Booting The Broncos

"MAN, I'M hungry," Reggie Wayne declared. The wideout had just ordered a hearty Kansas City strip at Sullivan's, an Indy steak house, but what he craved was a tougher part of the cow--some leather. "Everyone wants the football, and when we don't get it we get mad. Every Monday somebody on the offense is walking around with his lip pulled down. Right now that guy is me."

Welcome to Peyton Manning's world, where feeding footballs to famished skill players is a full-time job. Nobody does it better--as the All-Pro quarterback reminded the world in leading Indy to a 34--31 win over the Broncos three days later at Invesco Field. "The nice thing about our guys is, if they don't get catches, there's no press conference," said Manning. "We talk about it, and we move on."

The talk Manning had with his offense with 18 seconds left in the first half may not have been overly profound, but the transformation it sparked was impressive. His speech came in the huddle as Indy, trailing 14--6, prepared to run out the clock at its own 14-yard line. Indy had been subdued in the first two quarters, settling for a pair of field goals after drives of 8:08 and 6:06. "We're killing ourselves," Manning barked. "The only thing stopping us is us. So let's do what we're supposed to do and finish these drives."

Denver's offensive blueprint for beating the Colts--attack Indy's dubious run defense--seemed to be sound, but Manning (32 of 39, 345 yards, three TDs) took over in the second half. Manning connected with Wayne for two touchdowns in the third quarter to take the lead, and then, after Mike Bell's score put the Broncos up 28--23 with 6:54 left, the Colts quarterback went to Wayne four times on the next possession. The last completion came with 3:35 to go on third-and-two from the Denver 19. Wayne zipped past cornerback Darrent Williams down the sideline, catching a perfect pass from Manning in stride. Wayne then snagged the two-point conversion to put Indy up 31--28.

The Broncos tied the game on a 49-yard field goal with 1:49 left--too much time. It took Manning seven plays, including consecutive completions to Wayne, to set up kicker Adam Vinatieri. Had there been a thin vertical glass rod directly between the goalposts, Vinatieri's kick would have shattered it. And just like that, with its first impressive victory of the season, Indy became the first team in 75 years to begin consecutive seasons 7--0. -- Michael Silver

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