Tony Dungy showed why he’s one of the most liked coaches in football, calling Marvin Harrison’s number late in the fourth quarter for a record-setting TD. Harrison and Peyton Manning now have hooked up in the end zone 86 times, and the fans really wanted to see them break the record at home. With less than 10 minutes left in the fourth, the surging Colts already up 31-20 and a trip to Houston next on the schedule, Peyton threw a fade to the right corner of the end zone and Harrison, in one of the prettiest TD receptions you’ll see all year, caught the ball firmly in his hands while dragging his right foot up against the sideline. Live action, I didn’t think there was any chance he got both feet in. But he did. Teammates congratulate. Crowd goes crazy. Madden gushes. Beautiful.
The Colts actually looked like they were in some serious trouble early on, with the Rams scoring the first 17 points of the game. Manning made a terrible throw to Harrison in the third quarter on what was a sure TD, and later Peyton was shown arguing with an Indy coach and then with one of his offensive lineman. But with Mark Bulger out, the Colts defense started creating turnovers and the offense found a groove, resulting in a 45-20 score (as of now — it’s still the fourth quarter).
End result? The Colts are now 6-0, and if teams are going to continue to force them to win on the ground instead of through the air, they’ve proved that they won’t have a problem doing just that.
