Here they are again.
An Adam Vinatieri field goal as time expired Sunday gave the Indianapolis Colts a 23-20 victory against Tennessee at Lucas Oil Stadium, a 10-6 record in 2010, the AFCย South titleย and the No. 3 seed in the AFC playoffs. The Colts, whoย tied the Dallas Cowboys’ long-standing record by securing their ninth consecutive postseason berth, will play host to the New York Jets at 8 p.m. Saturday in a rematch of last year’s AFC Championship game.
Indianapolis is not unaccustomed to being the No. 3 seed in the AFC; the Colts began the playoffs from that slot in 2003 and 2004 before season-ending losses to New England and won the Super Bowl from the third seed in the 2006 postseason.
What the franchise — or maybeย just everyone else — might have been unaccustomed to was the way Indy had to get there. So much of what the Colts did down the stretch to ultimately wind up in their familiar position was quite unconventional when considering the team’s history over the last decade.
Let’s look more closely:
- The Colts have already been in playoff mode for a month. Sitting at 6-6 after a Week 13ย home loss toย Dallas —ย the defeatย capped a three-game losing streak in which quarterback Peyton Manning threw 11 interceptions —ย Indy’s playoffs beganย four weeksย early. We’re used to seeing the Coltsย rest starters in the finalย two or three weeks of the regular season after hot starts allowed them toย lock up their playoffย seeds well in advance of January. This year, however,ย Indy had to reel off four straight wins to return to the postseason, makingย each of the Colts’ games from that point forward meaningful. Manning and the front-line playersย had to play all the way throughย Vinatieri’s game-winning field goal Sunday to ensure the No.ย 3 seed (thoughย Jacksonville’s loss to Houston a little while earlier sewed up the division). Interestingly enough, theย last timeย the franchise had to playย through the last week of the regular season toย maximize its playoff position was 2006, the year the Colts wonย Super Bowl XLI.
- The teamย has undergone something of an identity shift.ย We’ve heard about the Colts’ struggles to defend the run for years, andย the team has found its own rushing attack largelyย ineffective for the last three seasons.ย For much ofย 2010, thatย was the case as the Colts’ rush offense ranked dead last in the league and their run defense didn’t rank that much higher. However, in the final three contests,ย Indyย gainedย rushing totals of 155, 191 andย 101 yards againstย Jacksonville, Oakland andย Tennessee, respectivelyย — all teams withย highly regarded running gamesย — and held each under 100 yards rushing (the Jaguars managed 67 yards on the ground; the Raiders gained 80 and the Titans earned 51).ย Manning, who finished the season with a recordย 450 completions and a career-high 4,700ย passing yards — threw for less than 300 yards in each of those games. If these dimensionsย stick around for the Colts,ย it will greatly boost theirย chances atย a playoff run, especiallyย since the teamย will be withoutย its two security blankets in the passing game, tight end Dallas Clark and receiver Austin Collie.ย One more noteย here: runningย back Dominic Rhodes, who was signed shortly before the Colts’ game at Tennessee on Dec. 9, has been sensational in his third stint in Indy (minus his fourth-quarter fumble Sunday that nearly cost the team the game), leading the Coltsย in rushingย in their last two games withย withย 98 andย 48 yards, respectively.
An observation I thought was quite interestingย was thatย ofย Indianapolisย Star columnist Bob Kravitz after theย Oakland game.ย Kravitzย saidย that the Colts playedย a game that was rendered meaninglessย after Jacksonville lost earlierย likeย it meant everything. The final week brought forthย an almost identicalย situation, and yetย Indy paidย no attention to whatย was happening outside Lucasย Oil Stadium.ย Itย was clear on the players’ faces Sunday that they wanted to win and get themselves into the playoffs.
And that they did. Even after such a trying season forย the Coltsย and forย Peyton Manning individually, here they are again.
–Drew Allen
