Typically with the Indianapolis Colts, they usually rely on quarterback Peyton Manning to get the job done, which he does with alarming regularity. But as of late, it has been the defense that has saved the day for the Colts, as evidenced by their narrow win over the New England Patriots last Sunday. The Colts would have their hands full Sunday when they went up against a pesky Baltimore Ravens squad at M&T Stadium. Curiously enough, Indianapolis’ defense once again were the heroes as they intercepted a Joe Flacco pass, allowing Indianapolis to remain undefeated, edging Baltimore 17-15.

The Colts drew first blood, going 87 yards on seven plays, capped by a 3-yard TD pass from Manning to tight end Dallas Clark (one-handed, no less!), giving Indianapolis an early 7-0 lead. A pair of field goals by newly-signed kicker Billy Cundiff (46 and 44 yards, respectively) narrowed the Ravens’ deficit to 7-6; a pair of field goals by Cundiff (38 and 36 yards, respectively) sandwiched around a 5-yard TD run by the Colts’ Joseph Addai, allowed Indianapolis to take a narrow 14-12 edge going into halftime.

The third quarter was 15 minutes of ball control warfare, for the most part as no scoring took place. The fourth quarter would find Baltimore tacking on another field goal by Cundiif, giving the Ravens their first lead at 15-14; just over three minutes later, former Ravens kicker Matt Stover put Indianapolis ahead 17-15 with a 25-yard FG with 7:02 remaining in the game. The Colts would ice the win when the Ravens’ Ed Reed fumbled on a punt return with 17 seconds left.

Manning put up un-Manning-like numbers as he went 22-of-31 for 299 yards with a TD and 2 interceptions while Joe Flacco went 23-of-35 for 256 with an INT. Addai rushed 19 times for 74 yards and a score while Ray Rice rushed 20 times for 71 yards while catching 7 passes for 64 yards. Pierre Garcon led all Colts receivers with 6 receptions for 108 yards while Reggie Wayne caught 7 passes for 89 yards; tight end Tom Santi caught 6 passes for 80 yards. Derrick Mason led the Ravens receiving corps with 9 receptions for 142 yards while the aforementioned Rice caught 7 for 64 yards.

Indianapolis (10-0) looks to extend their winning streak to 20 when they travel to Houston to take on the Texans next Sunday while Baltimore (5-5) remains at home to host the Pittsburgh Steelers – also next Sunday.

While it is true that the Indianapolis Colts are dangerous as it is at 9-0 without wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez in their lineup, imagine how much more dangerous they will be when he eventually returns. Nonetheless, Mike Chappell of the Indianapolis Star is reporting that according to Gonzalez, he is on track to rejoining the team after going arthroscopic surgery on his right knee earlier this month.

Gonzalez adds:

“I felt like I was close the last time. So in that sense, it’s a little hard to say. I do feel the ’scope I had helped a lot. Now it’s just a matter of getting a little flexibility back and all my strength back. But I think I’m close.”

The wide receiver from Ohio State did, however, stop short of specifying a return date. While I personally will be glad when he returns to the fold, the “close to returning” mantra has been a recurring theme. For once, some specifics would be helpful as to his return to the playing field. Stay tuned to Colts Gab when more developments arise.

The Indianapolis Colts have gone from winning games with relative ease to escaping by the skin of their teeth, so to speak. As luck would have it, Indianapolis’ opponent Sunday was the New England Patriots, led by Tom Brady. But an interesting thing happened at Lucas Oil Stadium. The Patriots would seal their fate not by anything that Brady did, but by a bold – and questionable – move by head coach Bill Belichick. The screwup enabled Indianapolis to rally from 17 down to edge New England 35-34. But more on the Belichick gamble later.

The Colts drew first blood as Peyton Manning tossed a 15-yard touchdown pass to Joseph Addai, giving Indianapolis a 7-0 lead; the Patriots would strike back as Laurence Maroney would score on a 1-yard TD run, tying things up at 7-all. The second quarter would find New England racking up points in short order; after a 31-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski, New England would score twice in a 4-minute span, the first being a 63-yard TD pass from Brady to Randy Moss at the 11:18 mark with the second being a 9-yard Brady to Julius Edelman TD pass, which gave the Patriots a comfortable 24-7 lead with 7:19 left in the half. But Indianapolis reduced New England’s lead to ten as Manning rifled a 20-yard TD pass to Reggie Wayne at the 4:17 mark, making it 24-14 which would be the halftime score.

As opposed to the previous periods, the third quarter was a battle of attrition and was scoreless, as a result. The fourth quarter found New England striking early as Brady threw a 5-yard TD pass to Moss, increasing their lead to 31-14. Sounds like lights out? Not so fast – it gets better, especially if you’re a Colts fan. With 12:14 remaining in the game, Manning tossed a 29-yard TD pass to Pierre Garcon which narrowed the Patriots’ lead to 31-21; a 36-yard FG by Gostkowski pushed the Patriots’ advantage to 34-21.

Indianapolis would come storming back, with credit due to Manning and a little help from Belichick. Addai would score from a yard out, putting the Colts to within 34-28 with 2:23; then came the erroneous judgement by Belichick. New England had the ball but Belichick called two timeouts during the series, with the second TO setting up their foruth down play. Typically on a fourth and 2 agaisnt Indianapolis, you’d punt the ball and let Manning try and beat you. But Belichick opted to go for it on fourth down. The gamble failed, giving the Colts the ball at the New England 29-yard line with 1:57 left in the game – an eternity when Manning is in charge. Manning would run three plays before connecting with Wayne for the winning score, a 1-yard TD pass, with 13 ticks left on the game clock, icing the game for the Colts.

Manning had his usual good game, going 28-of-44 for 327 yards with 4 TD’s and 2 INT’s while Brady went 29-of-42 for 375 yards with 3 TD’s and an INT. Addai led the Colts’ rushers with 41 yards and a TD while catching 2 passes for 27 yards and a score; Chad Simpson added 36 yards on only 4 carries. Kevin Faulk led New England with 79 yards on 17 carries while Laurence Maroney added 31 yards on 13 carries.

Wayne led all Colts receivers with 10 receptions for 126 yards and 2 scores while Dallas Clark caught 4 passes for 65 yards; Garcon caught 3 balls for 50 yards and a TD while Austin Collie grabbed 6 for 45 yards. Moss led New England with 9 receptions for 179 yards and 2 TD’s while Wes Welker caught 9 passes for 94 yards; Ben Watson caught one pass for 36 yards. Indianapolis (9-0) plays again on Sunday when they face the Baltimore Ravens while New England (6-3) returns home to host the New York Jets – also on Sunday.

The defense sealed the deal late, as with Houston driving towards what could have been a game-tying field goal, the defense stopped the Texans at the 24, and Kris Brown missed a 42-yard field goal as time expired to save the win for the Colts. Indy moves to 8-0 on the season, dropping their South rivals to 5-4.

Indy had three first quarter drives of 9 plays or more, as they went 48 yards, 79 yards and 61 yards, scoring a TD and two field goals to build their lead. The Texans killed themselves with first half penalties, and they also did nothing on offense as they ran just 7 first quarter plays, and had just 7 first quarter yards. They kicked a late field goal in the second quarter to make it 13-3.

The second half was a different story, as the Texans scored touchdowns going 86 and 84 yards to give them the lead. The first drive was 12 plays and ended with a TD pass from Matt Schaub to Ryan Moats from a yard out. The second drive was also 12 plays and wrapped up with a Steve Slaton one-yard run.

After having the ball for just three plays in the third quarter, Manning and the Colts offense took over. They got the ball on their own 39, and put together a game-winning drive, going 61 yards in 8 plays, as Addai went in from two yards out to give them the lead.

Houston had two last chances, the first ending with a pick, and then the second ending in Houston heartbreak as Brown missed the field goal at the buzzer that would have tied the game.

Indianapolis: PK Adam Vinatieri, WR Anthony Gonzalez, QB Curtis Painter, RB Donald Brown, DL Fili Moala, CB Kelvin Hayden, TE Tom Santi, OL Tony Ugoh.

Jackson, who missed the second half of the 2008 season after injuring his right knee during practice, suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury to his left knee during a non-contact drill Wednesday. He had been rehabbing the knee after he was hurt against Seattle on October 4th.

Sanders, a two-time Pro Bowler, tore his left bicep against the 49ers last weekend and will need surgery.
The shame of it is he had just gotten back in the lineup two weeks ago. He had missed all of training camp and the first five games of the year after undergoing offseason knee surgery. He has missed 40 of 87 games during his injury-plagued, six-year NFL career.

Indianapolis’ other veteran cornerback, Kelvin Hayden, is also expected to be sidelined for the next three to four weeks after he suffered a sprained knee during the 18-14 win over San Francisco. Hayden is not expected to undergo surgery.

“Not real sure (how long Hayden will be out),” coach Jim Caldwell said. “We’re kind of looking at probably a three to four week window.”

Colts safety Bob Sanders has a new injury to add to his growing collection. Sanders, who underwent offseason knee surgery and made his first appearance of the year against the San Francisco 49ers, was sidelined at practice today due to an elbow injury. Also missing time today: defensive end Dwight Freeney (non-injury related, wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez (knee), cornerback Kelvin Hayden (knee), kicker Adam Vinatieri (knee) and cornerback Marlin Jackson (knee).