Brent Smith / Reuters

Colts quarterback Peyton Manning walks off the field. Manning threw two interceptions in the 26-17 loss to the Chargers on Sunday, the Colts' first loss of the season.

“I’ve got a lot of friends on that team. That was my era,” Archie Manning recalled Sunday, sitting just outside the Indianapolis locker room. “This was great for them. There’s a lot of 8-, 9- and 10-year-old kids playing football who didn’t know a thing about that. They might be discovered all over again now.”

Besides what they soaked up watching their father play, Peyton and Eli Manning both were schooled in the history of the NFL. Backyard games in the Manning household were always about winning the Super Bowl, never about going undefeated. They weren’t about being named MVP for three seasons running, either, something Peyton is likely to do, matching Brett Favre’s accomplishment — so he may get another shot at those 1972 Dolphins.

Still, flirting with perfection made it even harder to let go.

“We just didn’t make as many plays,” Peyton Manning said finally, “as we’re used to.”

And maybe the Colts didn’t get as many breaks in this one as they’ve become accustomed to, either. Don’t kid yourself: Any time an achievement stretches all the way across the grid of a season, you have to get more than your fair share. A puck caromed off Wayne Gretzky’s backside and trickled into the net the season he set hockey’s consecutive-game scoring record. Joe DiMaggio was the beneficiary of a few broken-bat singles the year he set baseball’s consecutive-game hit mark. Time and distance have papered over the 1972 Dolphins miscues, but be certain they got some big breaks.

Still, like the welt adorning Manning’s left temple, this loss should remind these Colts not to count on anything they can’t control. A favorable bounce or two of the ball, a tipped pass, a missed call — any or all of those things could have decided the outcome.

The hopeful thing about Dungy, Manning and this still-special Colts team is that they didn’t reach out for any of the available alibis.

“I never think losing helps. But if it brings us back for the last two weeks with more resolve,” Dungy said, “maybe some good will come of it.”

NFL game stories Quick look at Week 4 games STEELERS 23, RAVENS 20, OT: Baltimore loses first game of season REDSKINS 26, COWBOYS 24: Dallas can't contain Portis in 1st loss BEARS 24, EAGLES 20: Goal-line stand boosts Chicago JETS 56, CARDINALS 35: Favre throws career-high 6 TDs BUCS 30, PACKERS 21: Ryan's 3 FGs lift Tampa CHARGERS 28, RAIDERS 18: San Diego tops rival 10th straight time BILLS 31, RAMS 14: Buffalo 4-0 for first time since 1992 CHIEFS 33, BRONCOS 19: Johnson rushes for 198 yards for K.C. BROWNS 20, BENGALS 12: Anderson throws TD TITANS 30, VIKINGS 17: Tennessee 4-0 for first time ever PANTHERS 24, FALCONS 9: Smith honors Lucas after TD JAGUARS 30, TEXANS 27, OT: Scobey kicks game winner SAINTS 31, 49ERS 17: McAlister scores first TD of year

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