As he drove the Colts down the field in the final minutes at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, you got the sense that Peyton Manning was on the verge of silencing an already stunned Foxboro crowd.
The Colts, who trailed the entire game, were down 31-21 with roughly 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. But Manning found Blair White on a 5-yard touchdown pass to cut the Pats’ lead to 31-21 midway through the quarter and then he hit White again on an 18-yard touchdown with just under five minutes remaining to put the Colts within a field goal.
After his defense shut down Tom Brady and New England’s offense, Manning methodically began to drive the Colts down the field. Facing a 1st and 10 at the New England 24-yard line, Manning dropped back to pass but the pressure caused him to shift his feet and his pass sailed on him. Patriot cornerback James Sanders then leapt into the air and snagged the interception to preserve a huge win for the Patriots.
It’s rare to see Manning cost the Colts a potential victory. Granted, even if Indy tied the game they still would have had to play the Patriots in overtime. But they had stolen the momentum and if they had won the coin toss, there was a good chance Manning would finish the Patriots off in the extra frame.
But Manning never gave them that opportunity and while legions of Colts fans will give him a mulligan, it was a disheartening outcome to say the least.
And it wasn’t Manning’s first interception either. He was picked off a total of three times on the night and despite throwing for 396 yards and three touchdowns, those three turnovers proved costly for the Colts. Now Indy is tied with the Jaguars (who have already beaten the Colts this year) atop the AFC South.
As for the Patriots, this win was huge because the Jets apparently have no intentions on losing another game the rest of the year. Both teams are 8-2 and jockeying for position not only in the AFC East, but for the No. 1 spot in the conference. With six games remaining, it’s going to be a thrilling finish in both conferences.
