Final

Redskins 22

(2-5, 1-3 away)

Colts 36

(6-0, 4-0 home)

Coverage: FOX

4:15 PM ET, October 22, 2006

 

1 2 3 4 T
WSH 0 14 0 822
IND 7 6 20 336

Top Performers

Passing: P. Manning (IND) - 342 YDS, 4 TD

Rushing: J. Addai (IND) - 11 CAR, 85 YDS

Receiving: R. Wayne (IND) - 7 REC, 122 YDS, 1 TD

Manning's four TD passes help Colts stay unbeaten

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Peyton Manning got up, cleaned his dirty face and responded like a prizefighter.

After being bent over awkwardly twice in the first half, losing his helmet and once appearing hurt, the two-time MVP knocked out the Washington Redskins with three third-quarter touchdown passes Sunday as the Indianapolis Colts rolled to a 36-22 victory.

Scouts Inc.'s take ...
This game ended like a lot of people thought it would -- with a Colts win -- but at halftime the Redskins were leading 14-13 and there was a smell of an upset in the air. The Redskins offense was able to move the ball on the Colts defense with a balanced attack that saw Mark Brunell throw a 13-yard touchdown pass to TE Chris Cooley to tie the game 7-7.

The Redskins defense, playing a lot of two-deep zone coverage to protect their corners, held Peyton Manning (above) and the Colts offense to field goals in the red zone in the first half after an opening-drive TD. But Manning came back in the second half and went to work on Redskins corners Kenny Wright and Shawn Springs while going 10-for-12 for 165 yards and three touchdowns, with most of the plays coming in the third quarter.

"I've seen him take some tough shots, and he's a little tougher than people think," coach Tony Dungy said.

Aside from the early battering, a face full of rubber chips from the turf and the neck rub he needed to return, Perfect Peyton nearly lived up to his nickname. He finished with a passer rating of 140.4 and helped the Colts keep their title as the AFC's only unbeaten team.

Indy, which matched the Chicago Bears at 6-0, became the ninth team in league history to start two consecutive seasons with six straight wins.

But this didn't go exactly by the script.

Manning declined to elaborate on what he hurt on the first big hit, when one defender grabbed his legs and Phillip Daniels hit him high. The nine-year veteran grabbed his throwing shoulder before calling timeout, then spent the next series on the sideline getting a rubdown and checking his grip on the ball.

"I attended the Bill Belichick school of not discussing injuries the past few summers ... so I don't really discuss that," he said.

Though he was battered, Manning let his performance show the Redskins (2-5) he was not shaken. Manning finished 25-of-35 with four touchdowns and continued ascending the NFL's career charts. His last TD pass, No. 256, sent him past Dan Fouts (254) and Sonny Jurgensen (255) into 10th in NFL history.

"It was Peyton being Peyton: quick throws," defensive end Andre Carter said. "They made certain adjustments. But it was us. We didn't tackle well in the second half."

The Redskins' third straight loss also dealt a blow to their playoff hopes, and they had nobody to blame but themselves and Manning, who exposed their banged-up secondary in the second half.

Meanwhile, Manning and the Colts looked like themselves.

Receiver Reggie Wayne caught seven passes for 122 yards and one TD, while Marvin Harrison caught seven passes for 73 yards and two TDs to tie Lenny Moore's franchise record for touchdowns (113).

It was a game that had nearly as many odd twists as a Washington political scandal.

Colts defensive tackle Montae Reagor was involved in an automobile accident en route to the game, leaving him hospitalized with a head wound. The teams' biggest stars, Manning and Washington running back Clinton Portis, were hurt in the first half. Although Manning didn't miss a play, Portis left briefly after being hit with a helmet near his groin.

Then there was the game. Washington took its only lead on Antwaan Randle El's 87-yard punt return, which came in the midst of four Redskins personal fouls in about a two-minute span. The last two forced Washington to kick off from its own 5.

"In the first half, we went after it hard, got the lead. It was a good first half," Washington coach Joe Gibbs said. "In the second half, we couldn't get anything done. Give a lot of credit to them, they overwhelmed us in the third quarter."

This was the kind of game the Colts had been waiting for.

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. Ladell Betts ran 10 times for 52 yards.

The Colts hardly looked like a team coming off a bye.

Manning threw a 1-yard TD pass to Dallas Clark on Indy's opening possession, and Mark Brunell answered with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Chris Cooley early in the second quarter.

After Adam Vinatieri's 30-yard field goal made it 10-7, Randle El caught a punt at his 13, found a huge seam up the middle and buckled the knees of punter Hunter Smith, the only player who had a shot to tackle him, with a nifty fake to give Washington a 14-10 lead.

From that point, it was all Manning.

A two-minute drive at the end of the half led to another Vinatieri field goal, and Manning followed that with three quick TDs in the second half -- a 4-yard pass to Harrison, a 51-yarder to Reggie Wayne and a 1-yard pass to Harrison to make it 33-14 late in the third quarter. "I asked him at halftime if he was OK and he said he was fine," Dungy said. "And he was on fire in the third quarter."

Game notes


Manning passed Jim Hart for 14th on the career yardage list. Manning has 34,809 career yards; Hart had 34,665. ... Harrison passed Irving Fryar for eighth on the career yardage chart. Harrison has 12,846 yards; Fryar had 12,785. ... Santana Moss left the game with what Gibbs described as a hamstring injury. ... Colts safety Mike Doss sprained a knee and will need an MRI exam. ... Brunell was 27-of-37 for 226 yards and two TDs.

Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press

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Team Stat Comparison

 
Washington
Indianapolis
1st Downs1925
3rd down efficiency
6-145-10
4th down efficiency
2-20-0
Total Yards325452
Yards per play5.27.5
Total Drives13
Passing211342
Comp-Att
27-3725-35
Yards per pass
5.79.8
Interceptions thrown
00
Sacks-Yards Lost
2-150-0
Rushing114110
Rushing Attempts
2425
Yards per rush
4.84.4
Penalties10-913-27
Turnovers00
Fumbles lost
00
Interceptions thrown
00
Possession30:5429:06

Passing Leaders

WSHC/ATTYDSAVGTDINTSACKS
Brunell27/372266.1202-15
INDC/ATTYDSAVGTDINTSACKS
Manning25/353429.8400-0

Rushing Leaders

WSHCARYDSAVGTDLG
Betts10525.2019
Portis12433.6034
INDCARYDSAVGTDLG
Addai11857.7021
Rhodes13262.0011

Receiving Leaders

WSHRECYDSAVGTDLG
Cooley44210.5116
Randle El34214.0030
INDRECYDSAVGTDLG
Wayne712217.4151
Harrison77310.4238

Scoring Summary

FIRST QUARTERWSHIND
TD8:01Dallas Clark 1 Yd Pass From Peyton Manning (Adam Vinatieri Kick)
Drive: 11 plays, 92 yds, 5:56
07
SECOND QUARTERWSHIND
TD1:41Chris Cooley 13 Yd Pass From Mark Brunell (Nick Novak Kick)
Drive: 7 plays, 45 yds, 2:35
77
FG6:19Adam Vinatieri 30 Yd
Drive: 10 plays, 61 yds, 4:31
710
TD12:36Antwaan Randle El 87 Yd Punt Return (Nick Novak Kick) 1410
FG14:52Adam Vinatieri 19 Yd
Drive: 10 plays, 52 yds, 2:16
1413
THIRD QUARTERWSHIND
TD2:01Marvin Harrison 4 Yd Pass From Peyton Manning (Adam Vinatieri Kick)
Drive: 4 plays, 55 yds, 2:01
1420
TD6:49Reggie Wayne 49 Yd Pass From Peyton Manning (Adam Vinatieri Kick)
Drive: 4 plays, 81 yds, 2:02
1427
TD12:14Marvin Harrison 1 Yd Pass From Peyton Manning (Two-Point Pass Conversion Failed)
Drive: 7 plays, 66 yds, 3:11
1433
FOURTH QUARTERWSHIND
FG10:19Adam Vinatieri 47 Yd
Drive: 10 plays, 46 yds, 5:30
1436
TD14:38James Thrash 5 Yd Pass From Mark Brunell (Mark Brunell Pass To Chris Cooley For Two-Point Conversion)
Drive: 14 plays, 70 yds, 4:23
2236