Silva: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for NFC teams.
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INDIANAPOLIS - Peyton Manning tried to focus on winning while the home crowd seemed unwilling to accept anything less than a record-setting night.
Manning threw his 47th touchdown pass of the season to move within one of Dan Marino’s long-standing record and finished with 249 yards to lead the Colts to a 20-10 victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night.
But after kneeling twice in the final minute to run out the clock and passing up a chance at tying Marino’s record, the Colts’ franchise player drew an unexpected reaction from the crowd — boos.
“I can’t get over the crowd booing like that,” said Manning, last season’s league co-MVP. “I hope those were Baltimore fans, because that’s what you’re supposed to do.”
His record pursuit aside, Manning did have another good game. He completed 20 of 33 passes for 249 yards and threw for one touchdown against Baltimore’s stingy defense while extending his NFL record of consecutive 4,000-yard seasons to six. Manning is now one TD pass short of Marino’s record 20-year-old record of 48 in a season.
The Colts (11-3) won their seventh straight and set up a showdown with San Diego next week for the No. 3 seed in the AFC.
But it wasn’t nearly enough to satisfy a festive crowd that expected to see history.
Before the game, city officials agreed to build a new retractable roof stadium that would keep the team in Indianapolis for 30 more years.
Then fans waved signs and held banners that counted down to the touchdown mark. They roared after Manning hooked up with Marvin Harrison on a TD pass in the third quarter and every time after that when it appeared Manning had a chance to tie the record.
Instead, the Colts settled for two second-half touchdown drives and a win.
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The Ravens (8-6) were busy dealing with other matters — like their playoff hopes. The loss dropped them into a tie with Buffalo, Jacksonville and Denver, and they managed to hold the Colts to their lowest scoring total of the season.
But the Raves also wanted to prevent Manning from making history against their defense.
“All we’ve seen on TV this week was Peyton Manning this and Peyton Manning that,” cornerback Gary Baxter said. “We weren’t going to let him set the record against us.”
The Ravens stymied Manning by using extra defensive backs and constant shifts, then controlled the clock by running the ball as long as it could.
It worked — for a while.
When Manning returned after a sluggish first half, it didn’t take him long to get the Colts going.
He opened the third period with a 77-yard scoring drive that ended with a 29-yard TD pass to a wide-open Marvin Harrison, who burned Chris McAlister with a nifty outside fake before turning inside. That gave the Colts a 13-3 lead.
Manning also got some help from his teammates.
Mike Vanderjagt kicked two first-half field goals to give Indianapolis a 6-3 lead in its second-lowest scoring opening half of the season. Larry Tripplett blocked a field goal that set up the Colts’ second touchdown drive — a 10-point swing that changed the game.
Baltimore never recovered after Von Hutchins returned the blocked kick to the Baltimore 31. Five plays later, Edgerrin James scored on a 3-yard run to make it 20-3 as fans urged Manning to throw the ball.
“Their safeties were eyeing Reggie (Wayne) and (Brandon) Stokley on the outside,” Manning said. “It was a no-brainer.”
The Ravens responded on their next series. A 64-yard kickoff return by B.J. Sams set up a 36-yard field goal. When the Colts were called for offside, the Ravens accepted the penalty and Kyle Boller threw a 13-yard TD pass to Todd Heap. Boller was 19 of 40 for 210 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
“Those are things you wouldn’t do at home,” Baltimore coach Brian Billick said. “But that’s an explosive offense to keep suppressed.”
Indianapolis sealed the win when Cato June picked off Boller’s pass and ran it 71 yards to the Baltimore 4, giving Manning one more chance to tie the record. Fans gave Manning a standing ovation when he came back onto the field, hoping he would throw.
Instead he knelt down and didn’t give the record a second thought.
“If it happens during the course of the game, that’s the way it’s meant to be,” he said. “It was just good to get the win.”
Notes: Indianapolis linebacker Rob Morris left with a concussion in the third quarter. ... Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis missed part of one series in the first half with a sprained wrist. ... Reggie Wayne caught eight passes for 88 yards to top the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his four-year career. ... Jamal Lewis carried 20 times for 130 yards, the 25th 100-yard game of his career.
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Silva: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for NFC teams.
Wesseling: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for AFC teams.
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Wesseling: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for AFC teams.
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Silva: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for NFC teams.
