Colts rally past Jets on their way to Super Bowl

Monday, 25 January 2010 00:00

Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts rallied from an 11-point deficit, with 2 minutes left in the first half, to beat the New York Jets 30-17 Sunday in the AFC championship game.

Four-time MVP Manning threw three touchdown passes and the Colts are now headed back to Miami for the second time in four years and their fourth Super bowl in franchise history.

A month ago, Indy’s coach Jim Caldwell pulled his starters in the third quarter when the Jets visited for the first time, giving up a shot at a perfect season to keep his players healthy for a run at the Super Bowl.

This time, the Jets didn’t get such a break as Manning was on the field for the final play.

The league’s top-ranked Jets defense held on for almost the whole first half of the game, limiting the Colts to two field goals, while Mark Sanchez threw two TD passes for a 17-6 lead.

It took Manning just 58 seconds and four plays to do what he does best, march down the field in rush-offense mode and find Austin Collie on a 16-yd pass to pull the Colts within 4 points, 17-13 going into halftime.

In the third quarter, Manning then started picking apart the New York’s defense, scoring on a 4-yd pass to Pierre Garçon, to put the Colts ahead 20-17,while the Indianapolis defense stopped the Jets on every series.

Manning , who finished 26 of 39 for 377 yards, hooked up with Dallas Clark for a 15-yd TD to seal the deal with 8:52 left in the fourth quarter.

Indy’s defense shut down the Jets in the second half, holding the NFL’s No 1 running game to 86 yds total.

Garçon had a career-best 11 catches for 151 yds, and Collie 7 receptions for 123. Joseph Addai rushed for 80 yds on 16 carries.

Manning became the first player in league history with seven 300-yd postseason games, breaking the tie with Kurt Warner and Joe Montana, and Caldwell became only the fifth rookie coach to reach the Super Bowl.

The Colts management’s decision to rest Manning and Co. on Week 15 and focus on the Super Bowl has proved to work so far, Indy’s players looked fresh and totally dominated New York on both sides of the ball in the second half.

Sanchez hit Braylon Edwards for an 80-yd TD on a trick play on the first snap of the second quarter, and found Dustin Keller on a 4-yd pass to cap a 77-yd drive to put the Jets ahead 14-6.

The Jets scored again with 2:11 left in the half on Jay Feely’s 48-yd field goal, AND THAT WAS IT. The Colts defense took over and shut down New York from there on.

Manning and the Colts didn’t panic and looked really impressive in their comeback, by far the best team on the field. Perfection didn’t look so important now to the fans as they counted down the final seconds, wih streamers and confetti hanging in the air. The crowd roared in appreciation when the official announcement was made, their team heading to the Super Bowl at Land Shark Stadium to face The New Orleans Saints in two weeks.

Check out the odds at BetPhoenix.com Sportsbook for the NFL’s title game and put a wager on your favorite team to win it all.

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Colts rally past Jets on their way to Super Bowl

Colts rally past Jets on their way to Super Bowl

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