Rhodes Is a Colossus as Colts End Skid

Dominic Rhodes thought he could run for 200 yards. He settled for 177 and a victory.

Rhodes scored two touchdowns and nearly set a Colt rookie rushing record as Indianapolis ended a five-game losing streak with a 41-27 victory over Atlanta on Sunday.

“I finally got that 100-yard game that I’ve been looking for,” Rhodes said. “I’ve been trying to get 200 for my O-line. It eluded me again.”

Rhodes’ total, which came on 29 carries, was the highest single-game effort by a Colt rookie since 1956.

Alan Ameche (194 in 1955) and Lenny Moore (185 in 1956) are the only other Colt rookies to produce more yards rushing, and the 177 yards were the eighth-highest total overall in franchise history.

But the Colts (5-8) weren’t as concerned with records as they were with the victory--their first at home since Sept. 23.

“Oh man, whoo! Thank God,” Coach Jim Mora said. “I think [team President] Bill Polian said it best: ‘It’s tough when you have to sweat out a 41-point victory.”’

At least it was a victory.

The Falcons (6-7) lost for the third straight time, dealing a serious blow to their playoff hopes.

“We had a chance ... at 6-4 to make a statement and make the playoffs, but we haven’t played very well lately,” Atlanta Coach Dan Reeves said.

The Colts took advantage of the Falcons’ woes despite playing with a group depleted by injuries.

Starting wide receiver Jerome Pathon and two-time NFL rushing champ Edgerrin James are on injured reserve, and Pathon’s replacement, Terrence Wilkins, was inactive Sunday because of a hamstring injury.

No problem.

Rhodes ran for 100 yards for the third time this year. Manning also played well. He completed 23 of 35 passes for 325 yards and three touchdowns and threw only one interception. And he did it with an unusual mix of receivers.

Pollard produced his second 100-yard game of the season. Trevor Insley caught three passes for 53 yards, including the first touchdown of his career, and tight end Ken Dilger caught a 12-yard touchdown pass--his first since Oct. 29, 2000, against Detroit. First-round draft pick Reggie Wayne caught five passes for 78 yards--easily his best game as a professional.

“We played a lot better offensively,” Manning said. “We made a lot of plays, we ran the ball well, Dominic made some big runs and we blocked well.... We just executed better overall.”

Rhodes opened the scoring with an 11-yard touchdown run, and Manning directed three consecutive touchdown drives as the Colts jumped to a 28-14 lead.

After the Falcons trimmed the lead to 28-20, the Colts countered with Rhodes, who ran for 35 yards on the fourth play of the next series, then sprinted 11 yards to the end zone to make it 35-20 with 11:06 to go.