Colts... 21 Raiders... 14
OAKLAND -- Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts had to work a lot harder than expected to get a week off to open the playoffs.
Manning threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Gonzalez with 4:49 remaining for the Colts’ first offensive touchdown of the game, and Indianapolis rallied to beat the Oakland Raiders, 21-14, and clinch a first-round bye in the AFC playoffs.
The Colts (12-2) trailed, 14-13, after Justin Fargas’ two-yard run early in the fourth quarter. But Manning completed all seven passes on the ensuing drive, including a key third-down conversion to Reggie Wayne, to drive Indianapolis 91 yards for the go-ahead score. Joseph Addai ran in the two-point conversion.
Kelvin Hayden broke up a fourth-down pass to Jerry Porter from the Indianapolis 16-yard line with 1:50 remaining, and the Colts ran out the clock to win it.
The win clinched Indianapolis’ fifth straight AFC South title.
The Raiders (4-10) are assured of their fifth straight double-digit loss season.
Quoteworthy: “People talk about the post-Super Bowl letdown and everything like that. We haven’t experienced that.” -- Tony Dungy, Colts coach
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