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AFC South: Colts do their best five-minute drill

Tue 7th, October 2008

(Sports Network) - Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy said the intensity and emotion his team played with in Sunday's 31-27 come-from-behind victory over the Houston Texans could be a season-saver.

Dungy can only hope the Colts will buy in to his philosophy now that they improved to 2-2 and remained second in the AFC South behind the 5-0 Tennessee Titans. It was an ugly game overall for Indianapolis, which went face-to-face with a 27-10 deficit in the waning minutes of the game and managed to come out on top.

Well-rested after their bye week, the Colts grabbed a 10-0 lead early on and seemed to have worked out the kinks from the previous three games that resulted in an uncharacteristic 1-2 start. But then the offense couldn't move the ball and the defense allowed Houston to score at will as the Texans grabbed a 17-point lead.

Then in some mysterious way, the Colts started to catch some breaks and gather momentum en route to a huge division victory.

All-Pro quarterback Peyton Manning, who had three touchdown passes and four interceptions entering the game, fired a pair of TD strikes on Sunday, including the game-winning toss to Reggie Wayne with 1:54 to go. Manning hasn't been his usual self this season but started to show signs of life, although only in the final five minutes of the contest.

He probably would have had to come back on the field if safety Melvin Bullitt, filling in for the injured Bob Sanders, hadn't picked off Texans quarterback Sage Rosenfels to seal the triumph. The defense forced three turnovers in the final four minutes to help the cause.

Manning, who completed 25-of-34 passes for 247 yards with an interception for a 101.0 passer rating, should take some advice from teammate and defensive end Robert Mathis.

"Adrenaline is a fool, nothing short of it," Mathis said about the team's five-minute outburst. "When you have it, you have it. You just have to keep building on it. It was hiding for 55 minutes, and fortunately we found it the last five minutes. We needed it."

Manning has the adrenaline, as evidenced by his Super Bowl ring and numerous passing records. He just needs to dig deep for it in order to again lead the five-time defending AFC South champions back to the top of the conference. A popular preseason pick to reach the Super Bowl in each of the past few years, the Colts already have two come-from-behind wins in 2008, having previously rallied from a 15-0 deficit in the third quarter for an 18-15 victory over Minnesota in Week 2.

Middle linebacker and defensive captain Gary Brackett didn't want to start 1-3 either, and he helped the cause by returning a Rosenfels fumble 68 yards for a touchdown.

A loss would have placed the Colts into a last-place tie with the Texans and put their hopes for a seventh straight playoff appearance on ice for the time being. Indy is back at home Sunday versus the Baltimore Ravens and is still in search of its first-ever victory at Lucas Oil Stadium.

In injury news for the Colts, cornerback Kelvin Hayden (knee) and wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez (concussion) both left Sunday's game and did not return.

TITANS: The Titans celebrating their 10th year of existence in Nashville in style, as they improved to 5-0 this season after a nail-biting 13-10 victory over the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium.

Head coach Jeff Fisher got another solid performance from veteran quarterback Kerry Collins, who passed for 163 yards and erased a 10-6 deficit with an 11- yard touchdown toss to tight end Alge Crumpler with 1:56 remaining in the game. It was Crumpler's first touchdown as a Titan since signing with them in the offseason.

Cornerback Nick Harper intercepted Ravens rookie quarterback Joe Flacco on the ensuing possession to extend the best start in franchise history.

Collins continues to fill in for the now-healthy Vince Young and will be the starter as long as the Titans keep winning, according to Fisher. Young had been nursing an injured knee and has to be perturbed about all the confidence the coaching staff has put in Collins.

Tennessee had to rely mostly on its stifling defense while going up against a vaunted Baltimore stop unit on Sunday. It couldn't depend on running backs LenDale White and rookie Chris Johnson for that reason, leaving the offense in Collins' hands. But the defense has been huge for Fisher, a defensive-minded coach, and helped the Titans to their eighth straight win dating back to last season.

Titans safety Michael Griffin helped the cause by recording his fourth interception of the season on Sunday. Linebacker Keith Bulluck led the way with 13 stops, and also was involved in a skirmish with star defensive back Cortland Finnegan. Finnegan was assessed a double personal-foul penalty on Baltimore's lone scoring drive of the game after getting into a confrontation with Ravens wide receiver and former Titan Derrick Mason. Bulluck took it upon himself to discipline Finnegan by shoving him a few feet across the field and engaging in a verbal war on the sidelines.

Tennessee, which was penalized 10 times for 78 yards, can not afford to lose chemistry now, and the two players will work things out in the upcoming bye week. The Titans will then hit the road again for a showdown at Kansas City on October 19.

JAGUARS: The Jacksonville Jaguars didn't need any late heroics from placekicker Josh Scobee this week, because the Pittsburgh Steelers handed them a 26-21 loss Sunday night at home. Jacksonville's normally stingy defense was brutalized for 415 total yards, including 286 through the air.

The Steelers were without their top two running backs (Willie Parker, Rashard Mendenhall), but still managed to rack up 129 yards on the ground, with Mewelde Moore finishing with 99 yards on 17 carries.

Rashean Mathis highlighted a poor performance from the Jacksonville secondary with a 72-yard interception return for a touchdown, but Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger ended with 309 yards passing and three TD strikes. Big Ben definitely took advantage of the absences of starting safety Reggie Nelson and cornerback Drayton Florence, as Pittsburgh had two receivers with 90-plus yards for the game.

Head coach Jack Del Rio watched his team have a two-game winning streak come to an end and fall to third place in the AFC South with a 2-3 record.

If the Jaguars thought Sunday's defensive effort was atrocious, especially against the pass, then they don't know what's at stake this week at Denver. Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler can pick apart a defense's weakness with ease, and will do so if the Jags do not tighten up some loose ends. Mathis, the only healthy safety valve in the defensive backfield, posted his third career interception for a score on Sunday, a franchise high. He also owns a franchise-best 23 career interceptions.

The Jags' offense was no better on Sunday, as the running back tandem of Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew were held to a combined 26 yards on 15 carries. On the bright side, the Broncos are near the bottom in run defense at 134.0 yards per game allowed.

TEXANS: Besides blowing a 17-point lead and losing Sunday versus the Colts, the 0-4 Texans also had the health of starting quarterback Matt Schaub to worry about. Schaub was ill Saturday night with a stomach virus and was taken to a local hospital. He was released shortly afterward and served as backup Sunday to Rosenfels, who threw for 246 yards and a touchdown along with a costly pick in the 31-27 loss.

Rosenfels went 4-1 in five starts for the Texans last year and passed for 1,684 yards and 15 touchdowns. Unfortunately for him, Schaub will most likely resume starting duties on Sunday versus the surprisingly-hot Miami Dolphins in the second of three straight games for Houston at Reliant Stadium.

The Texans were coming off a tough overtime loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars before losing another AFC South matchup Sunday to remain last in the division standings.

Sunday's setback overshadowed the performances of three Houston playmakers, as rookie running back Steve Slaton impressed again with 93 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries. Defensive end Mario Williams posted a pair of sacks for the second time this season, while Pro Bowl receiver Andre Johnson enjoyed just his second outstanding game of the year. In Week 1, Johnson had 112 yards on 10 catches, then recorded just five receptions for 67 yards over the following two games. He broke out for 131 yards and a score on nine catches against the Colts, however, including a career-high 98 receiving yards in the first half.

There were no significant injuries suffered by Houston against Indianapolis.

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