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December 1, 2009

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Home » Sports » American Football

Unbeaten Colts rally to down Texans

Source: Agencies | December 1, 2009, Tuesday | Print Edition

THE Indianapolis Colts roared back from a 0-17 deficit to defeat the Houston Texans 35-27 on Sunday and remain one of the NFL's two unbeaten teams.

Peyton Manning threw for three touchdowns and the Colts (11-0) won their 20th consecutive regular season game to move within one win of tying the NFL record by the New England Patriots from 2006-08.

Houston (5-6) dominated the first half as Manning was intercepted twice, but Indianapolis put together 28 consecutive points against the error-prone Texans after the interval.

"They literally owned that first half," Colts coach Jim Caldwell told reporters. "Our guys showed a lot of heart and came back in the second half."

The victory, coupled with Jacksonville's loss to San Francisco, enabled the Colts to claim their sixth AFC South title in seven years and become the first team to earn a playoff spot

"Most of our mistakes offensively (in the first half) were self inflicted," Manning said after bringing the Colts from behind for the fifth consecutive game. "Once we stopped making those mistakes and started executing, we started scoring some points."

The Colts, down 20-7 at the half, finally wrested the lead from the Texans with 14 points in 11 seconds in the fourth quarter.

Moments after Manning connected with Dallas Clark for a six-yard touchdown and a 21-20 Colts lead with 8:28 to play, Clint Session intercepted a Matt Schaub pass and returned it 27 yards for a score.

Chad Simpson made it 35-20 with 2:52 remaining on a 23-yard run after a Schaub fumble.

Manning, who was 27 of 35 for 244 yards with two interceptions, also had TD passes of nine yards to Pierre Garcon in the second quarter and four yards to Reggie Wayne in the third.

"You don't like spotting a team 17 points and trying to test your character every single Sunday," the Colts' quarterback said. "But we have been there before, so we do know how to fight ourselves out of the hole.

"There is no panic."

The win was the Colts' 15th in 16 games against the Texans, who lost their third in a row.

Schaub guided Houston to touchdowns on their first two possessions, throwing seven yards to Vonta Leach on the Texans' opening drive.

Chris Brown's five-yard run made it 14-0 late in the first and Houston had a 17-0 lead when Kris Brown kicked a 35-yard field goal with 10:49 left in the second.

The Texans' other points came on Kris Brown's 33-yard field goal before the half and Schaub's 10-yard pass to Jacoby Jones with seconds to play.

Schaub completed 31 of 42 passes for 284 yards, but his two interceptions and fumble proved costly.

In Nashville, Tennessee, Vince Young hit a leaping Kenny Britt for a 10-yard touchdown as time expired, and Tennessee rallied for its fifth straight victory, a 20-17 win over the Cardinals.

Young won his ninth straight start and improved to 23-11 in his career by driving the Titans 99 yards in the final 2:37. He converted three fourth downs on the drive, two to Britt. He threw for a career-high 387 yards in outdueling Matt Leinart in their first meeting as professionals.

In other action, it was: Ravens 20, Steelers 17, OT; Chargers 43, Chiefs 14; Vikings 36, Bears 10; 49ers 20, Jaguars 3; Bengals 16, Browns 7; Eagles 27, Redskins 24; Falcons 20, Buccaneers 17; Bills 31, Dolphins 14; Jets 17, Panthers 6; and Seahawks 27, Rams 17.



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