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Colts survive 49ers 18-14, win 16th straight
2009-11-01
INDIANAPOLIS - The Indianapolis Colts won their 16th straight regular-season game, the equivalent of an undefeated season, and Jim Caldwell became the first rookie coach since the NFL merger to open his career with seven consecutive wins thanks to Sunday's 18-14 victory over San Francisco. Peyton Manning topped 300 yards and got credit for another Colts rally, but it was Joseph Addai who won it. The fourth-year running back threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne early in the final quarter to give the Colts their only lead. The Colts (7-0) are the last unbeaten team in the AFC for the fourth time in five years after Baltimore defeated Denver 30-7 on Sunday. Indianapolis extended the franchise record for consecutive wins, becoming the eighth team in league history with 16 straight wins. San Francisco (3-4) has lost three straight despite a solid performance from Alex Smith, who made his first NFL start at quarterback in nearly two years. Smith was 19 of 32 for 198 yards with one TD and one interception. It was an odd game. Manning was missing high, wide and even short and clearly was not as efficient as he had been through the first six games this season. Pat McAfee punted five times in the first half, more than he had in all but one game this season, and the Colts settled for Matt Stover's four field goals and the one TD pass - the first thrown by someone other than a Colts quarterback since tight end Ken Dilger in 2001. Manning still finished 31 of 48 for 347 yards. San Francisco led 14-9 at halftime despite running only four plays in Colts territory. The reason was Frank Gore. On the game's second series, Gore slipped through the middle of the line, breaking two tackles, and sprinted 64 yards for a 7-0 lead. It was the first time since the first quarter of Week 3 the Colts trailed in a game. Manning led the Colts to field goals on two of the next three series. Then, in the final minute of the half, San Francisco finally moved into Indy territory and Smith took advantage by finding Vernon Davis for an 8-yard TD with 33 seconds left to make it 14-6. It was the fourth time in two weeks Smith to Davis produced a TD. But that left Manning too much time, and Davis compounded the problem by drawing a 15-yard penalty for his celebration. That was all Manning needed. It took Indy three plays to set up Stover for a 31-yard field goal to make it 14-9 at the half. Stover opened the second half with a 40-yard field goal to make it 14-12, and on the first play of the fourth quarter, the Colts called a rare halfback option. Addai and Wayne executed it perfectly to give Indy the lead. Wayne finished with a career-high 12 catches for 147 yards.
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