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Colts 35, Detroit 33
FOURTH QUARTER UPDATE
Luck scrambled for nine yards, then spiked the ball. Luck hit Wayne to the Detroit 40 and spiked the ball. Luck avoided pressure and scrambled to the Detroit 24. Luck was incomplete in the Detroit end zone on first down, and 24 seconds remain in the game. Luck hit Allen to the Detroit 14 with 18 seconds left. Luck avoided pressure before the throw. Luck and Wayne nearly connected on first down, but Carey broke up the pass with 14 seconds left. Jacob Lacey batted the second-down pass and eight seconds remained. Detroit took its last timeout before the third-down play. Luck and Avery could not connect on third down and four seconds remained. Luck teamed with Avery for the winning score. Avery the ball on the nine and raced in untouched for the 14-yard score. Indianapolis won, 35-33.
Detroit started at its 20 following a McAfee touchback. Indianapolis called its second timeout with 2:34 to go. The Colts were flagged for interference on second down. The Colts used their third timeout with 2:26 to go. Leshoure rushed for seven yards on second-and-12 to get the clock to 2:00. The Colts held on third down, forcing a punt. Harris kicked to the Indianapolis 25 with 1:07 left.
The Colts got to fourth-and-two with 3:29 to go and Luck converted with an eight-yard run, plus a roughing call with a horse-collar tackle. Luck hit Donald Brown to the Detroit 49. Ballard had a first-down reception to the Detroit 42 with 2:50 to go. Luck then hit LaVon Brazill on a 42-yard scoring pass with 2:39 to go to cut the score to 33-28. Brazill had his longest reception and first scoring reception on the play. Luck went over 300 yards on the play, his sixth 300-plus game (extending his NFL rookie record), one where he scrambled to his left and avoided pressure before throwing.
Detroit was able to move for one first down before punting the Colts with 4:02 to go. The Colts started at their 15-yard line.
Winston Justice and Justin Hickman left the game with injuries.
Don Carey intercepted Luck at the Detroit and returned the interception 38 yards to give the Lions the ball with six minutes remaining.
On second-and-20 from its 20, Joique Bell burst 67 yards deep into Colts territory. Indianapolis rallied again defensively and Hanson hit a 31-yard field goal with 8:41 left for a 33-21 lead.
A ninth three-and-out by the Colts had a sack of Luck involved. McAfee punted 58 yards to the Detroit 30 with 10:50 to go.
The Colts did not permit a first down and re-gained possession at their 24 with 11:44. Johnson made an eight-yard catch on second-and-10, but Stafford missed him deep on third down.
Indianapolis gained one first down before stalling again offensively. McAfee punted 44 yards to the Detroit 25, where the Lions started the possession with 13:25 to go.
THIRD QUARTER UPDATE
On third-and-12 with the Colts looking for another stop, Stafford hit Johnson on a 46-yard touchdown with two seconds left in the quarter. The play re-established Detroit's nine-point lead, 30-21. Johnson ended the drive with 12 receptions for 163 yards.
The Colts did not get untracked on the possession, having their sixth three-and-out. Detroit took over after a 49-yard punt on its 42-yard line.
The Indianapolis defense had another three-and-out performance in a key position on the field. After a Detroit punt, the Colts took over on their 14-yard line with 4:50 to go.
Indianapolis had a false start on the drive's first play, and the club could not overcome the miscue, losing a replay challenge on a third-down reception. McAfee punted 45 yards and Detroit started at its 42 after the 12-yard return.
Detroit moved for two first downs and reached midfield before the Colts held. Harris punted for a touchback midway through the quarter.
Indianapolis went 80 yards on seven plays to cut the score to 23-21. Vick Ballard carried for three, 13, seven, four and 11 yards, the final one accounting for the touchdown. Luck hit Avery for 42 yards on the drive. The drive took 2:55. It was the first scoring run of Ballard's career.
SECOND QUARTER UPDATE
Indianapolis could not move after the takeaway. McAfee punted 45 yards to the Detroit 10 with 44 seconds left. Detroit ran out the clock.
Stafford hit Scheffler to the Colts' 41 with 1:10 left. Robert Mathis intercepted Stafford on the ensuing play, his first career interception. The Colts took over at their 37-yard with 1:05 to go.
Donald Brown peeled off consecutive seven-yard runs for a first down at the Colts' 49-yard line with two minutes to go. This came after Detroit was offsides on a third-down play earlier in the possession. Don Carey intercepted on the first play following the break, and Detroit took possession at its 43-yard line with 1:50 left.
Detroit moved for two first downs and reached the Colts' 33-yard line. The defense stiffened, but Hanson hit a 52-yard field goal for a 23-14 advantage. It was a 31-yard drive for the points.
Indianapolis had a three-and-out of its own, giving Detroit possession at its 36 with 6:15 left in the half.
Detroit failed to move the ball and Harris punted 56 yards to the Indianapolis 27-yard line. Indianapolis started with 9:32 remaining in the half. Drayton Florence anticipated a Luck pass to Hilton and intercepted, giving the Lions possession at the Indianapolis 20. Detroit was unable to capitalize fully. Indianapolis had its second straight three-and-out defensively, and Hanson hit a 33-yard field goal to give Detroit a 20-14 cushion with 7:17 left in the half.
Indianapolis cut the score to 17-14 on a three-play, 80-yard drive. It started with a 40-yard completion from Luck to Dwayne Allen, and it ended when Luck teamed with Coby Fleener on a 26-yard scoring play. It is Fleener's first career touchdown. The score came with 9:47 left in the half.
Detroit moved to a 10-point lead, 17-7, when running back Mikel Leshoure scored on a six-yard run to end a 75-yard drive. Stafford hit four straight possessions to get the Lions inside the Colts' 10-yard line. He had nine straight completions before snapping his streak one play prior to the touchdown.
Joe Reitz is out of the game with a concussion.
FIRST QUARTER UPDATE
Indianapolis could not move on its third drive, having a three-and-out. McAfee punted 61 yards, and Detroit started at its 25-yard line.
Detroit zipped 87 yards in eight plays to re-gain the lead. Stafford hit five straight passes on the drive, finding tight end Tony Scheffler for 39 yards on a first down play, then later hitting tight end Brandon Pettigrew on a 16-yard scoring play with 1:48 left in the quarter.
Luck teamed with T.Y. Hilton on a 60-yard reception on the first third down of the drive. It is the longest completion of the season. Luck hit Donnie Avery on a 17-yard scoring reception three plays later for a 7-3 lead. It was a six-play, 80-yard drive.
Jason Hanson hit a 48-yard field goal with 8:49 left in the quarter to end a 29-yard drive. The Colts held on a third-and-short at their 29 to force the field goal.
A first-down sack of Andrew Luck hurt the possession. A three-and-out forced McAfee to punt. His 50-yard punt was returned to the Detroit 42. Both teams had possessions within the first three minutes of the game clock.
After a Pat McAfee touchback, Matthews Stafford hit Calvin Johnson for 11 yards, then the Colts held on three downs to get the ball. Nick Harris punted 50 yards, and the ball was fair caught by T.Y. Hilton at the Colts' 16.
Detroit won the coin toss and elected to receive.
COLTS PRE-GAME REPORT
COLTS GAME-DAY DEACTIVATIONS:
WR-Nathan Palmer
S-Tom Zbikowski
FB-Robert Hughes
TE-Dominique Jones
OT-Bradley Sowell
OG-Tony Hills
DT-Kellen Heard
EXPECTED LINEUP CHANGES FOR COLTS:
Joe Lefeged starts at SS for Tom Zbikowski
Vick Ballard starts at RB for Donald Brown
COLTS PRE-GAME NOTES:
Andrew Luck has five 300 games, setting the NFL rookie record. Luck surpassed Peyton Manning (4, 1998) for the club and NFL record by a rookie quarterback.
Luck (3,205) has joined Manning (3,739, 1998) as the only Colts rookies to throw for 3,000 yards. He needs 71 completions and 535 yards to eclipse Manning's rookie club records (326; 3,739).
Earlier this year, Luck joined Cam Newton as the only players with three 300 games in the first four games of a career. Against Miami in week nine, Luck threw for 433 yards to eclipse Newton's (432) previous NFL rookie record.
Luck has taken every offensive snap and has had a major hand in the club's successes. He became the first NFL rookie quarterback since 1971 to lead a September fourth-quarter comeback win in the club's week two triumph over Minnesota.
After the Green Bay win, Luck became the first NFL rookie to pass for 1,200 yards (1,208) and record at least two wins in his team's first four games. After the Cleveland win, he was the first NFL rookie with 1,500 passing yards (1,674) and three wins in a team's first six games.
After the Tennessee win, Luck had the highest winning percentage (.571) by a rookie quarterback who was a top overall pick through week eight in NFL history.
He won AFC Offensive Player-of-the-Week honors for his outing against Miami. Luck completed 30-of-48 passes for 433 yards and two touchdowns. In facing then the NFL's best third-down defense, he completed 13-of-17 third-down passes for 204 yards and a touchdown, converting 12 third downs via the air on that down. He helped the club run at least eight scrimmage plays on eight game-opening possessions. Luck set the NFL record for best winning percentage by a top overall pick through week nine (5-3, .625; minimum two starts).
Luck (.667) had the best winning percentage through nine games by a rookie QB who was first overall pick in Super Bowl era (6-3; minimum three starts).
The franchise mark for starting QB wins by a rookie is nine by Chris Chandler in 1988 (9-4 for season).
Luck needs one more starting victory to surpass St. Louis' Sam Bradford (7, 2010) for the most wins by a rookie quarterback drafted first overall.
Luck has hit 255-of-449 passes for 3,205 yards, with 13 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. His yardage total is the most ever produced by an NFL rookie through 11 games.
Luck is averaging 291.4 passing yards a game, 7th-most in the NFL and most among rookie QBs.
Luck leads AFC QBs with 183 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns. The rushing touchdowns broke the previous club seasonal record of four by Bert Jones (1974) and Peyton Manning (2001, 2006).
Reggie Wayne has receptions in 107 straight games. He leads active NFL receivers with 184 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). He has played in 177 straight games, the league's best streak by a WR.
Wayne (946, 12,813) is 11th in NFL career receptions. The player ahead of Wayne is Andre Reed (951, 10th). He is 14th in NFL reception yards. Next on the yardage list is Steve Largent (13,089, 13th).
Against New York, Wayne became the 14th NFL player with 900 career receptions.
Against Green Bay, 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 29-12 when Wayne tops 100 reception yards, 21-12 when he has at least eight receptions, 54-13 when he scores a touchdown.
Wayne (76) ranks third in Colts history in career touchdowns (128, Marvin Harrison; 113, Lenny Moore). His 76 touchdown receptions are second-most to Harrison (128).
Wayne has 12,813 career scrimmage yards, second in Colts history (14,608, Marvin Harrison; 12,065, Edgerrin James).
Wayne's 84 receptions and 1,105 reception yards are the most for him through 11 games in any season of his career.
Wayne has three or more receptions in a league-record 59 straight games, snapping the previous best of Cris Carter (1993-97). Wayne has receptions in 178 of 184 career games. He has multiple receptions in 173 outings and three or more receptions in 154 contests.
Wayne has 100.5 yardage average this year. 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 (1,105) has produced his eighth 1,000-yard season. Reaching that plateau ties 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.
Wayne needs 95 reception yards for his sixth 1,200-yardage season (1,510, 2007; 1,355, 2010; 1,310, 2006; 1,264, 2009; 1,210, 2004). It would tie him with Harrison for the club record. It would tie him with Harrison and Torry Holt for third-most in NFL history behind Jerry Rice (11) and Randy Moss (8).
If Wayne leads the team in receptions in 2012, it will be his seventh time doing so, ranking behind Marvin Harrison (9) and Raymond Berry (8) in club history, but it would tie Harrison's (6, 1999-04) club mark for the most consecutive seasons leading the team.
The Green Bay game was Wayne's 15th with 10 receptions, one behind Marvin Harrison's club record. Jerry Rice (17) is the all-time leader, while Wes Welker (16) is tied with Harrison and Andre Johnson for second-most. Wayne is fifth. 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, 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.
Antoine Bethea has 89 tackles this season and has 780 for his career. Bethea is one of seven Indianapolis Colts to top 700 career tackles (1,149 Jeff Herrod; 1,052, Duane Bickett; 785, Jason Belser; 754, Gary Brackett, 744, Eugene Daniel).
Kicker Adam Vinatieri has scored in the last 141 consecutive games. His 53-yard field goal with eight seconds left against Minnesota was the 24th game-winning kick of his career.
Against Tennessee, Vinatieri became the eighth player in NFL history to reach 400 career field goals. Vinatieri has 495 career field goal attempts, 10th in NFL history (Jason Elam is ninth at 540). Vinatieri (678) needs one point to move past Lenny Moore (678) for fourth-place in Colts career scoring.
Vinatieri needs one field goal from the 50 -range for his eighth with the club. He is tied at seven with Raul Allegre and Cary Blanchard behind the club leaders (18, Dean Biasucci; 14, Mike Vanderjagt).
Vinatieri needs 16 points for his 15th career 100-plus point season. It would be his fifth with the Colts, second to Mike Vanderjagt (8).
Linebacker Jerrell Freeman topped the club in tackles in each of the first seven games before the streak was ended vs. Miami. Freeman had 13 at Chicago, 18 vs. Minnesota, 16 vs. Jacksonville, 11 vs. Green Bay, 19 at New York, seven vs. Cleveland and 15 at Tennessee. He topped the team with 13 at New England and 18 vs. Buffalo. Freeman was involved in takeaways in two of the first three outings – scoring interception return at Chicago; forced fumble against Minnesota. Freeman is the first Colts undrafted player ever to return an interception for a touchdown in a career debut, and was the first to do so in the since 1987 (LB-Peter Noga; DB-Paul Tripoli).
Against Jacksonville, T.Y. Hilton became the first NFL rookie receiver this year to post a 100-yard game when he had 113 yards against Jacksonville 9/23. He was 6-102, 1 TD vs. Miami for his second 100 outing. Hilton joined Ray Perkins (1967), Bill Brooks (1986), Marvin Harrison (1996) and Anthony Gonzalez (2007) for the second-most 100 outings by a Colts rookie receiver (3, Andre Rison, 1989). With 6-100, 2 TDs at New England, Hilton tied Rison for the club mark.
Hilton was the 13th receiver taken in the 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. Of the bunch drafted ahead of him, only Jacksonville's Justin Blackmon (first round, fifth overall) has one 100-yard game.
Against Buffalo, 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. Hilton earned AFC Special Teams Player-of-the-Week honors for the achievement.
Tight end Dwayne Allen (34) needs two receptions to pass John Mackey (35, 1963) for the second-most rookie receptions by a Colts tight end (42, Ken Dilger, 1995).
Linebacker Dwight Freeney (104.5) has recorded sacks against 27 of 31 teams. Detroit, the club's opponent on 12/2, is one of four teams Freeney has not produced a sack against. Freeney has 25 career multiple-sack games, including five three-plus sack games. He has sacked 52 different quarterbacks. Freeney has seven of the 17 double-digit sack seasons in club history.
Linebacker Robert Mathis (90.5) had an eight-game sack streak end at New England. It tied his personal-best. In 2005, he set an NFL record with sacks in eight consecutive games to start a season. Mathis has 20 career multiple-sack games, including two three-plus sack games. Mathis has four of the 17 double-digit sack seasons in club history.
The Colts are 26-8 when Freeney and Mathis combine for sacks. They each produced 10 sacks in 2004, 2005, 2008 and 2010 to set the NFL mark for most seasons with teammates doing so together. They surpassed Reggie White and Clyde Simmons by doing so. They have combined for 20-plus sacks in five different seasons (26.5, 2004; 22.5, 2005; 22.0, 2008; 23.0, 2009; 21.0, 2010).
Against Miami, Mathis became 14th Colts player and the ninth of the Indianapolis era, to reach 100 regular-season victories with the club: 141 games, QB-Peyton Manning; 132, QB-John Unitas; 132, C-Jeff Saturday; 127, TE-Justin Snow; 123, WR-Reggie Wayne; 118, WR-Marvin Harrison; 114, P-Hunter Smith; 109, P-David Lee; 108, OT-Ryan Diem; 108, LB-Dwight Freeney; 107, LB-Don Shinnick; 106, DE-Ordell Braase; 105, C/LB-Dick Szymanski; 101, Robert Mathis.
Bruce Arians is the sixth interim head coach in club history (1972, John Sandusky, nine games; 1974, Joe Thomas, 11; 1984, Hal Hunter, one; 1991, Rick Venturi, 11 games; 2005, Jim Caldwell, one game). Arians is the lone one who is subbing for a coach (Chuck Pagano) who will return to the team.
In beating Green Bay, Arians was the only Colts interim coach to win his first game. Arians (6-2) set the franchise record for the most wins by an interim field leader in the 27-10 victory at Jacksonville.
Sandusky was 4-5 in the games in 1972 when he succeeded Don McCafferty. His four wins under those interim conditions stood as the club mark until Arians tied him with the team's 23-20 victory over Miami this year. Thomas was 2-9 in 1974 after succeeding Howard Schnellenberger, while Venturi was 1-10 in his outings in 1991 after replacing Ron Meyer. Hunter lost the final game in 1984 after the departure of Frank Kush. Caldwell lost his one game in the absence of Tony Dungy.
The only interim coaches in NFL history with nine wins (according to Stats LLC) are Wally Lemm (9-0, Houston, 1961; replaced Lou Rymkus) and Hamp Pool (9-2, LA Rams, 1952; replaced Joe Stydahar). Don Coryell (8-4, San Diego, 1978; replaced Tommy Prothro), Mike Holovak (7-1-1, Boston Patriots, 1961; replaced Lou Saban), Bruce Coslet (7-2, Cincinnati, 1996; replaced David Shula) and Art Shell (7-5, L.A. Raiders, 1989; replaced Mike Shanahan) are interim coaches with more victories than Arians.
