January 17, 2010
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Colts flatten Ravens
Colts shake off cobwebs, flatten Ravens for AFC title game berth INDIANAPOLIS — No rust. No boos from the home fans. No one-and-done. Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts came out clicking and put some questions to rest with a 20-3 victory against the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday night in the divisional round of the AFC playoffs.“I thought we came out sharp on both sides of the ball and really set the tempo of the game,” Manning said after completing 30 of 44 passes for 246 yards and two touchdowns despite not playing a full game since mid-December.
Going in, it was a question how sharp the Colts would be after resting their starters the final two weeks of the regular season and sitting out a playoff bye.
The Colts had been 0-4 in their franchise history following a bye week in the playoffs, 0-3 in the Manning era.
BOX SCORE: Colts 20, Ravens 3
“It’s about executing on that day. I don’t think it matters if you had a bye or you’re playing at home or away,” said Manning, who will lead the Colts into the AFC title game here next Sunday.
“I know it was just myth that you can’t win at home after a bye week. The games we haven’t won after a bye week we simply didn’t play good enough. We got beat by some teams that played better than us. I thought today we played better than Baltimore, and so we won the game.”
PHOTOS: NFL divisional playoffsROAD TO THE PLAYOFFS: Schedule, resultsManning saluted Colts fans. “They were great. They were outstanding. It’s something they have been all season for us.”
But Colts fans booed here on Dec. 27 when the team lifted its starters in the second half of a loss to the New York Jets. The Colts had been 14-0, and the loss doomed a shot at a perfect season. Coach Jim Caldwell’s stance was that it was more important to be rested and healthy for the postseason.
After Saturday night’s win, Caldwell was asked about the fans who booed in December.
“Our fans booed?” Caldwell said with a smile.
“Let me tell you something. Our fans were great today. They were outstanding. They did a great job. And the place was rocking. … I think they’re behind us. They were with us the entire time, start to finish. That’s kind of what you’d expect from our folks.
Colts fans waved placards reading, “United We Stand,” during the game.
Indianapolis faced a Baltimore team that had pounded the New England Patriots a week earlier with its defense and running game.
The Colts broke the game open with two touchdown passes by Manning in the final two minutes of the second quarter to take a 17-3 halftime lead.
At the two-minute warning, Manning’s 10-yard touchdown toss to wide receiver Austin Collie capped a 14-play, 75-yard drive. On the march, Manning hit eight of nine passes for 72 yards. The drive included a conversion on fourth-and-4 from the Baltimore 35-yard line.
After a subsequent Baltimore punt, the Colts got the ball again with 1:26 left in the half and went 64 yards for another touchdown that came on Manning’s 3-yard pass to Reggie Wayne with just 3 seconds left.
“He (Manning) does a great job of finding receivers. He finds a matchup,” said Colts coach John Harbaugh. ” … It wasn’t easy. They had no cheap ones.”
The Ravens lost to the Colts for the eighth consecutive time. In addition to the Colts’ efficiency, the Ravens were done in by a series of unusual plays and key penalties that went against them:
• On the Colts’ second scoring drive, just before halftime, the Ravens were hit with a pass interference call and a personal foul on linebacker Ray Lewis for his end-zone hit on Collie in breaking up a pass.
• In the third quarter, Ravens safety Ed Reed intercepted Manning and returned it 38 yards to the Colts’ 27 only to have Colts’ wide receiver Pierre Garcon strip the ball away from him. It was recovered by the Colts. “It’s a great play by Garcon. Obviously that hurt us,” said Harbaugh.
• On the ensuing Colts’ possession, Reed returned another interception 54 yards to the Colts’ 11 only to have the play wiped out by a pass interference call against Ravens defensive back Corey Ivy.
Against New England, Baltimore’s Ray Rice had run for 159 yards, including an 83-yard score on the Ravens’ opening play. Rice was again the mainstay for the Ravens Saturday night with 13 rushes for 67 yards and nine pass receptions for 60 yards. But the Colts held him to less than 100 yards rushing and kept him out of the end zone.
“Defense did a tremendous job,” said Caldwell.
Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco hit 20 of 35 passes for 189 yards, but he was intercepted twice.
Saturday was Flacco’s 25th birthday. It was also the 55th birthday for Caldwell.
“I haven’t had a better one in a long time,” said Caldwell.
