Houston QB
Rosenfels’ miscues lead to 31-27 loss to Indy
Headed for another early-season loss, Peyton Manning and the
Indianapolis Colts staged a stunning comeback thanks to a colossal collapse by
the Houston Texans.
Manning’s late-game poise—and the lack of it for Houston quarterback Sage
Rosenfels—helped the Colts scored 21 points in a late span of 2:10. Two
touchdowns came thanks to fumbles by Rosenfels, then Indianapolis intercepted
Rosenfels’ last-ditch comeback attempt for a 31-27 win Sunday.
Manning threw two touchdown passes, connecting with Reggie Wayne on a 5-yarder
with 1:54 remaining for the decisive points. Linebacker Gary Brackett returned a
fumble by Rosenfels 68 yards for a score in between Manning’s TD throws.
“All of our team played great football today, played winning football and I made
those mistakes that cost football games,” Rosenfels said. “There is no reason we
should have lost that game.”
Joseph Addai rushed up the middle for 1 yard gain (Adam
Vinatieri made PAT)
10 - 0
2nd Quarter
12:06
HOU
TD
Steve Slaton rushed to the left for 1 yard gain (Kris
Brown made PAT)
10 - 7
7:09
HOU
FG
Kris Brown kicked a 37-yard field goal
10 - 10
0:27
HOU
TD
Sage Rosenfels passed to Andre Johnson down the middle
for 5 yard gain (Kris Brown made PAT)
10 - 17
3rd Quarter
0:21
HOU
FG
Kris Brown kicked a 43-yard field goal
10 - 20
4th Quarter
8:18
HOU
TD
Steve Slaton rushed to the left for 1 yard gain (Kris
Brown made PAT)
10 - 27
4:04
IND
TD
Peyton Manning passed to Tom Santi down the middle for 7
yard gain (Adam Vinatieri made PAT)
17 - 27
3:36
IND
TD
Sage Rosenfels rushed to the left for 7 yard gain. Sage
Rosenfels fumbled. Gary Brackett recovered fumble and returned for 68
yards (Adam Vinatieri made PAT)
24 - 27
1:54
IND
TD
Peyton Manning passed to Reggie Wayne to the left for 5
yard gain (Adam Vinatieri made PAT)
31 - 27
Team Statistics
IND
HOU
First Downs
18
22
Passing
12
12
Rushing
6
9
Penalty
0
1
Third Down Efficiency
3-12
6-13
Fourth Down Efficiency
3-3
0-0
TOTAL NET YARDS
314
391
Total Plays
58
67
Average Gain Per Play
5.4
5.8
NET YARDS RUSHING
79
156
Rushes
22
32
Average Per Rush
3.6
4.9
NET YARDS PASSING
235
235
Completions-Attempts
25-34
21-33
Yards Per Pass Play
6.5
6.7
Times Sacked
2
2
Yards Lost to Sacks
12
11
Had Intercepted
1
1
PUNTS
3
2
Average Punt
50.0
43.5
PENALTIES
6
1
Penalty Yards
31
5
FUMBLES
0
3
Fumbles Lost
0
2
TIME OF POSSESSION
28:39
31:21
Pregame Previews, Storylines,
and News
New Page 1
Preview:
A shaky start through the first
few weeks of the season has the Indianapolis Colts in an unfamiliar position in
the AFC South. Another disappointing beginning for the Houston Texans has again
relegated them to the division's cellar.
The Colts will try to turn things around and even their record on Sunday
afternoon as they seek their 12th win in 13 tries against the winless Texans,
who will finally play their first home game of the season.
Slow starts are very uncommon for Indianapolis (1-2), which has opened each of
the last three seasons 7-0 or better. The Colts, winners of five straight AFC
South titles, haven't finished lower than second in the division since 2001,
when a 6-10 mark left them in fourth place.
Although they bounced back from a season-opening home loss to Chicago with an
18-15 road victory at Minnesota in Week 2, the Colts couldn't keep their
momentum going as they fell 23-21 at home to division foe Jacksonville on Sept.
21....more
Fun Fact: Peyton Manning has 29 career touchdown passes
against Houston, his most vs. any team
Inside the Game Plans:
Notable:
COLTS: Regain
control on both sides of the football. Offensively, Indianapolis has not
been able to control the tempo of the game and force opponents to play
them more honestly. Defenses have been attempting to crowd the line of
scrimmage in order to force the Colts into passing the ball and throwing
quicker than they want to. The running game improved against
Jacksonville but it has to be more productive. Defensively, the Colts
have to be able to stop the run and force opposing offenses into
throwing the ball...FULL
STORY
TEXANS:
Defensively, the Texans will try to blitz Peyton Manning and rush his
passes. So far, Mario Williams has been the only one able to
consistently get pressure on opposing quarterbacks. The Texans will try
to bring in Chaun Thompson for more pressure and N.D. Kalu. Offensively,
the Texans want to pick up where they left off. They will need solid
pass protection and they will focus on running the ball...FULL
STORY
Colts are 11-1 against
the Texans all-time
Colts are
10-9 all-time following the bye week
Texans are one of four remaining
winless NFL teams, joining the Bengals, Lions, and Rams
All-Pro safety Bob Sanders (ankle/knee)
remains out for Indianapolis, and left tackle Tony Ugoh (groin/knee) is
questionable
Texans Notes: Green to back up Slaton
Houston Chronicle
The Texans will do what they can to win the
time-of-possession battle against the Colts this week. The more the
Texans have the ball, the less they will ... Texans short on safetiesDallas
Morning News
Winless Texans face 100th game in need of a win
Dallas Morning News
Could the Texans still hope for their first playoff
berth? Unlikely, but it will be more like impossible if they don't beat the
Colts
16.2
14.5