INDIANAPOLIS — It had been 28 years since the Indianapolis Colts had left historic Lambeau Field with a victory.
That was, until early Sunday evening.
The Colts used a solid all-around performance from its offense, defense and special teams — each of which stepping up at different times of the game — to defeat the Packers, 31-26, for their first win in Green Bay since 1988.
The game started with a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Jordan Todman, whose 60-plus-yard kickoff return later in the game led to another field goal.
The rest of the first half, meanwhile, belonged to the Colts' defense, which held Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Co. to just 10 points and 138 yards of total offense.
The second half, then, belonged to the Indianapolis offense, which kept its foot on the pedal and was able to secure the victory with one final drive to milk the rest of the game clock.
What's next for the Colts? A little R&R.
The players get a few days off for their bye week to rest up and get ready for the final stretch of the season, which begins Nov. 20 against the Tennessee Titans at Lucas Oil Stadium.
But before getting too comfortable, let's check out the Top 10 quotes from the Colts' victory over the Packers:
• "It was a great win, great team win. Great win for our fans, for our organization — everybody involved. These guys, you know these guys, and I don't know if everybody quite knows the DNA and the character and the makeup of this group, but this was a special victory." — Colts head coach Chuck Pagano, on the magnitude of the team's road victory against the Packers.
• "Team all around. The offense made huge plays. They had a huge drive in the second half when they came out, and we needed that. And down the stretch, defense has got to be a little bit better. We made enough plays to win the game, but I feel like we could've been better; we could've kept playing a little bit more aggressively and kept our foot on the pedal. And we've got to finish games better. It was a hell of a win, especially going into the bye week. We needed this, and we'll rest up and get right back at it." — Colts cornerback Darius Butler, with his thoughts on the Packers' win, in which he had an interception.
• "It was great blocks. I seen a couple guys fall down, and Fergie (Josh Ferguson), Freg hit me with a nice block, got me released, and I seen some open grass, and it was off to the races after that. I gave everything I got and was to finish, and it was a great feeling. You love that — you know, we live for that." — Colts running back Jordan Todman, who took the opening kickoff on Sunday 99 yards for a touchdown and set the tone for the team's win.
• "As long as we continue to prepare each and every week, we've got a shot to meet anybody. We have been in this situation for too many times as far as losing…right now we are going to enjoy this, rest up, heal up, get some guys back out after the bye and try to make this run." — Colts outside linebacker Erik Walden, on what the win over the Packers could mean moving forward.
• "I've been around Chud since I was 17. He couldn't wait for Sunday. Now we just have to keep moving forward." — Colts running back Frank Gore, on offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski's attitude about the Packers' game. Gore scored two touchdowns on the afternoon.
• "I was very excited after the win. I can't remember a regular season win being that excited after it. We really needed that. And that's what this team can be. It's so exciting to see that." — Colts tackle Anthony Castonzo, on the team's morale after defeating the Packers.
• "We saw a glimpse of it. We are nowhere where we want to be. We need to take this momentum and keep this momentum. We've got to win at home. We've got to win convincing games. They don't have to be close. We come out of here with a lot confidence." — Colts inside linebacker D'Qwell Jackson, on what his team needs to do to build off the win in Green Bay.
• "I probably wouldn't have said that before the game, but we did, we needed it. We needed it for ourselves. We know we can be a good team. There's things we have to clean up. We need to stack these together. But we needed this in a bad way." — Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, on the desire to come out of Green Bay with a victory on Sunday.
• "I had a route with a little bit of a double move. They do a really good job of disguising coverage, showing stuff late. I was kind of trying to figure that out. I got past the defender, found an open area and just made sure I caught it." — Colts tight end Jack Doyle, who made a big third-down catch on the Colts' final drive to help seal the victory over the Packers.
• "No one expected us to come in here and get a win. Everybody threw us in the casket. They thought it was over. We just came here and fought." — Colts wide receiver Donte Moncrief, on his team's attitude going into the Packers' game. Moncrief had a touchdown reception in the win.
