The night was supposed to belong to Peyton Manning. Instead, the Indianapolis Colts stole the show.
Andrew Luck threw three touchdown passes and Indy's defense forced three turnovers Sunday night in a 39-33 win at Lucas Oil Stadium.
The Colts head into their bye week atop the AFC South at 5-2. The Broncos fall to 6-1, leaving the 7-0 Kansas City Chiefs as the NFL's lone undefeated team.
It was an interesting game for the Colts, who put up 39 points despite no rusher going over 37 yards and no receiver going beyond 50 yards. Reggie Wayneleft the game in the fourth quarter with a potentially serious knee injury.
This game turned in the second quarter, when Colts defensive end Robert Mathiscrashed into Manning deep in Broncos territory, forcing a fumble that led to a safety. The Colts took off after that, scoring the game's next 21 points. During that same stretch, Manning went 5 of 12 for 36 yards.
The lead ballooned to 36-17 in the fourth quarter before the Broncos came back to life. Manning led the Broncos on a three-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that took 48 seconds off the clock early in the fourth quarter, then scored another touchdown minutes later after a fumble by Colts running back Trent Richardson.
On NFL Network
NFL Replay
will re-air the
Indianapolis Colts' 39-33 win over the
Denver Broncos from Week 7 on Tuesday, Oct. 22 at 3:30 p.m. ET.
The Broncos never got it closer than six points, however, with a Ronnie Hillman fumble inside the Colts' 5-yard-line essentially sealing Denver's fate late in the fourth quarter.
It's a great win for the franchise, but especially for Andrew Luck, who lives in no man's shadow in Indianapolis. Colts owner Jim Irsay must be feeling better than ever about his decision.
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