Sunday, December 19, 2010

Season on the Brink

Today's game against Jacksonville is the first time in a long time that the Colts have been in a virtual must-win situation. Here are the only other games of the last decade that even come close:

November 2, 2008 vs. New England: Colts were off to a 3-4 start after a blowout loss in Nashville to the Titans, who had opened up at 7-0. It was a Sunday Night game against Matt Cassel and the 5-2 Patriots at Lucas Oil Stadium. A sloppy 18-15 win kick-started a nine-game win streak that saved their season.

November 8, 2004 vs. Minnesota: Colts entered a Monday Night duel with 5-2 Minnesota at a sluggish 4-3. Manning and Dante Culpepper traded blows for five straight possessions before Mike Vanderjagt won it with a 35-yard field goal with seconds left. The win sent the Colts on an eight-game wins streak before a loss in the season-finale.

November 10, 2002 at Philadelphia: the Colts were 4-4 and didn’t seem to be going anywhere after a three-game losing skid including a home loss to the first-place Titans in the week prior. Manning and Indy carved up the 5-2 Eagles, one of the top defenses in the league entering the game, as Manning threw for 319 yards and James Mungro paced the rushing attack with 114 yards on the ground in a 35-13 romp.

December 11 and 18, 2000 vs. Buffalo and at Miami: a potential playoff spot was on the line in the AFC East as the Bills and Colts each entered the game at 7-6. Edgerrin James ran for three scores as the Colts pounded Buffalo 44-20. The next week, the Colts knocked off the division-leading Dolphins 20-13 to lock up a Wild Card spot in a tight race that included the 9-7 Jets as well. In a cruel twist of fate, less than a month after their win in South Beach, the Colts were eliminated in the playoffs by the Dolphins in overtime.

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