards on 10 carries and left the game with a rib injury.
“It’s a tough feeling, but now is not the time to point fingers, to place blame on anybody,” Sanchez said. “We just didn’t have our best day in all phases: Offense, defense, special teams. All of us lost this thing together. The Colts won it. They really had to go and get it because we started off fast. We had them down early, and they came back and won it.”
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January 25, 2010
AFC Championship game: Colts 30, Jets 17
Garcon sets record with 11 catches for 151 yards
- xSeason Recap
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AFC Championship game: Colts 30, Jets 17
INDIANAPOLIS — Colts wide receiver Pierre Garcon said he hoped to use Sunday’s AFC Championship Game to raise the hopes of relatives in earthquake-ravaged Haiti. Sometime after he caught a 4-yard touchdown pass to give the Indianapolis Colts the lead in the third quarter and before he raised the Haitian flag on the postgame awards podium, he must have accomplished that goal.
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AFC Divisional Playoffs: Colts 20, Ravens 3
There's a price to pay for keeping the ball out of Peyton Manning's hands. Once he gets it, he doesn't give it back — at least not until he's gotten the Indianapolis Colts plenty of points and a playoff win. In his first game since winning an unprecedented fourth NFL MVP award, Manning threw for two touchdowns Saturday night in a 20-3 victory over the Baltimore Ravens.
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Week 17: Bills 30, Colts 7
Peyton Manning had a tough time appreciating Mother Nature's picturesque snow-globe backdrop from the bench after he helped ensure a couple of milestones. The Buffalo Bills got a 30-7 victory over the Indianapolis Colts to close a tumultuous season in an otherwise meaningless regular-season finale for both teams Sunday.
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Week 16: Jets 29, Colts 15
Like beauty, perfection evidently qualifies as one of life’s eye-of-the-beholder elements. With 5:36 remaining in the third quarter on Sunday, it became painfully obvious which direction the high-dollar decision-makers within the Indianapolis Colts organization were leaning:
Super Bowl championship 1, perfect record 0. -
Week 15: Colts 35, Jaguars 31
Peyton Manning completed every pass early and one big one late, exactly what the Indianapolis Colts needed to stay unbeaten. Manning threw for 308 yards and four touchdowns, including a 65-yarder to Reggie Wayne to go ahead for good, and the Colts beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 35-31 Thursday night to improve to 14-0 for the first time in franchise history.
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Week 14: Colts 28, Broncos 16
Sometimes it seems as if the Indianapolis Colts can’t stand prosperity. The Colts played well early but managed to squander a 21-0 second quarter lead. Indianapolis, though, battled back down the stretch in registering a record-setting 28-16 win over the Denver Broncos Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium.
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Week 13: Colts 27, Titans 17
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.
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Week 12: Colts 35, Texans 27
The AFC South champion Indianapolis Colts have perfected the art of the comeback in their undefeated march into the playoffs. Peyton Manning threw for three touchdowns and the Colts rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit Sunday for a 35-27 win over the Texans, their 20th straight regular-season victory. Indianapolis (11-0) is one win shy of the New England
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Week 11: Colts 17, Ravens 15
The unbeaten Indianapolis Colts sidestepped another potential obstacle in their march toward NFL history. The Colts kept Baltimore out of the end zone Sunday and got the go-ahead field goal from former Ravens kicker Matt Stover in a 17-15 victory, their 19th straight win over two seasons.
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Week 10: Colts 35, Patriots 34
A stunning gamble by Bill Belichick set up a stunning win for Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts. After the New England Patriots were stopped short on fourth down deep in their own territory, Manning took advantage by throwing a 1-yard touchdown pass with 13 seconds left that rallied the unbeaten Colts to a 35-34 win Sunday night.
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