Hell is Freezing Over
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by Behbigben15
Hell must be freezing over, because the Colts lost two straight games, Peyton Manning threw 6 INT's, and Adam Vinateri missed not one but TWO FG's, one just before the half, and the other with about a minute to play. And the worst part is that Vinateri's potential GW FG attempt was a 29-yarder, and it wasn't even blocked, or there wasn't a bad snap. AMAZING!!!!!
But, the big story here, is that the usual phenominal QB, Peyton Manning, last year's SB MVP, threw a career-high 6 INT's against SD's struggling defense. The Colts offense should have been able to blow up SD's Defense, but with a key lineman coming out of the game last night (Ryan Diem) due to injury, along with a few others on their O-Line out, Manning was battered early, often. The Colts never gave up, though. SD came right out, and got to work, taking an early 23-0 lead. SD return man Darren Sprole returned the opening kickoff for an 89-yard TD. After SD's kicker, Nate Kaeding added a 33-yard FG halfway through the 1st QTR, Sproles returned a punt for a 45-yard TD run, which gave SD a 16-point lead after the 2-point conversion failed. About halfway through the second QTR, L.T. joined in on the fun as he ran in from 4-yards out, and SD had a 23-point lead.
But, Manning lead scoring drive late in the second QTR which ended with an 8-yard TD pass to Reggie Wayne. Indy got it back just before the half, and Manning and his COlts offense marched from their own 14 all the way to the SD 24 in 1:30. They had no timeouts left, si they had to run the kicking team on really quick, and that must have messed up veteran kicker Adam Vinateri, who missed the 42-yard FG wide left as time expired. So, Indy went into the half down by an astonishing 16 points. Manning had 3 of his 6 INT's in the first half (two of them intercepted by CB Antonio Cromartie for SD, who finished the game with 3 INT's).
The 3rd QTR was a really close ball game (no points scored by either team), despite the Chargers leading by 16 points. Manning lead a late-game surge, as he threw his second TD pass of the game to second-string RB, Kenton Keith, from 7-yards out, and after pinning SD deep on their own territory on the following kickoff, the Colts forced a fumble on QB Phillip Rivers, which LB, Gary Brackett, recovered in the end zone for a TD. Indy attempted to tie the game with a two-point conversion attempt, but it failed, and SD got the ball back with nearly a whole QTR to play. But, SD wasn't able to get any more point s on the board, as Indy's defense stopped the Chargers on their next three possessions. Indy forced SD to punt twice, and picked off Rivers for a 2nd time. Manning, and the Colts' offense got the ball back with 5:50 left in the game, and Manning, and his offense marched down the field in 4:16 on 9 plays setting up a 29-yard FG try for the "Clutch" Vinateri. Vinateri hooked it right, to miss his second FG of the game, both coming in critical situations. Indy got the ball back with :22 left in the game after forcing a 3 & out, but Manning threw 2 incomplete passes, and his 6th INT (Clinton Hart) to end the game.
Manning finished the game with 2 more INT's than he had the entire season before Week 10. And, he had a 49.4 QB Rating, his lowest on the season, but he did throw for 328 yards (most he' thrown in one game so far this season), and he added 2 TD passes (to Wayne, and Kenton Keith). Indianapolis had the edge in ALMOST all of the key categories. The key was the Colt's 6 turnovers as compared to the Chargers 3 turnovers. Has Vinateri lost it? And, will Peyton bounce back from his second consecutive loss to beat the Cheifs next week in Indy? This seems to be a trend in Indy, doesn't it? Start off on fire, and end the season losing 2-3, maybe even four games. But, the difference this year is that it's only week 10, there's a chance they could end up 7-9, who know's? That's why they play the game.
