By Tom James
INDIANAPOLIS — In a few words, it was a grinder.
That’s the term that players and coaches in the National Football League use in talking about games that were, first of all, much tougher than expected. And, secondly, it pretty much describes what happens when a team wins despite not playing as well as it can.
Such was the case of the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. Yes, the Colts improved to 7-0 for the season and posted their third home victory of the year in front of 66,229 fans at Lucas Oil Stadium. But it took a 22-yard halfback pass from Joseph Addai to wide receiver Reggie Wayne with 14:53 remaining in the game to finally nail down an 18-14 win over the San Francisco 49ers.
Utilizing a play that hadn’t worked successfully since Addai entered the league as a rookie in 2006 — along with some timely defensive pressure in the fourth quarter that accounted for three of the team’s four sacks — Indianapolis managed to avoid the upset loss. And it allowed the Colts to retain a 21⁄2-game lead over next week’s opponent, the Houston Texans, in the battle for the AFC South title.
“I don’t know what else to say other than it was a good, tough, hard-nosed battle. [San Francisco head coach Mike] Singletary certainly had his team ready to play. They played hard and they played well. They had a good plan against us, also. It was a tough-played game, but we found a way to win it,” Indianapolis head coach Jim Caldwell said afterward.
“I think our guys hung in there and came through. They made some big plays. And they certainly performed well down the stretch. The defense shored up and the offense moved the ball and got points on the board. Certainly our kicking game was strong. We made a few kicks [Sunday], which we needed. But overall I think it was a good effort.”
Quarterback Peyton Manning recorded his sixth 300-yard passing game of the season, completing 31 of 48 passes for 347 yards. Wayne caught 12 passes for 147 yards and a touchdown despite missing most of last week’s practices with a strained groin. Addai, who had 62 yards rushing in 20 attempts, was forced to carry most of the load on the ground with rookie running back Donald Brown sidelined with a shoulder contusion.
Defensive ends Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis, along with defensive tackle Antonio Johnson and strongside linebacker Philip Wheeler, all registered sacks.
Strong safety Bob Sanders notched his first interception of the year. Rookie punter Pat McAfee averaged 41 yards on a season-high seven punts and had two kicks downed inside the 49ers’ 20-yard line.
But the Colts’ offensive execution was not as crisp as it has been in other games this season. A few mishandled passes, coupled with incomplete throws on plays where the receivers appeared to be open downfield, contributed to early struggles.
The defense got off to a slow start, surrendering a 64-yard touchdown run to 49ers running back Frank Gore with 11:16 left in the first quarter and an 8-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Alex Smith to tight end Vernon Davis with 33 seconds remaining in the first half.
Indianapolis countered with field goals from Matt Stover, who connected on kicks covering 38, 33 and 31 yards as the Colts offense continued to stall deep in San Francisco territory. A fourth Stover field goal, this one from 40 yards out, brought Caldwell’s team to within 14-12 with 9:34 left in the third quarter.
The stage was set for Addai’s left-handed toss to a wide-open Wayne in the left corner of the end zone. Indianapolis began what proved to be the game-winning drive on its own 30-yard line with 3:03 remaining in the third quarter and marched 70 yards in nine plays to the San Francisco 22-yard line.
On first down, Manning handed the ball off to Addai. The former high school quarterback tried his best to make the play look like the Colts’ trademark stretch run. When the 49ers secondary reacted to the handoff, a diving Wayne was able to break free towards the left corner of the end zone.
“We just look for an opportunity where we can take advantage [of the play]. And, often times, the play is called at the line of scrimmage [by Manning]. We have certain criteria that has to be met for that play to be called,” Caldwell explained. “I think we had some pretty good things going there in terms of our run game when we needed it.”
Indianapolis went for a 2-point conversion after the touchdown, but Manning’s pass to wide receiver Pierre Garcon went incomplete. Now it was up to the defense to settle things. And it responded. San Francisco’s final two offensive possessions stalled after the Colts came up with sacks from Mathis, Wheeler and Freeney.
Smith, who was making his first start of the season, completed 19 of 32 passes for 198 yards and one touchdown. Gore had 91 yards in 13 carries, but 64 of those yards came on one play. Indianapolis outgained the 49ers 410 yards to 295 yards.
“Our defense really came up big and really got a bead on things. [The 49ers] are a tough team to handle. Look at all of the weapons that they had. I think you got an opportunity to see them [Sunday]. Gore is some kind of back. And, obviously, you can see [rookie wide receiver Michael] Crabtree can give you some problems,” Caldwell said.
“[Veteran wide receiver Issac] Bruce is still good. Our defense rose to the occasion when we needed it most. We needed a couple of big stops to knock them out of field goal range. That was huge. We were pleased with their effort. We may not have been perfect, but we found a way to win.”
Colts 18, 49ers 14
In Lucas Oil Stadium
San Francisco 7 7 0 0 — 14
Indianapolis 3 6 3 6 — 18
SF—Gore 64 run (Nedney kick)
Ind—FG Stover 38
Ind—FG Stover 33
SF—V.Davis 8 pass from A.Smith (Nedney kick)
Ind—FG Stover 31
Ind—FG Stover 40
Ind—Wayne 22 pass from Addai (pass failed)
SF Ind
First downs 16 20
Total Net Yards 295 410
Rushes-yards 18-113 21-61
Passing 182 349
Punt Returns 6-37 6-32
Kickoff Returns 6-102 3-64
Interceptions Ret. 0-0 1-29
Comp-Att-Int 19-32-1 32-49-0
Sacked-Yards Lost 4-16 3-20
Punts 8-50.0 7-46.3
Fumbles-Lost 2-1 2-0
Penalties-Yards 7-50 5-38
Time of Possession 26:26 33:34
RUSHING—San Francisco, Gore 13-91, A.Smith 1-10, Coffee 1-8, Norris 3-4. Indianapolis, Addai 20-62, Simpson 1-(minus 1).
PASSING—San Francisco, A.Smith 19-32-1-198. Indianapolis, Manning 31-48-0-347, Addai 1-1-0-22.
RECEIVING—San Francisco, Crabtree 6-81, Gore 5-43, Bruce 4-51, V.Davis 3-20, Morgan 1-3. Indianapolis, Wayne 12-147, Clark 8-99, Collie 6-66, Garcon 4-53, Addai 2-4.
