The Indianapolis Colts are imperfect after all, and while that’s wonderful news for the champagne-swilling 1972 Miami Dolphins, it’s really pretty good news for the 2005 Colts as well.

Sure, they would have loved to continue the pursuit of the perfect season. They were enjoying the national limelight. They were embracing the attention. They were taking the cue from their head coach, Tony Dungy, who told them to savor every rare moment.

And yet, by losing 26-17 to the San Diego Chargers Sunday, the Colts unwittingly did themselves a favor. They put themselves in better position to win the Super Bowl than ever before.

Now, the pressure to be perfect is gone.

Now, Dungy, who seemed as relieved as he was disappointed after the game, doesn’t have to engage in the great national debate over whether to rest his starters or chase immortality.
Now, the Colts can go a long way toward assuring themselves of a healthy roster come playoff time.

“I never think losing helps and it’s not something we wanted to do,’’ Dungy said. “But if it brings us back with a little more resolve in these last two weeks, then maybe some good will come of it.’’

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A little history lesson, especially for Colts fans: In 1985, the 12-0 Chicago Bears lost to the Miami Dolphins in their 13th game. They then won the final two regular season games and steamrolled their way to a Super Bowl title.

In 1998, the 13-0 Denver Broncos lost to the immortal Kent Graham and the New York Giants in the Meadowlands. The 15th game, they mailed it in against the Miami Dolphins, going vanilla against a possible playoff opponent. Then they took the final game of the regular season semi-seriously, won easily, and blew away the field on their way to a second straight Super Bowl.

That probably explains why the Colts, from the coaches to the players, were far less crestfallen than the fans who came to the Dome to be a part of history. For members of the organization, life just got a lot easier, and less complicated. Now the national media can go home. Now the vigil can end. Now the Colts can roll out backup quarterback Jim Sorgi against Seattle next week and against Arizona the week after and not feel the least bit guilty.

“This does take a lot of mystery out of things,’’ Dungy said, smiling.

Manning will start, of course, because he’s got a streak to keep alive. But he won’t be out there long. Nor will Edgerrin James or Dwight Freeney or anybody else of great renown.
If the Colts were reminded of anything Sunday — besides the fact they must shore up an offensive line that has become leaky in recent weeks — it’s that they’re as vulnerable to injuries as anybody else.

Incredibly, they haven’t lost one starter on either side of the ball to an injury this season. But early in this game, offensive right tackle Ryan Diem hurt his knee, and will not return until the playoffs. Later, defensive tackle Larry Tripplett and defensive end Dwight Freeney were hurt, although both returned. Most alarming, though, Manning suffered his worst physical beating of the year. He was sacked four times, got pressured three times that number, and emerged from the game with a nasty red welt over his eye.

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Maybe the football deities were trying to send a message.

Sit them down. Now.

“It’ll probably make some decisions easier, and we won’t have to deal with the outside media,’’ Dungy said. “But really, it was a fun streak. No one wanted it to end. I don’t think we were unemotional. We tried, and we came back and got the lead after being down by 16 points, but it didn’t work out.’’

There will be a lot of chatter now about how the Colts are suddenly vulnerable, especially against a determined pass rush. Already, the Indianapolis locals are getting the chills thinking about a return match with the New England Patriots, who seem to have remembered what it takes to be champions.

What they need to do is this: Relax.

What happened Sunday was quite simple, really. The San Diego Chargers, who gave the Colts fits here last season, absolutely needed this victory. The Colts, who were playing for nothing more than a chance to pursue a perfect season that was never a high priority, did not. And it looked that way.

Within 10 minutes of this game, it was obvious something was amiss in the Colts’ world.

They failed to score on their first series, something they rarely do.

They fell behind, something that hadn’t done since the sixth game of the season.

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