Mood:
sillyTopic: Indianapolis Colts
Them Beantown boys went home this weekend after getting a beatin in The Hoosier City!
The Boston Celtics were outscored 27-18 by The Indiana Pacers in the final 10 minutes and The New England Patriots and Bill Belichick risked it all Sunday night.
And lost
One play will forever define this latest classic in the New England-Indianapolis rivalry.
Belichick, the New England Patriots' head coach, surprised many by opting to go for a first down on 4th-and-2 from the Patriots 28 with a six-point lead with just over two minutes remaining in a 35-34 loss to Indianapolis Sunday. He was criticized by many fans and media after the game when yhe Patriots failed to convert the first down and Indianapolis won when QB Peyton Manning threw for a 1-yard touchdown to WR Reggie Wayne with 13 seconds remaining.
Belichick called two timeouts on the series, the second to set up the fourth-down play - a short pass from Tom Brady to Kevin Faulk. It came up about a half-yard short of the first down marker, giving Manning the ball at the New England 29 with 1:57 left and all three timeouts - an eternity for the three-time MVP.
The Colts got the ball back on their own 29-yard line and scored the game winner four plays later. Manning ran three plays before finding Wayne for the winning score and left New England with virtually no chance to rally.
"Fourth-and-jackass. That's our name of a now-infamous play in New England Patriots history. Move over, Tuck Rule. You have company. Each and every week we see bad coaching decisions in the NFL, but never, and I mean never, have I seen one as dumb as the decision Patriots coach Bill Belichick made Sunday night against the Indianapolis Colts. His brain was more frozen than Ted Williams'." -- CBS Sports.com's Pete Prisco
When asked why he made the decision to go for it on fourth down -- running back Kevin Faulk caught the pass but was tackled short of the necessary yardage -- Belichick replied, "It's the same thing I said after the game: I thought it was our best chance to win. I thought we needed to make that one play and then we could basically run out the clock. And, we weren't able to make it."
New England (6-3) has now lost five of the last six in this series, while Indy remained undefeated at 9-0.
Coming up big when it counts the most has made Reggie Wayne one of the most beloved athletes in Indianapolis ever. His two touchdowns last night, including the game winner, was just enough to help the Colts stay perfect.
He had 126-yards receiving on 10 catches. Two of which were diving snags in the end zone, including the game winner with just 13 seconds left to play.
Colts WR Reggie Wayne made a leaping grab in the end zone with 16 seconds remaining. Matt Stover's extra point gave Indy a 35-34 lead, capping a four-play drive that started at Indy's 29-yard line after the two-minute warning.
How about the reemergence of Joseph Addai as a major cog in the Indianapolis Colts offense. With the Boys in Blue still struggling to get it going on the ground, Addai has come up big when it counts. He had two more touchdowns last night which gives him five total over the Colts past three games. Also, Addai's 13-yard run on the Colts final drive placed Peyton and the offense just one yard away from pay dirt. This allowed the Colts to run the clock down before punching in for six, thus leaving the Patriots virtually no time left to try and score.
Colts RB Joseph Addai hurt his right hand in the first quarter, went to the locker room and returned to action in the second half with his ring and middle fingers taped together.
Colts WR Pierre Garcon left the game after falling beyond the end zone in the second quarter. He had his left foot wrapped on the sideline and returned on the next series
In what is now their third consecutive come from behind fourth quarter victory, the Colts showed that they believe anything is possible with their team. No matter how bad it looks, until 60 minutes has expired they are not giving up.
Just how great are the Indianapolis Colts fan truly? . Against a powerful team like the Patriots, and with an offense that only scored 14 points in the first three quarters, very few people left Lucas Oil before the final whistle. They were just as loud on the faithful fourth and two as they were during New England's first possession three hours earlier.
Jim Caldwell is still posting a goose egg in the loss column for his career as a head coach. At 9-0, he stands alone as having the best record of any head coach to start his career in the history of the NFL.
Dwight Freeney. His consecutive games with a sack streak came to an end Sunday night as he went sack-less. His nine game streak still set a franchise record and fell just one short of the NFL record.
Peyton Manning is now in sole possession of fourth place on the all-time victory list with 126 wins to his name. He passed Fran Tarkenton who finished his career with 125 .
The Colts as a team have now won 18 consecutive regular season games, which ties them for the second longest streak in NFL history. Who are they tied with? The 2004-2006 New England Patriots. The Patriots of 2006-2008 hold the over all record with 21 consecutive regular season victories.
The Indianapolis Colts take to the road next week as they head to the city they once called home, Baltimore. Indianapolis will look to make it a joyful homecoming as they take on the 4-4 Baltimore Ravens who have become better known for their offense this year rather than the defense that struck fear in the hearts of many.