truebluefan

Manning delivers another comeback

Another dramatic ending -- what is it, five, six this season? -- was ushered in by an idyllic beginning.

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truebluefan

Newest nickname for the Broncos' defense: the Crash-and-Burned Unit.

The Broncos, who had allowed two touchdowns in their first six games, allowed three Sunday afternoon at Invesco Field at Mile High. Hey, stuff happens when you play the Indianapolis Colts.

The Colts walked off the field with a 34-31 victory that stamped them as the team to beat in the American Conference. Indianapolis is the first team since the 1929-31 Green Bay Packers to open back-to-back seasons with seven consecutive wins.

But then, nothing the Colts do should come as a surprise, not with Peyton Manning running their offense. Manning all but single-handedly knocked the air of invincibility out of the Broncos' defense, which had allowed a league-low 44 points before the Colts came calling.

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truebluefan

QUARTER 1: COLTS 3, BRONCOS 0
Key play: The Colts turned to trickery on their 14-play drive that resulted in Adam Vinatieri's 42-yard field goal. And it cost them. On second-and-4 at the Denver 23, Joseph Addai took a handoff from Peyton Manning, rolled left and lofted a pass in the direction of Reggie Wayne at the goal line. Wayne was double covered on the play and had to commit an interference penalty to avoid an interception.

Star player: Addai continued to make the most of his playing time. He was the catalyst on the scoring drive, carrying six times for 35 yards.
Scoring

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truebluefan

RUN OFFENSE: B
As much as the Colts continue to try to make a point of mentioning Dominic Rhodes -- "Yeah, he played well, too'' -- the fact is, the torch was passed Sunday. From Edgerrin James to Joseph Addai. Addai ran, he caught passes, he made people miss in the open field and, if you watched closely, he blocked exceedingly well. Now, why it took seven games to figure out he should be playing all the time, well, that's another story.


PASS OFFENSE: A+

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truebluefan

More heroics from place-kicker Adam Vinatieri? What, you're surprised?

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truebluefan

Darrent Williams might find his sleep to be fitful this week. Replays of Colts receiver Reggie Wayne making plays might give the third-year Broncos cornerback frightful visions.

That's about how it looked at Invesco Field on Sunday.

Wayne, who burned the Broncos for 10 catches, 221 yards and two touchdowns in a 2004 playoff game, had another amazing performance. Wayne connected with Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning for three second-half touchdowns and a two-point conversion against a Denver defense that had only allowed two coming into the game. He finished Sunday with 10 catches for 138 yards. Besides Manning, who shredded the Broncos defense with precision passing, Wayne was the biggest reason the Broncos' NFL- best string of 13 consecutive regular-season home victories was snapped.

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truebluefan

Give most NFL quarterbacks a world of time, and most defenses will have to brace for a long game.

Give Peyton Manning the luxury of pitching a tent in the pocket, and any defense, including the streaking defense of the Broncos, will be picked apart with surgical precision.

Wary of using blitzes that would expose the defense to big plays, and unable to muster any sort of pass rush with its front four, the Broncos defense could only watch helplessly as Manning calmly completed pass after pass during the furious second half of Denver's 34-31 loss at Invesco Field.

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truebluefan

A rhetorical question really, but here it is. Would you rather have Jake Plummer at quarterback from in front or Peyton Manning at quarterback from behind?

Just as it had not been Plummer's fault that the Broncos won five football games in a row, neither was it his fault that the Broncos lost to the Colts on Sunday, and that is the limit of encouragement on a day when the Broncos led the football game three times and tied it late.

"We still consider ourselves a good football team," said Broncos receiver Rod Smith, not that anyone was arguing with him. "There's a lot of season left and we just need to look forward and get better."

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UCFNoleFan

Great game by Manning, I think he is showing why he is hands down the best QB in the NFL right now.

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truebluefan

Notes in the nick of time ...

Where should we rate Peyton Manning among the NFL's all-time greats? Rod Smith, when asked if Manning was the best he had ever seen: "No ... Seven. But you know what? He's real freakin' close. He's amazing." ...

That's seven, as in John Elway, who, for the record, never completed 32 out of 39 on the road against a defense that had allowed 44 points in six games. ...

Tony Dungy, when asked how the Colts could keep winning with such a shaky defense, "You can't overemphasize how good the quarterback is." Gee, ya think? ...

Tell you what. I've covered the Broncos since 1984, and Manning's performance in the Colts' 34-31 W was the best I've seen by an opposing quarterback in Denver. The only one remotely close that comes to mind was Jacksonville's Mark Brunell, who almost single-handedly beat the Bronx in the 1996 playoffs. ...

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