HOUSTON – The AFC South champion Indianapolis Colts have perfected the art of the comeback in their undefeated march into the playoffs.
Peyton Manning threw for three touchdowns, and the Colts rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit Sunday for a 35-27 win over the Texans, their 20th straight regular-season victory. Indianapolis (11-0) is one win shy of the New England Patriots’ NFL-record 21-game run from 2006-08. The Colts can tie the record if they beat Tennessee at home next weekend.
The Colts improved to 15-1 against Houston (5-6) in their fifth straight come-from-behind win. They became the first team to secure a playoff berth and gained the AFC South title Sunday evening when San Francisco beat Jacksonville 20-3.
“We don’t get overexcited certainly when things aren’t going the way we want them to,” Manning said. “We don’t panic, we don’t yell, we don’t throw helmets. We just try to put the series behind us and move on to the next one. There was a lot of that (Sunday).”
Manning threw two first-half interceptions but had a pair of second-half TD passes, including a 4-yarder to Dallas Clark that gave the Colts a 21-20 lead with about nine minutes left.
Clint Session stretched the lead to 28-20 when he returned an interception of Matt Schaub 26 yards for a touchdown seconds later.
“That’s a good team over there, but we’re the Colts,” Session said. “We do things the right way, and we try to get every win we can get.”
Schaub fumbled on Houston’s next possession, and the Colts’ Chad Simpson’s touchdown run put the game out of reach.
“If you doubt, you’re done,” Colts receiver Reggie Wayne said. “It’s just like showing a bad poker face. If they see that, you’re in trouble. Guys just stick with it. We knew the defense was going to pick it up. We know we have to take care of the offense and get some drives going.”
Houston, which has lost three straight, was all but unstoppable in the first half, and the Texans scored on their first four possessions. It was a different story after halftime, with the Texans unable to get anything going offensively until Schaub hit Jacoby Jones for a touchdown with 18 seconds remaining.
“This isn’t the first time this has happened to us,” the Texans’ Andre Johnson said. “It’s just real frustrating. I’m very upset with myself. It’s kind of sounding like a broken record, we’ve just got to find a way to play for four quarters.”
The Colts’ first lead came on Manning’s touchdown pass to Clark. The drive was helped by a 17-yard pass interference penalty on Houston.
Matt Stover’s missed a 32-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter to keep Houston’s lead at 20-14.
In the third quarter, the Texans were called for pass interference on third-and-goal from the 8-yard line, giving the Colts a first down at the 1. Wayne caught a touchdown pass three plays later to make it 20-14.
Houston’s Jacques Reeves got a 43-yard pass interference penalty on the third play of that drive.
“You can’t play a half against this football team,” Houston cornerback Dunta Robinson said. “We knew coming out of halftime that this game was far from over. ... (Manning) is great. He’s going to find a way to not get sacked and he’s going to find a way to make plays and that’s what he did.”
Manning finished 27 of 35 for 244 yards. Schaub was 31 of 42 for 284 yards with two TDs and two interceptions.
The Colts’ first score came when Manning found Pierre Garcon for a 9-yard touchdown about six minutes before halftime. That drive was helped by a 15-yard roughing-the-passer penalty on Antonio Smith for hitting Manning in the facemask.
Houston scored on its first possession for the first time this season when Schaub completed an 11-play, 79-yard drive with a 7-yard pass to Vonta Leach to make it 7-0. The Texans marched downfield again on the next drive and went up 14-0 on a 5-yard run by Chris Brown.
“We’ve been really, really good and then poor in some situations, so it’s my job to find some consistency,” Houston coach Gary Kubiak said.
