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INDIANAPOLIS – Something is amiss when the Colts resort to trickery.
But they did exactly that Sunday, giving the ball to running back Joseph Addai on a fake run play that turned into a 22-yard game-winning touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne in the fourth quarter at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Not often does the NFL’s most streamlined offense resort to gimmicks. Only once since 2004 had anyone other than Peyton Manning or Jim Sorgi even attempted a pass for the Colts.
The Colts’ 18-14 victory over the San Francisco 49ers was a different sort of game for undefeated Indianapolis (7-0). Some might say the Colts looked ordinary, even if history will remember it as a typical game based on the statistics.
Manning threw for 347 yards. Reggie Wayne, despite having a groin strain, reeled in 12 catches for 147 yards and one touchdown. Bob Sanders had an interception, and the Colts sacked 49ers quarterback Alex Smith four times.
But this was anything but archetypal. Manning repeatedly overthrew receivers, who were prone to dropping the ball anyway. The run game was so abysmal that the Colts abandoned it for two quarters. The 64-yard touchdown run by San Francisco’s Frank Gore was highlighted by three missed tackles.
Hey, you can’t be great every week.
Frankly, it was refreshing to see the Colts play a game marked more by grit and determination than panache. And as the Colts get into the meat of their schedule – upcoming games against Houston, New England and Baltimore – this is the sort of scrappy performance that could give injury-riddled Indianapolis heightened confidence that it can win even if the offense is out of sync.
Against the 49ers (3-4), the Colts went three-and-out five times and, uncharacteristically, struggled to convert on third-and-short. Coach Jim Caldwell said the Colts were “not quite as in sync” as they like to be.
“No question, that’s an accurate statement. We just never found much rhythm,” Manning said. “It was just one of those days. We call it a ‘grinder,’ when you keep grinding it out. Fortunately, our defense kept them from scoring a lot, kept it close.”
That set up the Colts’ first touchdown pass by a non-quarterback since tight end Ken Dilger did it in 2001. It was an important play for Addai, who gained 62 yards on 20 carries, but was ineffective for most of the game, even with the injured Donald Brown (shoulder) not there to steal some carries.
Addai, a former high school quarterback, practiced the play Friday, with his biggest obstacle being that he wasn’t selling his run fake very well.
“Peyton kept telling me, ‘We’ve got to get a good stretch play (fake),’ ” Addai said. “I kept pulling up, though. Having played quarterback in high school, I was in the mind frame of wanting to drop back and pass. But I have to make them think I’m a running back on the play.”
Addai did it perfectly, got the 49ers’ secondary breaking toward the line of scrimmage, then hit Wayne in the back of the end zone for a scrappy victory.
Don’t expect to see the Colts resort to trickery often – Sunday ended a string of 11 straight games in which Manning had a touchdown pass – but it sure was fun to see some uniqueness from the Colts.
