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
Go beyond the scoreboard
Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
