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Edgerrin who?
The longest run of his brief NFL career was a
can't-miss. Indianapolis Colts rookie running back Joseph Addai burst
into the open field broke a couple of arm tackles and gained 21 yards
on the second play of the third quarter.
MATT DETRICH / The Star
in top form: Colts running back Joseph Addai (29)
breaks the tackle of Washington's Troy Vincent in the third quarter.
Addai rushed for 85 yards on 11 carries, a 7.7 average.
But it was the next play that also underscored what
Addai is about and kept the Colts driving to a go-ahead touchdown in
Sunday's 36-22 home triumph over Washington. Addai may have been the
only player on the field who saw a hole on the left side. Seemingly
swallowed up in the scrum of linemen, the rookie slithered through
for 9 yards.
Addai had his best game as a pro with 85 yards on just
11 carries. It's the third time in six games he has run for at least
80 yards. His previous best was 84 yards against the New York Jets.
He did that on 20 carries.
If he wasn't in a platoon situation with Dominic
Rhodes, Addai would have his share of 100-yard rushing efforts.
Addai became the team's leading rusher for the season.
He has 354 yards on 70 carries, a 5.1-yard average.
As for Edgerrin James, who found money but not
happiness in the desert - he's missing the Colts a lot more than the
Colts are missing him.
Manning was bent backward and twisted sharply. His
helmet was knocked off and his head slammed into the turf with such
force that bits of granulized rubber from the FieldTurf embedded in
his forehead.
Matt Detrich
Colts quarterback Peyton Manning is bent backwards
by the Redskins Phillip Daniels (93) and Andre Carter (99) in the
second quarter.
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Sam Riche
Peyton Manning is sandwiched by the Redskins
Phillip Daniels and Andre Carter (99) in the second quarter. |
Matt Detrich
Colts QB Peyton Manning goes head first into the
turf after being sandwiched by the Redskins Phillip Daniels (93) and
Andre Carter (99) in the second quarter. |
The agony . . .
Colts quarterback Peyton Manning (left) gets to his
knees after being hit low by the Redskins' Andre Carter and high by
Phillip Daniels after a second-quarter incompletion. - Sam Riche /
The Star
Manning ended up leaving the field a few minutes
before halftime for a quick medical check. He had been hit hard, and
he came back like he was angry. Though he was battered, Manning let
his performance show the Redskins he was not shaken as Peyton and The
Colts knocked out the Washington Redskins when Manning hit 7 of 8
passes for 138 yards and three touchdowns in the third quarter that
ignited a 36-22 Indianapolis Colts victory over the Washington Redskins.
Perfect Peyton finished with a passer rating of 140.4
and helped the Colts keep their title as the AFC's only unbeaten team.
Manning finished 25 of 35 with four touchdowns and
continued ascending the NFL's career charts. The Colts won for the
18th time in their past 20 home games. His 14th four-touchdown game
moved him to fourth on the NFL career list behind some
extraordinarily distinguished names:
|
Dan Marino (21)
Bart Starr (19)
and
John Unitas (17). |
|
Manning now has 256 career touchdown passes, passing
Dan Fouts (254) and Sonny Jurgensen (255) for 10th on
the all-time list in NFL history; and he passed Jim Hart (34,665) for
14th on the career yardage list.
Manning has started the first 134 games of his career,
an NFL record for quarterbacks.
Receiver Reggie Wayne caught seven passes for 122
yards and one TD, while Marvin Harrison caught seven passes for 73
yards and a pair of touchdowns. He passed Irving Fryar (12,785)
for eighth on the all-time yards receiving list, and tied Lenny
Moore's (113) franchise record for most touchdowns scored and
ninth most in NFL history.
Marvin Harrison moved into the No. 8 spot in NFL
career receiving yards Sunday against Washington.
The list:
|
Player |
Yards |
|
1. Jerry Rice |
22,895 |
|
2. Tim Brown |
14,934 |
|
3. James Lofton |
14,004 |
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4. Cris Carter |
13,899 |
|
5. Henry Ellard |
13,777 |
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6. Andre Reed |
13,198 |
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7. Steve Largent |
13,089 |
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8. Marvin Harrison |
12,846 |
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9. Irving Fryar |
12,785 |
|
10. Art Monk |
12,721 |
The Indianapolis Colts' defense also had an answer for
Washington, tightening up its work against the run and stifling
quarterback Mark Brunell and the Redskins' offense for much of the
second half in a 36-22 victory.
A Colts defense that ranked No. 32 against the run
(that's last in the NFL) limited the Redskins to 114 yards on 24
carries. That's 52 yards less than the Colts' average rushing yards allowed.
Not bad considering the Colts had to make a
last-minute change in their defensive line rotation.
As the team was about to hit the field for pregame
warm-ups, coach Tony Dungy informed the team that Reagor, its
starting tackle, had been involved in a car accident earlier in the day.
The wreck happened a few hours before the team's 4:15
p.m. home game against the Washington Redskins. The crash occurred
about 1:30 p.m., near West 56th Street and I-465 near the Colts
training facility, and caused Reagor's silver 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe to
roll over, according to the Indiana State Police.
The preliminary investigation shows Reagor, 29,
Indianapolis, was eastbound on 56th nearing the I-465 interchange.
His SUV was near the southbound ramp on 56th when a
gray 2000 Chevrolet Malibu driven by Wuya McCarthy, 24, Indianapolis,
hit the driver's side of the Tahoe, causing it to roll over.
McCarthy, was cited for failure to yield right of way.
Reagor, who was not wearing a seat belt, suffered
facial cuts and was resting comfortably at Methodist Hospital,
according to a team statement. The Colts said two team physicians
accompanied Reagor.
Reagor is scheduled for surgery Wednesday. The surgery
was to repair a fracture of the orbital bone around Reagor's left eye.
Newcomer Anthony McFarland, who replaced Reagor in the
starting lineup, stuffed the Redskins' first two runs and negated
Washington's ground game as Portis managed only 43 yards on 12
carries. He made one of his tackles on the first play of the game,
wrapping up Washington running back Clinton Portis in a bearhug,
stopping him for no gain.
The Colts acquired Anthony "Booger'' McFarland on
Tuesday. The price of obtaining the 6-0, 300-pound defensive tackle
was steep - a second-round pick in the 2007 draft. McFarland, 28, was
the 15th overall pick in the 1999 draft by the Bucs, Dungy's fourth
season as their coach. He has appeared in 98 games, 84 as a starter,
and collected 305 tackles and 20 sacks. McFarland started all five
games this season.
ON WITH THE SHOW . . .
1st Quarter
Washington wins toss and elects to receive, and Colts
elects to defend the East goal.
1st and 10 and Washington running back, Clinton Portis
tries to go up the middle as McFarland wraps him up in a bear hug,
stopping him for no gain. On 2nd and 10 Portis tries again to the
right this time as Gardner brings him back for a loss of 3 yards.
Washington's QB, Brunell then threw a 11 yard completion, however was
not enough for a 1st down as Redskins are forced to punt.
Colts ball as Rhodes runs it for 3 yards and then
Peyton hit Reggie Wayne for 10 on the next play. 1st and 10 and
Peyton fires it to Utecht for a gain of 14. Rhodes got nowhere on the
next play yet hit Wayne for a gain of 11 on the following play.
Another 1st and 10 as Rhodes run up the left side for 3 yards and
then hit Utecht for 1 10 yard gain - another 1st and 10. Peyton then
threw deep to Dallas Clark for 40 yards putting them on the Redskins
1 yard line to find Dallas Clark again 3 plays later in the end zone
putting Colts on the scoreboard first 7
- 0 with nearly seven minutes left for the only points
scored in the first quarter.
Sam Riche
Colts TE Dallas Clark hauls in a touchdown pass
from Peyton Manning in the first quarter.
On Washington's next possession they moved the chains
three time to only end up having to punt it away!
Sadly, the Colts went 3 and out to having to punt themselves.
With less than a minute in the first quarter, Redskins
moved the ball 27 yards on three plays ending up on Colts 18 yard
line to take into the second quarter . . .
2nd quarter
Redskins continue their drive . . .
Backwards, as Cato June and Gilbert Gardner dropped
Portis for a loss of 6 yards on the first play of the 2nd quarter and
then Freeney sacked Brunell for a loss of 13 . . .
Robert Scheer
Colts DE Dwight Freeney (93) sacks Redskins QB Mark
Brunell in the second quarter.
. . . except instead of getting the sack,
Freeney was hit with a personal foul for pulling
Brunell's face mask on the play. "Oh, no,"
Freeney said, shaking his head. "He called 'roughing the
passer.' How can you call roughing the passer when the guy's still
got the ball? Roughing the passer, I don't get the sack. C'mon, just
call it what it was: a facemask. I got him by the facemask. I admit it."
12 yards, enforced at Colts 24 - No Play. Redskins at
the Indianapolis 12 yard line as Portis is dropped again for a loss
of 1 yard by Cato June. Next play, Brunell throws incomplete before
he finds tightened, Chris Cooley in the endzone
to tie the game 7 - 7.
Colts then turned around and used 10 plays to go 61
yards of which Rookie running back, Joseph Addai accounted for 37 of
them and then capped it off with newcomer Adam Vinatieri kicking a 30
yard field goal
making the score Colts - 10 and
Redskins - 7.
On Washington's next series, they moved down the field
for 83 yards before Brunell is sacked by Robert Mathis and fumbles,
however it is recovered by Brunell at the Colts 16 yard line.
However, the ball got moved back to the Colts 31 yard line after an
Unnecessary Roughness penalty was called and 15 yards enforced on
Santana Moss.
4th and 30, Washington tries for a 49 yard field goal
as Nick Novak hits the left uptight and falls NO GOOD!
Unfortunately, on Colts next series they went 3 and
out and were forced to punt as Hunter Smith boots it 41 yards and
Randle El returns it for 87 yards and a touchdown putting Redskins
on top 14 to Colts 10. In relation, Randle El is charged
with unsportsmanlike conduct and 14 yards is enforced between downs.
To top it off, Redskins kickoff for it to be called back as Redskins,
Sean Taylor is called for offside, backed with Derrick Frost being
called for unsportsmanlike conduct.
On Colts next series, Peyton threw incomplete on their
first play and then hit Fletcher for a gain of 7 just before former
Colts, Marcus Washington is charged 15 yards for roughing the passer.
Peyton then moved the Colts down to the Redskins 1 yard line, however
could not prevail to get into the endzone, after Manning's one-yard
touchdown pass to Harrison was reversed upon official review as the
wide receiver failed to get both feet in the end zone. Colts then
turned it over to Vinatieri for a 19 yard field goal to make it Redskins
- 14 and Colts 13.
With 8 seconds left in the first half, Redskins run 1
play with Portis for no gain.
HALF TIME
3rd Quarter
Trailing by a point at halftime, the Colts blew the
game open in the third quarter, scoring on their opening three
drives. First, Manning led the Colts on a four-play, 55-yard drive
with Addai running for 30 of them before Peyton found Harrison for a four-yard
touchdown with a tick under 13 minutes left for a Colts
20-14 lead.
After the Redskins were forced to punt, Manning found
Wayne for a 51-yard touchdown on the fourth play of the drive.
ROBERT SCHEER / The Star
got it: Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne (87) hauls
in a 51-yard touchdown reception in front of two pursuing Redskins
last Sunday.
Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne
celebrates a 51-yard touchdown catch during the third quarter of an
NFL football game against the Washington Redskins in Indianapolis,
Sunday, Oct. 22, 2006. Indianapolis won 36-22. (AP Photo/Tom Strattman)
The Colts led 27-14
with 8:11 left.
The Redskins ran their series 42 yards into the 4th
quarter, but not before Brunell was sacked by Josh Thomas for a loss
of 8 yards.
Sam Riche / The Star
Filling in: Colts defensive lineman Josh Thomas
(91) reacts after sacking Redskins quarterback Mark Brunell. Thomas
had two tackles in addition to the sack, his first of the year.
4th Quarter
Redskins at The Colts 17 yard line, 4th down and 5 to
go, Washington opts to kick a field goal as Novak mimics Mike
Vanderjagt and sails it wide left, NO GOOD!
On Colts next drive, Adam Vinatieri nailed a 47-yard
field goal with 4:41 left to end a 10-play, 46-yard drive that chewed
up nearly five minutes and the score is now, Colts
36 - Redskins 14.
Washington added a score in the final minute when
James Thrash caught a five- yard touchdown pass with 18 seconds on
the clock for the final margin. Redskins topped the score off with a
2 point conversion ending the final score,
Colts - 36 and
Redskins - 22.
Notes and Milestones:
Manning passed Jim Hart for 14th on the career yardage
list. Manning has 34,809 career yards; Hart had 34,665.
With four touchdown passes, quarterback Peyton Manning
moved into 10th place in NFL history with 256. He passed Dan Fouts
(254) and Sonny Jurgensen (255). It marked the 14th time in Manning's
career he passed for at least four touchdowns in a game, the
fourth-most in NFL history behind Dan Marino (21), Brett Favre (19)
and John Unitas (17).
Marvin Harrison's two touchdown catches increased his
career total to 113, tying Lenny Moore's club record for total touchdowns.
Harrison passed Irving Fryar for eighth on the career
yardage chart. Harrison has 12,846 yards; Fryar had 12,785.
Coach Tony Dungy was presented the Pro Football
Writers of America's George Halas Award prior to Sunday's game. The
award recognizes a player or coach who has performed despite injury
or personal problems off the field.
Dungy's eldest son, James, committed suicide last December.
Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri returned after missing
three games with a strained groin. He converted 30-, 19- and 47-yard
field goals and is 10-for-10 on the season
Linebacker Cato June was credited with a season-high
15 tackles.
Colts safety Mike Doss sprained a knee and will need
an MRI exam. Doss will miss the remainder of the season after
suffering a torn ACL in his right knee on Sunday.
Indianapolis defensive tackle Montae Reagor was
involved in a car accident on his way to the game and suffered facial
lacerations. He was treated at Methodist Hospital. Anthony McFarland
started in his place
The Colts lead the all-time series with the Redskins,
18-10, but were 26-21 road losers when the teams last met in 2002.
Indianapolis prevailed by a 24-21 count when the teams last did
battle at the RCA Dome, in 1999. Washington's most recent win in
Indianapolis came in 1994.
The Colts are just the ninth team in NFL history to
start a season 6-0 in consecutive seasons.
The short list:
|
Team |
Years |
|
Colts |
2005-2006 |
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St. Louis |
1999-2001 |
|
Denver |
1997-1998 |
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Chicago |
1985-1986 |
|
L.A. Rams |
1968-1969 |
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VS 
