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Colts 20, Kansas City 13
FOURTH QUARTER UPDATE
The Colts gained no yards on their first two rushing attempts, then Ballard rushed for 13 yards and a first down at the two-minute warning. The Colts were able to milk the final two minutes to win the game and earn a playoff berth at 10-5. It was the seventh fourth-quarter comeback win of the year.
The Colts bottled Kansas City up at its 10 on the kickoff return. On third-and-11, the Colts held and forced a Colquitt punt. The Colts took over at their 37 with 2:30 to go.
Luck hit Hilton on an 11-yard third-down play as the Colts gained a first down. Wayne had an 18-yard reception for another first down, and Ballard followed with an 11-yard run to the Chiefs 28. Wayne had a 12-yard reception for another first down. Wayne ended a 13-play, 73-yard drive with a seven-yard third-down scoring reception from Luck with 4:08 to go. Luck hit six passes on the drive an end a string of struggle and to give the Colts a 20-13 lead.
A 10-play drive that moved from 27 to 27 ended when Indianapolis held on a fourth-and-one sneak by Quinn. Kansas City kept the ball on the ground on nine of the 10 plays, gaining 41 yards. The Colts took over with 10:13 to go.
THIRD QUARTER UPDATE
The Kansas City defense continued to keep the Colts under control. Luck scrambled for a short gain on third-and-10, forcing a punt. Luck has nine straight incompletions. McAfee punted 48 yards and after a nine-yard loss on the return, Kansas City started at its 27.
Three Chiefs rushes moved the ball to their 49, but Kansas City could go no further. A Colquitt punt was downed on the Indianapolis 11 with 1:36 left in the quarter.
The Colts gained a first down when Luck was roughed on third-and-three from his 27. Indianapolis could not move any farther than its 42 after two incompletions and a sack. Kansas City started at its 13 after a holding call on the punt return.
Four Chiefs rushes gained 27 yards and on third-and-three, Vontae Davis was called for pass interference, negating an interception. On third-and-two from the 22, the Colts defense held when Dwight Freeney sacked Quinn for a seven-yard loss. Succop hit a 47-yard field goal to tie the count, 13-13.
The Colts could not capitalize on the takeaway, gaining nine yards. McAfee punted 52 yards out of bounds at the Kansas City 19. Four possessions to start the half consumed only 4:58 off the clock.
The Chiefs moved to the Indianapolis 14, with the key play being a 23-yard rush by Charles, but Quinn was intercepted by Vontae Davis in the end zone to stop the threat. It is the club's third takeaway of the day.
Luck hit Wayne for 33 yards on first down, then tossed three consecutive incompletions. McAfee punted to the Chiefs 13.
Charles atoned for his red zone fumble late in the first half by rushing 86 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the second half. It is the longest run ever allowed by the Colts. The previous was an 83-yarder to San Diego's Michael Turner in 2005.
SECOND QUARTER UPDATE
Luck teamed with T.Y. Hilton for 23 yards to the 45, and the Colts took their first time out with 51 seconds left. Luck then hit Mewelde Moore for 32 yards to the Chiefs 23. Luck had two incompletions before scrambling on third down. Vinatieri hit a 36-yard field goal with seven seconds left in the half. Luck set the NFL rookie passing yardage mark on the drive, surpassing 4,051 yards by Cam Newton last year. It was a 60-yard drive in seven plays.
Three Chiefs rushes for 25 yards got Kansas City to its 45 before a penalty set them back 10 yards. On second-and-17, the Colts were flagged for hands to the face, giving the Chiefs a first down. A holding penalty pushed the Chiefs back again, but Quinn hit Wylie for 16 yards and a first down on the first play after the two-minute warning. Quinn then hit Jamar Newsome for 16 yards to the Colts' 28. Jamaal Charles fumbled on the ensuing play when hit by Pat Angerer. Joe Lefeged recovered for the Colts, and Indianapolis took possession at its 22 with 1:02 and three time outs left.
Three Colts first downs moved the club to the Kansas City 42 before the drive went no further. McAfee punted for a touchback. Allen and Avery had first-down producing receptions, while Ballard had a 10-yard burst on the possession.
Kansas City again moved into Colts territory before having a drive end. Four Chiefs rushes gained 33 yards, but after the drive stalled at the Indianapolis 42, Dustin Colquitt punted for a touchback with 10:34 left in the half.
The Colts extended their lead to 10-3 when Adam Vinatieri hit a 48-yard field goal with 13:27 left in the period. It was a 37-yard march after the Kansas City missed field goal. Luck hit Avery for 28 yards for the big play on the drive.
FIRST QUARTER UPDATE
Kansas City moved to the Colts' 25 on 11 plays before Succop was wide right from 43 yards out. The Chiefs rushed six times for 38 yards on the drive, while Quinn hit two passes.
A Ballard rush and an 11-yard Reggie Wayne reception move the Colts to midfield, but consecutive sacks of Luck ended the drive, the second one by Tamba Hali. McAfee punted 44 yards and after a return, Kansas City started at its 22.
Quinn teamed with Jon Baldwin on a 57-yard completion to the Colts' 23 to give the Chiefs their first scoring threat. A holding penalty impeded the drive and after two incompletions and a third-and-20 rush for four yards, Ryan Succop hit a 47-yard field goal to cut the score to 7-3.
Brady Quinn hit Devon Wylie for 16 yards and a first down to get the drive underway. Indianapolis ended the possession when Darius Butler intercepted Quinn and returned the theft 32 yards for a touchdown.
The Colts could not move on the opening possession after a rush by Vick Ballard and Andrew Luck completions to Dwayne Allen and Donnie Avery. Pat McAfee punted 60 yards and Kansas City started at its 11.
Indianapolis won the coin toss and elected to receive.
COLTS GAME-DAY DEACTIVATIONS:
WR-Nathan Palmer
S-Tom Zbikowski
RB-Delone Carter
LB-Kavell Conner
C-Samson Satele
OT-Winston Justice
DT-Antonio Johnson
EXPECTED LINEUP CHANGES FOR COLTS:
Joe Lefeged starts at SS for Tom Zbikowski
Pat Angerer at Mike LB for Kavell Conner
A.Q. Shipley starts at C for Samson Satele
Jeff Linkenbach starts at RT for Winston Justice
Martin Tevaseu starts at NT for Antonio Johnson
COLTS PRE-GAME NOTES:
The Colts are 8-1 in games decided by seven points or less, the most number of such games this year (8, Atlanta).
If the Colts earn a playoff berth, they will join Miami (2008) and New England (1982) on the list of teams to make the playoffs one year after going 2-14 or worse.
If the Colts get to 10 wins, they will become only the fourth team to win as many as 10 games after a season of two or fewer victories (Miami, 1-15 in 2007 and 11-5 in 2008; Colts 2-12 in 1974 and 10-4 in 1975; Oakland 1-13 in 1962 and 10-4 in 1963).
At 9-5, Indianapolis has a seven-game improvement from last season. Twice the team has had one-season eight-game improvements – from 2-12 in 1974 to 10-4 in 1975 and from 1-15 in 1991 to 9-7 in 1992. Those are tied for the seventh-best one-year jumps in history. The 1999 Colts and 2008 Dolphins share the NFL mark with a one-year 10-game jump. The Colts went from 3-13 in 1998 to 13-3.
Since the advent of the 16-game schedule in 1978, 34 teams (excluding 2011) have lost 14 or more games in a season. Only five bounced back with winning records. Detroit jumped from 2-14 in 1979 to 9-7 in 1980. New England jumped from 2-14 in 1981 to 5-4 in the strike-shortened 1982 season. The 1991 1-15 Colts were 9-7 in 1992. The 1996 1-15 New York Jets were 9-7 in 1997, and the 2007 1-15 Miami Dolphins went to 11-5.
The Colts are trying to avoid losing consecutive games for the first time this season. There have been eight such seasons in franchise history:
SEASONS WITHOUT CONSECUTIVE LOSSES
Year, Record, Post-season result
1964, 12-2, Lost in NFL Championship game to Cleveland, 27-0.
1967, 11-1-2, Lost tiebreaker to 11-1-2 L.A. Rams in Coastal Division, missed playoffs.
1968, 13-1, Lost in Super Bowl III to New York Jets, 16-7.
1970, 11-2-1, Won in Super Bowl V over Dallas, 16-13.
1971, 10-4, Lost in AFC Championship game to Miami, 21-0.
1976, 11-3, Lost in Divisional Playoffs to Pittsburgh, 40-14.
1999, 13-3, Lost in Divisional Playoffs to Tennessee, 19-16.
2003, 12-4, Lost in AFC Championship game to New England, 24-14.
If the Colts can gain a playoff berth in 2012, it will be their 12th since 1999, the NFL's highest total.
If the Colts can get to double-digit victories, it would mark the 10th such season since 2002, tying New England for the most in the league. New England gained its 10th this year. It would be the club's 12th since 1999, a total that would lead the league. Currently, Indianapolis is tied with New England with 11.
Indianapolis has three interceptions returned for touchdowns this year. The most in a season by the club is four in 1959, 1965, 1968, 1975 and 1996. Three this year matches the total done also in 1967, 1970 and 1994.
Andrew Luck has six 300 games, the NFL rookie record. Luck surpassed Peyton Manning (4, 1998) for the club and NFL record by a rookie quarterback.
Luck (3,978) has joined Manning (3,739, 1998) as the only Colts rookies to throw for 3,000 yards. He needs 12 attempts and 19 completions to eclipse Manning's rookie club record (575; 326). He needs 74 passing yards to eclipse Cam Newton's NFL record for rookie passing yards (4,051).
Earlier this year, Luck joined Newton as the only players with three 300 games in the first four games of a career. Against Miami in week nine, Luck threw for 433 yards to eclipse Newton's (432) previous NFL rookie record.
Luck (20) is one of a handful of rookie quarterbacks to throw 20 or more touchdown passes (26, Peyton Manning, 1998; 22, Charlie Conerly, 1948; 21, Russell Wilson, 2012; 21, Cam Newton, 2011; 20, Dan Marino, 1983; 20, Andy Dalton, 2011).
Luck has taken every offensive snap and has had a major hand in the club's successes. He became the first NFL rookie quarterback since 1971 to lead a September fourth-quarter comeback win in the club's week two triumph over Minnesota.
After the Green Bay win, Luck became the first NFL rookie to pass for 1,200 yards (1,208) and record at least two wins in his team's first four games. After the Cleveland win, he was the first NFL rookie with 1,500 passing yards (1,674) and three wins in a team's first six games.
After the Tennessee win, Luck had the highest winning percentage (.571, 4-3) by a rookie quarterback who was a top overall pick through week eight in NFL history.
He won AFC Offensive Player-of-the-Week honors for his outing against Miami. Luck completed 30-of-48 passes for 433 yards and two touchdowns. In facing then the NFL's best third-down defense, he completed 13-of-17 third-down passes for 204 yards and a touchdown, converting 12 third downs via the air on that down. Luck set the NFL record for best winning percentage by a top overall pick through week nine (5-3, .625; minimum two starts).
Luck set the club rookie record with four touchdown passes at Detroit. He directed scoring drives of 85 and 75 yards, ending both with touchdowns in the last 2:39 to earn the win.
Luck's fourth touchdown came with no time remaining, and he joined Russell Wilson, Tim Couch and Matthew Stafford as the only rookies since 1970 with a game-winning toss with no time left on the clock.
At Detroit with the two late scoring drives, the Colts became just the seventh team since 2000 to win a game despite trailing by 12 or more points with less than three minutes remaining. (Advanced NFL Stats calculated the chances of winning in that scenario are two percent). The 2003 Colts (at Tampa Bay) and 2009 Colts (vs. New England) were two of those teams as well.
Luck (.667) had the best winning percentage through nine games by a rookie QB who was first overall pick in Super Bowl era (6-3; minimum three starts).
Luck at Detroit surpassed St. Louis' Sam Bradford (7, 2010) for the most wins by a rookie quarterback drafted first overall. He is the winningest such rookie QB since 1950.
Luck has produced six wins in fourth-quarter or overtime fashion, snapping the record he shared with Ben Roethlisberger (2004) and Vince Young (2006). Those performances came against Minnesota, Green Bay, at Tennessee, Miami, at Detroit and vs. Tennessee.
After the Tennessee win, Luck shared the franchise mark for starting QB wins by a rookie (9-4, Chris Chandler, 1988).
The NFL post-merger record for rookie starting wins is 13 by Ben Roethlisberger in 2004. Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco had 11 in 2008, while Kyle Orton had 10 in 2005. With nine wins, Chandler joined Joe Ferguson (1973) and was joined by Andy Dalton (2011).
Luck is averaging 284.1 passing yards a game, 8th-most in the NFL and most among rookie QBs.
Luck leads AFC QBs with 233 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns. The rushing touchdowns broke the previous club seasonal record of four by Bert Jones (1974) and Peyton Manning (2001, 2006).
Reggie Wayne has receptions in 110 straight games. He leads active NFL receivers with 187 career games played. Wayne (145) is one of six Colts ever to start more than 100 consecutive games (208, Peyton Manning; 115, C-Ken Mendenhall; 104, DE-Fred Cook; 102, DB-Jason Belser; 101, OT-Tarik Glenn). He has played in 180 straight games, the league's best streak by a WR.
Wayne (959, 12,942) is 10th in NFL career receptions. The player ahead of Wayne is Randy Moss (977, 9th). He is 14th in NFL reception yards. Next on the yardage list is Steve Largent (13,089, 13th).
Against New York, Wayne became the 14th NFL player with 900 career receptions.
Against Green Bay, Wayne (13-212, 1 TD) produced his highest yardage day (200 vs. Dallas 12/5/10) and became the first Colts receiver with two career 200 regular-season games. His yardage ranked only behind Raymond Berry (224 at Washington 11/10/57) and it was the fifth 200 game in club regular-season history (224, Berry; 212, Wayne; 210, Roger Carr at NY Jets 10/24/76; 203, Reggie Langhorne at Washington 11/7/93; 200, Wayne). Wayne became only the seventh player since 1990 to have a 200 game in a 10th career season or later (James Lofton, Irving Fryar, Jerry Rice, Shannon Sharpe, Rod Smith, Terrell Owens (2), Wayne (2)).
He earned the AFC Offensive Player-of-the-Week honors for the first time in his career.
The Colts are 29-12 when Wayne tops 100 reception yards, 21-12 when he has at least eight receptions, 55-13 when he scores a touchdown.
Wayne (77) ranks third in Colts history in career touchdowns (128, Marvin Harrison; 113, Lenny Moore). His 77 touchdown receptions are second-most to Harrison (128).
Wayne has 12,937 career scrimmage yards, second in Colts history (14,608, Marvin Harrison; 12,065, Edgerrin James).
Wayne has three or more receptions in a league-record 62 straight games, snapping the previous best of Cris Carter (1993-97). Wayne has receptions in 181 of 187 career games. He has multiple receptions in 176 outings and three or more receptions in 157 contests.
Wayne has 88.1 yardage average this year. His career-best was 94.4 in 2007. The only two times in franchise history when a player held a 100.0-yard average were 1999 (Marvin Harrison, 103.9) and 2002 (Harrison, 107.6).
Wayne (1,234) has produced his eighth 1,000-yard season. Reaching that plateau ties him with Marvin Harrison (8, 1999-2006) for the club record. Wayne had seven consecutive from 2004-10, the second-longest consecutive streak in franchise history.
Wayne has produced his sixth 1,200-yardage season (1,510, 2007; 1,355, 2010; 1,310, 2006; 1,264, 2009; 1,234, 2012; 1,210, 2004). It ties him with Harrison for the club record and ties him with Harrison and Torry Holt for third-most in NFL history behind Jerry Rice (11) and Randy Moss (8).
Wayne needs 58 reception yards to become the 3rd active player and 14th in history to reach the 13,000-yard plateau (22,895, Jerry Rice; 15,934, Terrell Owens; 15,220, Randy Moss; 15,208, Isaac Bruce; 14,934, Tim Brown; 14,580, Marvin Harrison; 14,218, Tony Gonzalez; 14,004, James Lofton; 13,899, Cris Carter; 13,777, Henry Ellard; 13,382, Torry Holt; 13,198, Andre Reed; 13,089, Steve Largent).
Wayne (97) needs 3 receptions to produce his fourth 100 -catch season. He had 104 in 2007, 100 in 2009 and 111 in 2010. If Wayne reaches 100, he will tie Marvin Harrison (115, 1999; 102, 2000; 109, 2001; 143, 2002) for the club record. Jerry Rice and Brandon Marshall have four 100 -reception seasons, while Wes Welker has a league-record five.
If Wayne leads the team in receptions in 2012, it will be his seventh time doing so, ranking behind Marvin Harrison (9) and Raymond Berry (8) in club history, but it would tie Harrison's (6, 1999-04) club mark for the most consecutive seasons leading the team.
The Green Bay game was Wayne's 15th with 10 receptions, one behind Marvin Harrison's club record. At 17, Jerry Rice, Andre Johnson and Wes Welker are the all-time leaders. Harrison (16) and Brandon Marshall (16) are tied for third-most. Wayne is sixth. Wayne (2007-08) is tied with Johnson (2008) and Brett Perriman (1995) for the NFL lead with three straight games with 10 catches.
Against Green Bay, Wayne became the 16th NFL player with 40 career 100 games (76, Jerry Rice; 64, Randy Moss (active); 59, Marvin Harrison, 51, Terrell Owens; 50, Don Maynard; 47, Torry Holt; 47, Michael Irvin; 46, Jimmy Smith; 45, Isaac Bruce; 43, Tim Brown; 43, James Lofton; 42, Cris Carter; 41, Lance Alworth; 40, Steve Largent; 40, Steve Smith (active)). Rice, Maynard, Irvin, Lofton, Alworth and Largent are Hall-of-Famers.
Wayne has more than 100 receptions against each AFC South foe (133, Jacksonville; 120, Houston; 103, Tennessee). It makes Wayne the eighth player with 100 or more receptions against three or more teams. He joins Tim Brown, Andre Reed and Cris Carter (who did it against four opponents), as well as Art Monk, Jerry Rice, Rod Smith and Hines Ward.
Antoine Bethea has 108 tackles this season and has 799 for his career. Bethea is one of seven Indianapolis Colts to top 700 career tackles (1,149 Jeff Herrod; 1,052, Duane Bickett; 785, Jason Belser; 754, Gary Brackett, 744, Eugene Daniel).
Kicker Adam Vinatieri has scored in the last 144 consecutive games. His 53-yard field goal with eight seconds left against Minnesota was the 24th game-winning kick of his career.
Against Tennessee, Vinatieri became the eighth player in NFL history to reach 400 career field goals. Vinatieri has 498 career field goal attempts, 10th in NFL history (Jason Elam is ninth at 540). Vinatieri (697) at Detroit moved past Lenny Moore (678) for fourth-place in Colts career scoring.
Vinatieri has eight field goals from the 50 -range, third-most in club history (18, Dean Biasucci; 14, Mike Vanderjagt).
Vinatieri has produced his 15th career 100-plus point season. It is his fifth with the Colts, second to Mike Vanderjagt (8). Vinatieri has passed Morten Andersen (14) and Gary Anderson (14) for the second-most 100-point seasons. The leader is Jason Elam (16).
Linebacker Jerrell Freeman topped the club in tackles in each of the first seven games before the streak was ended vs. Miami. Freeman had 13 at Chicago, 18 vs. Minnesota, 16 vs. Jacksonville, 11 vs. Green Bay, 19 at New York, seven vs. Cleveland and 15 at Tennessee. He topped the team with 13 at New England, 18 vs. Buffalo, 10 at Detroit, nine vs. Tennessee and 13 at Houston. Freeman was involved in takeaways in two of the first three outings – scoring interception return at Chicago; forced fumble against Minnesota. Freeman is the first Colts undrafted player ever to return an interception for a touchdown in a career debut, and was the first to do so in the since 1987 (LB-Peter Noga; DB-Paul Tripoli).
Against Jacksonville, T.Y. Hilton became the first NFL rookie receiver this year to post a 100-yard game when he had 113 yards against Jacksonville 9/23. He was 6-102, 1 TD vs. Miami for his second 100 outing. Hilton joined Ray Perkins (1967), Bill Brooks (1986), Marvin Harrison (1996) and Anthony Gonzalez (2007) for the second-most 100 outings by a Colts rookie receiver (3, Andre Rison, 1989). With 6-100, 2 TDs at New England, Hilton tied Rison for the club mark. Hilton set the club rookie mark for 100-yard games with 6-100 at Detroit.
Hilton was the 13th receiver taken in the draft. There were four selected in the first round, five in the second and three in the third before he was taken with the 92nd choice.
Against Buffalo, Hilton scored on a 75-yard punt return and an eight-yard reception to become the first Colts player to record such scores in the same game in franchise history. Hilton earned AFC Special Teams Player-of-the-Week honors for the achievement.
Tight end Dwayne Allen (40) at Detroit moved past John Mackey (35, 1963) for the second-most rookie receptions by a Colts tight end (42, Ken Dilger, 1995).
Linebacker Dwight Freeney (105.5) has recorded sacks against 27 of 31 teams. Detroit, Atlanta, New Orleans and Washington are the only teams that Freeney has not produced a sack against. Freeney has 25 career multiple-sack games, including five three-plus sack games. He has sacked 52 different quarterbacks. Freeney has seven of the 17 double-digit sack seasons in club history.
Linebacker Robert Mathis (91.5) had an eight-game sack streak end at New England. It tied his personal-best. In 2005, he set an NFL record with sacks in eight consecutive games to start a season. Mathis has 20 career multiple-sack games, including two three-plus sack games. Mathis has four of the 17 double-digit sack seasons in club history.
The Colts are 26-9 when Freeney and Mathis combine for sacks. They each produced 10 sacks in 2004, 2005, 2008 and 2010 to set the NFL mark for most seasons with teammates doing so together. They surpassed Reggie White and Clyde Simmons by doing so. They have combined for 20-plus sacks in five different seasons (26.5, 2004; 22.5, 2005; 22.0, 2008; 23.0, 2009; 21.0, 2010).
There are 14 players in franchise history, nine in the Indianapolis era, to participate in at least 100 regular-season victories: 141 games, QB-Peyton Manning; 132, QB-John Unitas; 132, C-Jeff Saturday; 127, TE-Justin Snow; 125, WR-Reggie Wayne; 118, WR-Marvin Harrison; 114, P-Hunter Smith; 110, LB-Dwight Freeney; 109, P-David Lee; 108, OT-Ryan Diem; 107, LB-Don Shinnick; 106, DE-Ordell Braase; 105, C/LB-Dick Szymanski; 103, Robert Mathis.
Bruce Arians is the sixth interim head coach in club history (1972, John Sandusky, nine games; 1974, Joe Thomas, 11; 1984, Hal Hunter, one; 1991, Rick Venturi, 11 games; 2005, Jim Caldwell, one game). Arians is the lone one who is subbing for a coach (Chuck Pagano) who will return to the team.
In beating Green Bay, Arians was the only Colts interim coach to win his first game. Arians (8-3) set the franchise record for the most wins by an interim field leader in the 27-10 victory at Jacksonville.
Sandusky was 4-5 in the games in 1972 when he succeeded Don McCafferty. His four wins under those interim conditions stood as the club mark until Arians tied him with the team's 23-20 victory over Miami this year. Thomas was 2-9 in 1974 after succeeding Howard Schnellenberger, while Venturi was 1-10 in his outings in 1991 after replacing Ron Meyer. Hunter lost the final game in 1984 after the departure of Frank Kush. Caldwell lost his one game in the absence of Tony Dungy.
The only interim coaches in NFL history with nine wins (according to Stats LLC) are Wally Lemm (9-0, Houston, 1961; replaced Lou Rymkus) and Hamp Pool (9-2, LA Rams, 1952; replaced Joe Stydahar). Don Coryell (8-4, San Diego, 1978; replaced Tommy Prothro), Mike Holovak (7-1-1, Boston Patriots, 1961; replaced Lou Saban), Bruce Coslet (7-2, Cincinnati, 1996; replaced David Shula) and Art Shell (7-5, L.A. Raiders, 1989; replaced Mike Shanahan) are the most successful interim coaches in addition to Arians.