**Colts Fall at Houston, 34-24 in Opener
**
**SPREADING IT AROUND
**
Colts quarterback Peyton Manning wasn't pleased with
Sunday's 34-24 season-opening loss at Houston, calling it
'very disappointing.' And after the game, both Manning
and Head Coach Jim Caldwell pointed out the importance of watching
film, correcting mistakes and moving on.
And while there will be mistakes to learn from, the Colts also will see positives from Sunday's game.
Among those positives was Manning distributing the ball in the passing game. Manning connected with seven receivers Sunday while setting a single-game club record with 40 completions. Manning completed 40 of a career-high 57 passes for 433 yards and three touchdowns and connected on 16 of 20 passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns as the Colts attempted a fourth-quarter comeback.
"Obviously, I think Peyton threw the ball well," Caldwell told Colts Radio. "I don't think there is any question about that. I thought he put the ball up in the air well and put it on the money."
Tight end Dallas Clark had 11 catches for 80 yards and a touchdown. It marked Clark's third career 10 -catch game.
"Dallas is a guy that we are always going to feature in our offense and is always going to be a factor in our game plan," Manning said to Colts Radio. "It's about getting the ball to your playmakers."
Wide receivers Austin Collie and Reggie Wayne each had touchdowns Sunday, Wayne's coming on a 14-yard pass in the second-quarter that helped the Colts pull within six, 13-7, and Collie's 73-yard touchdown grab coming with 1:15 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Collie had career-highs with 11 catches and 163 yards, while Wayne had seven catches for 99 yards.
Manning also connected with running back Joseph Addai on six completions for 29 yards and Pierre Garcon had three catches for 43 yards.
FREENEY/MATHIS PLAYS LEAD TO COLTS POINTS
Defensive ends Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis continued their steak of sacks against the Texans on Sunday.
Freeney has 13.5 career sacks against Houston, while Mathis has 11.5. In the first half, both defensive ends recorded sacks, and, and more importantly, their play led to Colts points.
Freeney first sacked Schaub in the first quarter for a 7-yard loss, but it was a quarterback pressure during the second quarter that had bigger results. After Freeney slipped, he bounced back up and pushed towards Texans quarterback Matt Schaub with both hands raised and rushed the quarterback's throw on an attempted pass downfield to Andre Johnson.
Defensive back Melvin Bullitt stepped in front of the pass and returned it 19 yards, setting up the Colts' first touchdown of the day, a Peyton Manning to Reggie Wayne 14-yard score.
On the next possession, Mathis on 3rd-and-12 pursued Schaub and sacked the quarterback from behind, and nearly caused a fumble. But Mathis did force a Texans punt, which allowed the Colts to gain possession and later set up a 20-yard field goal by Adam Vinatieri, cutting the halftime deficit to three, 13-10.
Schaub, the 2009 NFL's leader in passing yards, completed 9-of-17 passes for 107 yards, one TD and one interception.
COLTS-TEXANS NOTES
-Defensive back Antoine Bethea led Indianapolis with 13 tackles, one pass defended, one quarterback hit and one tackle for a loss.
-Clint Session led all linebackers with six tackles and Fili Moala and Mathis led the defensive line with five tackles each.
-Indianapolis held Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson, the NFL's 2009 leader in receiving yards, to three catches for 33 yards.
-With 463 yards of offense, it was the 49th time a Peyton Manning-led offense recorded more than 400 yards in a game.
-Reggie Wayne and Peyton Manning (62) are now within one touchdown of tying Johnny Unitas and Raymond Berry for second place all-time in Colts' history for touchdowns between quarterback and receiver combination. Unitas and Berry rank second with 63 touchdowns, while Manning and Marvin Harrison hold the NFL and club record with 112.
-With his eighth career 400 -yard game, Manning surpassed Joe Montana and Warren Moon for second-most 400 games in NFL history (13, Dan Marino).
