INDIANAPOLIS — Like Chuck Pagano said, the Indianapolis Colts sure don't like to make things easy on themselves.
But a win sure does make it all worth it.
The Indianapolis Colts on Sunday were able to earn their second victory of the season, using a late touchdown from Andrew Luck to T.Y. Hilton, as well as a field goal from Adam Vinatieri — his fifth of the ballgame — to defeat the Chicago Bears, 29-23, at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Down four at 23-19 with 3:51 to go, Luck found Hilton on a perfectly-placed, 35-yard pass across the middle to the front of the end zone — right between two Bears defenders — to give the Colts a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
From there, the Indianapolis defense — which had struggled to that point — was able to put it all together, stopping the Bears' offense on two different drives to earn the win.
Now, the Colts (2-3) find themselves just one game out of the AFC South Division lead, and travel to Houston this upcoming Sunday to take on the Texans, who currently have a one-game lead in the division. A win for the Colts, and they will be division leaders.
But before the team completely moves on, let's check out the Top 10 quotes from the Colts' home victory over the Bears:
• "We knew what kind of game this was going to be. We knew it was going to take 60 minutes and going to be a physical game, we knew that going in. Credit them, they played a heck of a game. I feel very fortunate and grateful that we got this win, it was a much-needed win. We had a lot of guys step up and make some huge plays in some key situations." — Colts head coach Chuck Pagano, giving his initial thoughts to reporters after the victory.
• "Yeah, absolutely. We needed to get off the snide and get a win and sort of get that taste out of our mouth. You need to win. Winning cures all in this league." — Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, asked if there was a sense that his team needed to win against the Bears.
• "I guess we just want to make sure our season ticket holders are getting their money's worth and that they're entertained. It's very unfortunate when we go up and we're in position to really keep a team out of it and allow them to get back into it. We have a long way to go. Our goal is to get a little better each week and I believe we got a little bit better today." — Colts tight end Dwayne Allen, on so many Colts games coming down to the final two minutes this season.
• "We just have to go out and execute. These games are 60 minutes. Most games in the NFL come down to one possession and it feels good to go out there and finish it. Our offense went out there and did their job, got the lead back and we did what we had to do." — Colts cornerback Darius Butler, who came back from a hamstring injury to record a forced fumble Sunday against the Bears.
• "I'll be honest, because I'm playing now, I'm really not thinking about it because I am still active and I want to be successful here. I want to do whatever it takes to help this team win. My focus is really on what I can do to help this team win. When I was a free agent last year, they just came off the AFC Championship the year before, so that is what I've been thinking about. When I came here I thought I could be a part of that to help this team move forward. That is what I'm thinking about, one week at a time, doing whatever it takes to help my team get wins." — Colts running back Frank Gore, asked if it's a reality check that he was able to pass NFL legend Jim Brown for ninth place on the all-time rushing list on Sunday.
• "It helps us. It slows the defense down. They don't know if we are running or passing and it also tires them out. We are a conditioned team and we showed that." — Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton, asked about his take on the team's increased no-huddle look on Sunday.
• "It's flying well right now. I definitely have to give a lot of props to the guys up front blocking for me. Matt (Overton) and Pat (McAfee) are doing a fantastic job making my job a little easier, but sometimes they go where they are supposed to go. I'm just happy I made all the kicks today, went out there and helped put points on the board and it was a good day." — Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri, who made a single-game career-high-tying five field goals on Sunday, and extended his consecutive made field goals streak to 37 in a row — third best in NFL history.
• "A lot. How could you not? How could you not follow right behind him and do the things that he does, because he's great, you know what I'm saying? Come clutch time, that's our leader — we're going to follow him." — Colts wide receiver/return man Quan Bray, on how much he tries to learn from No. 1 receiver T.Y. Hilton.
• "I don't know. I think certainly that was a long plane ride from London, and I think the worst part was we knew we didn't play to the best of our ability. Not saying that we did today either — it's never going to be a perfect game — but today, we came together, we started fast as an offense, we came out and kind of threw the first punch, which is what we wanted to do since Day 1. I think the week of preparation that we had, we just have to continue that week in and week out, and kind of take that as, 'This is what we did; we were successful doing that.'" — Colts center Ryan Kelly, asked if it was beneficial to play the next week after playing in London vs. taking a bye week.
• "I thought I saw how most things happen in this league and had a good feel on how you win and lose games. I've already lost all my hair. I don't know what else I can lose. It's been stressful. It's come down to the very end and those are the type of games we face and those are the types of games we are going to have to win throughout the entire season." — Colts inside linebacker D'Qwell Jackson, on the close nature of the Colts' games so far this season.
