Colts-Chargers Game Report

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San Diego 19, Colts 9

FOURTH QUARTER UPDATE

San Diego was able to milk the final time off the clock.

The Colts started from their 25 with 1:47 to go.  Wayne caught a short pass on first down.  Luck hit Brown to the Colts' 45.  Luck and Fleener could not connect on first down with 1:12 left.  Luck was intercepted intended to DHB with 1:07 left.  Derek Cox had the theft. 

The Chargers were hit for a false start on first down.  Mathews ran for 15 yards and a first down.  Mathews swept left for four yards and went out of bounds with 2:28 left, then he popped for four more.  Indianapolis called time out with 2:24 left.  Gates caught a short pass and was tackled by Delano Howell short of the first down at the two-minute warning.  Novak hit a 50-yard field goal with 1:55 left.  San Diego 19, Colts 9. 

Richardson dropped a pass on first down.  The Colts were called for an unsportsmanlike penalty, putting the ball on the five.  Hilton had an eight-yard reception on second down.  On third-and-six from the 13, Luck and Fleener hit to the 17 with 3:38 left.  McAfee punted 35 yards to the SD 48.

Mathews gained four yards on first down.  Rivers hit Allen for a first down to the 38 for 18 yards.  Rivers was incomplete on first down with 5:46 to go.  Indianapolis sacked Rivers at the SD 29 to force a third-and-19.  Sheppard had the sack.  Woodhead gained short yardage to bring up fourth down.  The Colts were called for a penalty on Hilton's return, starting the possession at their nine.

Reed returned the kickoff 21 yards to the 20.  Luck and Wayne hit for 23 yards on first down, his 70th straight game with three or more receptions.  Wayne had a reception to the 36 on first down, a gain of 21 yards.  Luck and Hilton could not connect on first down.  Luck was sacked on second down, then hit Stanley Havili to the SD 33.  Vinatieri hit from 51 yards to conclude the drive with 7:21 left.  Vinatieri joins Mike Vanderjagt (2002) and Dean Biasucci (1988) with two 50-yard field goals in the same game.  San Diego 16, Colts 9. 

Rivers hit Ladarius Green for 25 yards to the Colts 39.  Woodhead ran for seven and on third-and-one, McClain picked up the first down with a two-yard run to the 28.  Kelvin Sheppard stopped Mathews for one yard on first down.  Mathews ran off left guard to the 18 for a first down.  Mathis caught Brown for a two-yard loss.  Woodhead caught a pass for four yards to bring up third-and-seven.  Redding halted Rivers at the 16 after Rivers evaded pressure from Mathis.  Novak hit a 34-yard field goal to end the drive with 9:43 to go.  San Diego 16, Colts 6.

THIRD QUARTER UPDATE

Mathews gained two yards on first down.  Allen had a reception across the middle to the 26.  Ronnie Brown rushed for four yards.  San Diego was called for an illegal shift that negated a completion that would have been a first down.  On second-and-11 from the 25, Woodhead ran for 10 yards.  McClain was stacked up in the middle on third down, but gained enough for a first down to end the quarter.

After a touchback, Richardson rushed for four yards.  Luck scrambled for five yards to the 29.  On third-and-one, Richardson blasted off right guard to the 41.  Richardson ran for five yards, then ran again for four yards.  On third-and-one, Richardson ran for three yards and a first down.  Luck scrambled for six yards on first down.  Richardson swept left for one yard.  On third-and-three, Wayne could not hold onto a short in-route.  McAfee punted 30 yards to the 10.

McAfee boomed a touchback on the kickoff.  Rivers hit Gates for 11 yards on the first play of the drive.  Mathews lost a yard on first down.  Rivers hit Gates for eight yards and Woodhead for 13 to the Colts' 49.  Rivers then hit Allen for five yards, and then for 12 more.  Rivers hit Brown for another first down to the 17.  Mathews gained three yards up the middle.  The Colts caught Le'Ron McClain for a yard loss on a short pass.  On third-and-eight, Rivers rolled right under press from Erik Walden and was incomplete.  After the Colts stiffened, Novak hit a 33-yard field goal to conclude a quick 65-yard drive.  San Diego 13, Colts 6.

Jerrell Freeman is out with a concussion.

SECOND QUARTER UPDATE

Reed returned the kickoff 31 yards to the 29-yard line.  Luck and Hilton combined for six yards on first down.  Luck and DHB hit to the Colts' 46 for a first down.  Brown caught a screen pass to the SD 48.  Luck and Hilton hit an out route to the SD 39 with 42 seconds.  Fleener was not able to hold onto a pass at the SD 26 on first down.  Luck scrambled to the 32 on second down.  Luck and Fleener could not combine on third down with five seconds left.  Vinatieri hit a 50-yard field goal at the gun.  The drive started with 1:40 left with the Colts having no time outs.  San Diego 10, Colts 6.

Mathews gained six yards up the middle on first down.  Woodhead burst up the middle for eight yards.  Under center, Mathews ran for three yards, then he ran off the left side for four yards.  On third-and-three, Rivers and Woodhead combined for 12 yards to the 41.  Allen gained four yards on a reverse.  Gates was not able to hold a reception at midfield, bringing up a third-and-six.  Greg Toler had coverage on Gates.  The Colts were called for illegal contact, giving SD another first down.  Mathews gained 11 yards off the left side to the 39.  Rivers was incomplete over the middle on first down.  Mathews gained three, then Vincent Brown had a reception to the 20, the third third-down conversion on the drive.  Woodhead had an eight-yard reception to the 12, then he rushed for a first down to the nine at the two-minute warning.  Woodhead ran up the middle to the six.  Woodhead was caught for a loss by Ricky Jean Francois on second down.  From the eight, Rivers missed Allen on the end line.  Novak hit a 31-yard field goal to end the marathon drive (17 plays, 79 yards, 7:57 TOP).  San Diego 10, Colts 3.

From the 20, Brown ran for five yards.  Richardson caught a short pass and broke four tackles to the Colts' 38.  Richardson ran for two, then Luck had Darrius Heyward-Bey (DHB) deep, but they could not connect.  On third-and-eight from the gun, Luck and Hilton missed on a short route.  McAfee punted 52 yards out of bounds at the eight-yard line.

Mathews ran right for five yards.  On third-and-four, Indianapolis was flagged for holding.  On first-and-10 from the 33, Mathews gained three yards before Allen converted the first down with a seven-yard reception.  Mathews gained one yard before Rivers and Allen collaborated on a 22-yard TD pass to end a 74-yard drive.  San Diego 7, Colts 3.

FIRST QUARTER UPDATE

Woodhead ran for no gain on first down.  Rivers missed at the first-down marker on second down.  On third-and-10 in the gun, Rivers hit Allen for 14 yards over the middle.  Rivers and Allen combined for eight yards on a slant.  Vincent Brown could not corral Rivers' deep throw on second down.  Mathis had big pressure on Rivers.  On third down in the gun, Rivers found Gates to the Colts' 44.  Mathews gained one yard to end the quarter.

Donald Brown hit for eight yards up the middle on first down.  Brown gained two yards and the first down.  From the gun, Luck and Hilton could not connect.  Luck was hit after the throw.  Luck and Fleener hit for nine yards to set up manageable third down.  From the gun, Luck scrambled on design but threw the ball away under pressure.  McAfee punted 48 yards to the SD 26.  Colts 0-for-3 on third downs.

Rivers from the shotgun handed to Danny Woodhead for five yards.  Mathew ran for one yard off the left side.  The Colts were penalized for offsides, giving SD its first first down.  Rivers missed deep left to Keenan Allen, with Vontae Davis in coverage.  Under pressure from Robert Mathis and Cory Redding, Rivers was incomplete.  On third-and-10, SD had a false start.  On third-and-15, Rivers and Allen worked for 11 yards.  Scifres punted 49 yards to the Colts' 7.   

Richardson gained one yard up the middle on first down against a stacked box.  Luck and Wayne clicked for short yardage.  On third-and-six in the shotgun, Luck hit Coby Fleener short of the first down.  Indianapolis missed on its first two third downs.  Pat McAfee punted 38 yards to the SD 27.

The Colts stopped Lavelle Hawkins at the 20 on the kickoff return.  Ryan Mathews gained nine yards on a first-down draw play.  Philip Rivers missed deep to Antonio Gates as SD is using the huddle.  On third-and-one in the shotgun, Rivers was incomplete to Gates on a short route, with Jerrell Freeman on coverage.  Mike Scifres punted 48 yards to Hilton, who returned the kick five yards to the 28.

David Reed returned the opening kickoff to the 20.  After a San Diego offsides, Andrew Luck hit Reggie Wayne on a flea-flicker for 35 yards.  Luck then zipped a pass to T.Y. Hilton for 11 yards.  Trent Richardson ran for four, and Hilton had an eight-yard reception for a first down.  After a Richardson and Luck run, Luck could not hit Hilton in the end zone.  Adam Vinatieri ended the 69-yard drive with a 30-yard field goal.  Colts 3, Chargers 0.

Indianapolis won the coin toss and elected to receive.

COLTS PRE-GAME REPORT

COLTS GAME-DAY DEACTIVATIONS:

FS-LaRon Landry

RB-Daniel Herron

LB-Kavell Conner

OG-Khaled Holmes

OT-Xavier Nixon

LB-Bjoern Werner

DT-Montori Hughes

EXPECTED LINEUP CHANGES FOR COLTS:

Delano Howell at FS for LaRon Landry

COLTS PRE-GAME NOTES:

Pagano Knows Winning Keys

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INDIANAPOLIS – Sixteen games for 32 teams provide an extreme opportunity to dissect what went right when teams won.

When Chuck Pagano looks over results, he can point to two areas that typically spell the reason why a team triumphed or not.

"Turnovers, first and foremost," said Pagano.  "That's the biggest (thing) other than the score, turnover margin.  We're doing good there.  Hopefully we stay that way.  Turnovers (are) huge.

"Week-in and week-out if you look at who usually rushed for more yards in a game, a lot of weeks it's a real high percentage – the team that rushes for more yards generally wins the game.

So, turnover margin and then rushing would be two of them."

As the Colts venture to San Diego, that formula has held true twice on the road for the Colts in 2013.

A 27-7 victory at San Francisco was due partly to the Colts out-rushing the 49ers, 184-115, while owning a plus-two turnover margin (2:0). 

The following week's win at Jacksonville featured a defensive touchdown on Darius Butler's 41-yard interception return.  It provided a spark and a seven-point advantage that eventually swelled to a 37-3 victory.  After 60 minutes, the Colts were plus-two again and out-gained Jacksonville on the ground, 157-40.

Pagano has spoken this year about how NFL teams have been winners at around an 83 percent clip over the past decade or so when being plus-two in games. 

The Colts are 3-0 this year when owning that turnover ratio, also producing a 21-17 victory over Oakland.  The Raiders, however, out-rushed the Colts, 171-127, with a widespread offense where Terrelle Pryor slashed for 112 yards.  The Colts emerged victors when Andrew Luck burst 19 yards on a tuck-and-run with five minutes left in the game.

This time a year ago, the Colts were minus-eight in turnover ratio, with 20- and 26-point road losses with minus-four ratios at Chicago (41-21) and the New York Jets (35-9) offsetting three home games where the club had an even ratio.

Indianapolis held an 86.2 rushing average over those five games and had not out-gained on the ground.  A 2-3 record was accomplished with fourth-quarter comeback drives to gain three-point wins.

Indianapolis has out-rushed three opponents and has stayed grounded with at least 26 attempts in each outing.  Last week's 3.8 average was the season's lowest.  The Colts for the first time in their Indianapolis era had produced four-straight games exceeding a 4.5 average.

Hand-in-hand with the rushing prowess has been the reduction of giveaways.  The Colts had turned the ball over 11 times after five games in 2012, while taking it away three times.  This year, the plus-six ratio has been built on 10 takeaways and but four miscues.

"Having opportunities to score points ties directly into securing the football," said Pep Hamilton.  "Protecting the football and taking away the football is an important part of winning games.  Turnovers without a doubt play a major factor in the outcome of a game."

Luck is enjoying an offense that is humming at 142.0 rushing yards per game, and he has shaved interceptions at this point of the season to two, compared to seven after five games in 2012.

With a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 7:2 and with a completion percentage (62.2) much higher than last year (54.1), Luck picked one area of which he is proud.

"I think taking care of the football," said Luck.  "I think we're plus in the turnover margin as a whole, which Coach Pagano preached about in the off-season.  I feel like I'm doing a decent job at it."

COLTS PRE-GAME NOTES:

From 1984-present, the Colts have earned a 246-222 (.526) record, with 17 winning seasons, 15 playoff appearances and 12 10-win seasons.

The Colts opened the season with 19 new players on roster, with 10 of those players arriving through veteran free agency.  The total of new players now on the active roster totals 22.

The Colts were 9-1 in games decided by seven points or less last year, the most number of such games by a team in 2012.  Indianapolis has won 10 of its last 11 games decided by seven points or less, 2-1 in 2013.

The Colts did not lose consecutive games all last season, marking the ninth such season in franchise history (1964, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1971, 1976, 1999, 2003, 2012).

The Colts are 6-0 under Chuck Pagano in games following losses, with a 137-93 scoring margin in those wins.

The Colts are 44-3 since 1998 in games without a turnover.  Since 2000, the team is 41-2 in such outings.

The Colts have only four turnovers in 2013, second in the NFL, and the club's plus-six ratio (10:4) ranks third in the AFC, tied for fourth in the NFL.  Four turnovers through five games are tied for the second-least through five games in franchise history (1964, 2006).  (All totals and rankings reflect heading into week six action.)

The Colts have been penalized 17 times in 2013, tied for the fewest infractions in the NFL.

The Colts' 17 punts in 2013 tie for fourth-fewest in the NFL.

The Colts have only 25 negative-yardage plays, second in the AFC, tied for sixth in the NFL.

The Colts have 15 10-play drives, first in the NFL and nine five-minute drives, first in the NFL.

The Colts have allowed only seven points in the fourth quarter of games this year, first in the NFL.

Indianapolis has topped 100 rushing yards in the first five games, tying the best starts to seasons achieved in 1984 and 1988.

Since 2012, the Colts are 9-0 in games with 30-plus rushes.  The Colts are one of three teams during that span with an undefeated record (9-0, Colts; 9-0, Denver; 7-0, Cincinnati).

The Colts are 24-1 since 1984 in games with three or more rushing touchdowns, including a streak of 23 straight wins.

The Colts had a four-game streak with at least 25 rushes per game and a 4.5 average to open the season, the first time the team has accomplished it in the Indianapolis era.

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The Colts have outscored opponents by 54 points in their first two road games (64-10), the highest point differential through as many road games in franchise history.

The Colts rank sixth in NFL scoring offense and fifth in scoring defense, one of only three teams (New Orleans, Seattle) to rank in the top 10 in points scored and allowed.

By allowing 79 points through five games, this ranks as the 11th-best seasonal start in franchise history.

The Colts enter week six as one of four teams (Kansas City, New Orleans, Tampa Bay) with six different players with interceptions this season.  Seven through five games is the team's best seasonal start since 2005.

In 2012, Andrew Luck (339-of-627 passing for 4,374 and 23 TDs) had six 300 games, the NFL rookie record and also set league rookie marks in attempts and yards. 

Luck (23) was one of a handful of rookie quarterbacks to throw 20 or more touchdown passes (26, Peyton Manning, 1998; 26, Russell Wilson, 2012; 22, Charlie Conerly, 1948; 21, Cam Newton, 2011; 20, Dan Marino, 1983; 20, Andy Dalton, 2011, 20, Robert Griffin III, 2012).

Luck took every snap in 2012 (1,109) and took the first 1,364 of his career before sitting down at Jacksonville on 9/29/13 with a 34-3 lead.  His 1,364 consecutive snaps rank among the best accomplished by Indianapolis Colts quarterbacks (1,631, Peyton Manning; 1,590, Manning (a career-opening total); 1,459, Manning; 1,400, Manning; 1,205, Manning; 1,088 Manning).

Last year, Luck produced seven wins in fourth-quarter or overtime fashion, tying the NFL seasonal record done six other times, including in 1999 and 2009 by Manning.  His seven in a single season tied for the most by a veteran or rookie QB since at least 1970.  With his sixth comeback win, he snapped the record he shared with Ben Roethlisberger (2004) and Vince Young (2006).  The comeback performances came against Minnesota, Green Bay, at Tennessee, Miami, at Detroit, vs. Tennessee and at Kansas City. 

The NFL post-merger record for rookie starting wins is 13 by Ben Roethlisberger in 2004.  Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco had 11 in 2008.  Luck and Russell Wilson had 11 in 2012, while Kyle Orton had 10 in 2005. 

Luck had his eighth fourth-quarter comeback win vs. Oakland 9/8/13, the most ever accomplished by an NFL QB in the first 17 games of a career.  He posted his ninth against Seattle 10/6/13, the most through the first 21 games by any QB drafted first overall that began a career since 1970.

With nine game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime in the first two seasons of a career since 1970, Luck is tied with Jake Plummer, while Peyton Manning had eight.

With a record of 15-6 in his first 21 games, Luck reached 15 wins faster than any QB drafted first overall since 1970.  Through 20 games, he had been tied with John Elway (1983) with a 14-6 mark.  The most wins among QBs in their first two career seasons since 1970 are 22 by Ben Roethlisberger, 21 by Dan Marino and 20 by Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan.

Luck has 5,518 passing yards and the most accomplished through the first two seasons of a career in history are 7,920 by Cam Newton, 7,874 by Peyton Manning, 7,294 by Dan Marino, 7,067 by Andy Dalton and 7,049 by Drew Bledsoe.

Luck had a career-best streak of 164 straight passes without an interception end vs. Miami 9/15/13.

Luck's 19t run vs. Oakland tied the 7th-longest ever done by a Colts QB (43t, George Taliaferro vs. Rams 11/22/53; 33t, Peyton Manning at Buffalo, 11/4/01; 32t, Bert Jones at NYJ 10/20/74; 29t, Chris Chandler vs. NYJ 11/6/88; 21t, George Shaw vs. SF 11/27/55; 20t, Marty Domres vs. NYJ 11/16/75; 19t, Jones at Buffalo 11/9/75).

Under Luck, the Colts have opened games three times with two TD drives – 10/21/12 vs. Cleveland; 11/18/12 at New England; 9/8/13 vs. Oakland.

With a TD pass vs. Miami 9/15/13, Luck had nine straight games with a scoring pass, but the streak ended at San Francisco.

Reggie Wayne has scored at least one TD in six of the last seven season openers.

Reggie Wayne has receptions in 117 straight games.  He leads active NFL receivers with 187 career games played.  Wayne (145) is one of six Colts ever to start more than 100 consecutive games (208, Peyton Manning; 115, C-Ken Mendenhall; 104, DE-Fred Cook; 102, DB-Jason Belser; 101, OT-Tarik Glenn). 

Wayne (996, 13,428) is 9th in NFL career receptions.  The player ahead of Wayne is Hines Ward (1,000, 8th).  He is 11th in NFL reception yards.  Next on the yardage list is Henry Ellard (13,777, 10th). 

Against Green Bay on 10/7/12, Wayne (13-212, 1 TD) produced his highest yardage day (200 vs. Dallas 12/5/10) and became the first Colts receiver with two career 200 regular-season games.  His yardage ranked only behind Raymond Berry (224 at Washington 11/10/57) and it was the fifth 200 game in club regular-season history (224, Berry; 212, Wayne; 210, Roger Carr at NY Jets 10/24/76; 203, Reggie Langhorne at Washington 11/7/93; 200, Wayne).  Wayne became only the seventh player since 1990 to have a 200 game in a 10th career season or later (James Lofton, Irving Fryar, Jerry Rice, Shannon Sharpe, Rod Smith, Terrell Owens (2), Wayne (2)).

He earned the AFC Offensive Player-of-the-Week honors for the first time in his career.

The Colts are 30-12 when Wayne tops 100 reception yards, 22-12 when he has at least eight receptions, 58-13 when he scores a touchdown, 25-9 when holds 15.0 reception average.

Wayne (80) ranks third in Colts history in career touchdowns (128, Marvin Harrison; 113, Lenny Moore).  His 80 touchdown receptions are second-most to Harrison (128).

Wayne has become the 11th NFL player with 13,000 career reception yards and 80 career TD receptions:

Players with 13,000 yards and not 80 TDs:  James Lofton* (14,004), Henry Ellard (13,777), Torry Holt (13,382)

Players with 80 TDs and not 13,000 yards:  Don Hutson (99), Don Maynard (88), Lance Alworth(85), Hines Ward (85), Paul Warfield (85), Andre Rison (84), Tommy McDonald* (84), Irving Fryar (84), Mark Clayton (84), Antonio Gates (83), Art Powell (81).

*Pro Football Hall of Famer

Wayne has 13,428 career scrimmage yards, second in Colts history (14,608, Marvin Harrison; 12,065, Edgerrin James).

Wayne has three or more receptions in a league-record 69 straight games, snapping the previous best of Cris Carter (58, 1993-97).  Wayne has receptions in 188 of 194 career games.  He has multiple receptions in 183 outings and three or more receptions in 164 contests.

Wayne had an 84.7 yardage average in 2012.  His career-best was 94.4 in 2007.  The only two times in franchise history when a player held a 100.0-yard average were 1999 (Marvin Harrison, 103.9) and 2002 (Harrison, 107.6).

Wayne (1,355) produced his eighth 1,000-yard season in 2012.  Reaching that plateau tied him with Marvin Harrison (8, 1999-2006) for the club record.  Wayne had seven consecutive from 2004-10, the second-longest consecutive streak in franchise history.

Last year, Wayne produced his sixth 1,200-yardage season (1,510, 2007; 1,355, 2010; 1,355, 2012; 1,310, 2006; 1,264, 2009; 1,210, 2004).  It tied him with Harrison for the club record and tied him with Harrison and Torry Holt for third-most in NFL history behind Jerry Rice (11) and Randy Moss (8).

Wayne (13,363) is one of 14 players (two active) to reach the 13,000-yard plateau (22,895, Jerry Rice; 15,934, Terrell Owens; 15,292, Randy Moss; 15,208, Isaac Bruce; 14,934, Tim Brown; 14,580, Marvin Harrison; 14,510, Tony Gonzalez; 14,510, James Lofton; 13,899, Cris Carter; 13,777, Henry Ellard; 13,382, Torry Holt; 13,198, Andre Reed; 13,089, Steve Largent).

Last year, Wayne (106) produced his fourth 100 -catch season.  He had 104 in 2007, 100 in 2009 and 111 in 2010.  Wayne tied Marvin Harrison (115, 1999; 102, 2000; 109, 2001; 143, 2002) for the club record.  Jerry Rice, Andre Johnson and Brandon Marshall have four 100 -reception seasons, while Wes Welker has a league-record five.

Wayne has led the team in receptions seven times, ranking behind Marvin Harrison (9) and Raymond Berry (8) in club history.  Wayne has done it the last six seasons, tying Harrison's (6, 1999-04) club mark for the most consecutive seasons leading the team.

The Green Bay game on 10/7/12 was Wayne's 15th with 10 receptions, one behind Marvin Harrison's club record.  At 19, Andre Johnson is the NFL leader, while Wes Welker has 18.  Jerry Rice did it 17 times.  Harrison (16) and Brandon Marshall (16) are tied for fourth-most.  Wayne is sixth.  Wayne (2007-08) is tied with Johnson (2008) and Brett Perriman (1995) for the NFL lead with three straight games with 10 catches. 

Against Green Bay on 10/7/12, Wayne became the 16th NFL player with 40 career 100 games (76, Jerry Rice; 64, Randy Moss (active); 59, Marvin Harrison, 51, Terrell Owens; 50, Don Maynard; 47, Torry Holt; 47, Michael Irvin; 46, Jimmy Smith; 45, Isaac Bruce; 43, Tim Brown; 43, James Lofton; 42, Cris Carter; 41, Lance Alworth; 40, Steve Largent; 40, Steve Smith (active)).  Rice, Maynard, Irvin, Lofton, Alworth and Largent are Hall-of-Famers.

Wayne has more than 100 receptions against each AFC South foe (138, Jacksonville; 124, Houston; 103, Tennessee).  Wayne is one of nine players with 100 or more receptions against three or more teams.  He joins Tim Brown, Andre Reed and Cris Carter (who did it against four opponents), as well as Art Monk, Jerry Rice, Rod Smith, Hines Ward and Andre Johnson.

Antoine Bethea had 11 tackles vs. Oakland, eight vs. Miami, six at San Francisco, five at Jacksonville and 10 vs. Seattle and has 854 for his career.  Bethea is one of six Indianapolis Colts to top 700 career tackles (1,149 Jeff Herrod; 1,052, Duane Bickett; 785, Jason Belser; 754, Gary Brackett, 744, Eugene Daniel).

Bethea ranks first among active NFL safeties with 85 consecutive starts.

Kicker Adam Vinatieri has scored in the last 151 consecutive games. 

His 53-yard field goal with eight seconds left against Minnesota on 9/16/12 was the 24th game-winning kick of his career.

Vinatieri has 511 career field goal attempts, 10th in NFL history (Jason Elam is ninth at 540).  Vinatieri (750) is in fourth-place in Colts career scoring (995, Mike Vanderjagt; 783, Dean Biasucci; 778, Marvin Harrison).

Vinatieri has 1,158 points with New England and with 750 with the Colts, he is one of only three players with 700-plus points with two different teams (Morten Andersen – 1,318 with New Orleans and 806 with Atlanta; John Carney – 1,076 with San Diego and 768 with New Orleans).

Vinatieri (1,908) is 9th in NFL career scoring (2,544, Morten Andersen; 2,434, Gary Anderson; 2,150, Jason Hanson; 2,062, John Carney; 2,004, Matt Stover; 2,002, George Blanda; 1,983, Jason Elam; 1,970, John Kasay).

Vinatieri has eight field goals from the 50 -range, third-most in club history (18, Dean Biasucci; 14, Mike Vanderjagt).

Vinatieri has 15 career 100-plus point seasons.  He has five with the Colts, second to Mike Vanderjagt (8).  Vinatieri has passed Morten Andersen (14) and Gary Anderson (14) for the second-most 100-point seasons.  The NFL leader is Jason Elam (16).

Last year, linebacker Jerrell Freeman topped the club in tackles in each of the first seven games before the streak ended.  Freeman topped the team in tackles in 13 games.  Freeman (203) became the second Colts player in the Indianapolis era to have a 200-tackle season, and his total is the all-time best (200, Jeff Herrod, 1994; 192, Cliff Odom, 1985).

Freeman had his first career multiple-sack game with 2.0 vs. Miami, the fourth undrafted free agent in the Indianapolis era to have a multiple-sack outing (2.0, Scott Virkus vs. Detroit 9/22/85; Tony Siragusa at Seattle 9/4/94; Eric Foster at Jacksonville 12/17/09).

Freeman had a strip-sack vs. Miami and at San Francisco.  With sacks in consecutive games, he became the first Colts LB other than Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis to do so since Rob Morris in 2004.

Last year, T.Y. Hilton had five 100-yard games in 2012 to set the club rookie record.   With 50-861, 7 TDs, Hilton was the 9th Colts rookie with 50 receptions (65, Bill Brooks, 1986; 64, Marvin Harrison, 1996; 62, Edgerrin James, 1999; 60, Austin Collie, 2009; 52, Andre Rison, 1989; 52, Marshall Faulk, 1994; 50, Randy McMillan, 1981; 50, Jerome Pathon, 1998).  His yardage total ranked 2nd for Colts rookies (1,131, Brooks; 836, Harrison), and his touchdowns tied for third-most (8, Brooks and Harrison; 7, John Mackey and Collie).

He was 6-124 vs. Miami 9/15/13 for sixth career 100-plus game, and it marked a career-high yardage total.  Hilton set a new career high with 140 yards on five receptions vs. Seattle 10/6/13, including a 73-yard scoring reception. 

Hilton's TD receptions have covered eight, 14, 29, 36, 40, 43, 61, 70 and 73 yards for an average of 41.6 per TD reception.  His 75-yard TD punt return brings his career average per touchdown to 44.9 yards.

Hilton was the 13th receiver taken in the 2012 draft.  There were four selected in the first round, five in the second and three in the third before he was taken with the 92nd choice. 

Against Buffalo on 11/25/12, Hilton scored on a 75-yard punt return and an eight-yard reception to become the first Colts player to record such scores in the same game in franchise history. 

Cornerback Darius Butler (two interceptions/one fumble recovered) had three takeaways at Jacksonville on 11/8/12, one shy of the Indianapolis era club record for the most by a player in a game (4, Eugene Daniel, 3 interceptions/1 fumble recovered vs. Green Bay 10/27/85; 3, Leonard Coleman, 3 ints. vs. New Orleans 10/12/86; 3, Mike Prior, 3 ints. vs. Phoenix 12/20/92).

Butler had a 41t interception return at Jacksonville 9/29/13 to move among the club leaders in career scoring interception returns (5, Jerry Logan; 4, Bobby Boyd; 3, Milt Davis; 3, Andy Nelson; 3, Ray Buchanan; 3, Eugene Daniel, 3, Jason Belser; 3, Kelvin Hayden).

Last year, tight end Dwayne Allen (45) set the club rookie tight end record for receptions.  He led all NFL rookie tight ends in receptions.

Linebacker Robert Mathis (101.0) had an eight-game sack streak end at New England on 11/18/12.  It tied his personal-best.  In 2005, he set an NFL record with sacks in eight consecutive games to start a season.  He has opened 2013 with sacks in the first five games. 

Mathis has 24 career multiple-sack games, including three three-plus sack games.  Mathis has four of the 17 double-digit sack seasons in club history.

Mathis had a four-game streak with multiple sacks 9/15/13 vs. Miami (2.0), 9/22/13 at San Francisco (1.5), 9/29/13 at Jacksonville (3.0) and 10/6/13 vs. Seattle (2.0).

Mathis has become 30th NFL player with 100 career sacks.  Mathis has sacked 51 different quarterbacks.  He has 71.5 against AFC teams and 29.5 against NFC teams.

Mathis has sacks in 78-of-152 career games and in 49-of-88 career starts.  Mathis has sacks against all 31 teams.

With 9.5 sacks in the first five games of 2013, Mathis has set a club record for the fastest start to a season.  The best totals for the most sacks ever through a first six games are 12.0 by Keith Millard (Minnesota, 1989), 11.0 by Kevin Greene (Carolina, 1998) and 10.5 by Michael Strahan (N.Y. Giants, 2001).

In 2012, Pat McAfee (73-47.9, 40.3 net) set the club seasonal marks for gross and net average.  McAfee has set the gross mark in each of the last two seasons (46.6, 2011).  In setting the mark last year, he snapped the previous seasonal record of Rohn Stark (45.9, 1985).  McAfee's net average bested Stark's previous record, and his 2011 had ranked second (39.3, Stark, 1992; 39.2, McAfee, 2011).  McAfee had 26 punts inside the 20, tying Hunter Smith's seasonal record (26, 2002).

There are 14 players in franchise history, nine in the Indianapolis era, to participate in at least 100 regular-season victories:  141 games, QB-Peyton Manning; 132, QB-John Unitas; 132, C-Jeff Saturday; 131, WR-Reggie Wayne; 127, TE-Justin Snow; 118, WR-Marvin Harrison; 114, P-Hunter Smith; 112, LB-Dwight Freeney; 109, P-David Lee; 109, Robert Mathis; 108, OT-Ryan Diem; 107, LB-Don Shinnick; 106, DE-Ordell Braase; 105, C/LB-Dick Szymanski.