via www2.indystar.com

Game #4 takes us back to December 26, 2004, when the Colts hosted the San Diego Chargers.  Both teams had already clinched their division, and were battling for the #3 seed in the playoffs.  They also had not played each other since 1999, so the Colts had yet to face that Tomlinson guy, who didn't disappoint.  Also, Manning was sitting on 47 TD passes on the season.  Since this game essentially seeded both teams, there was a good chance Manning wasn't going to play much in Week 17 against the Broncos (and he didn't).

The defense did a good job forcing a punt on the Chargers' first drive, and Manning drove the Colts down the field to the SD 6 yard line.  On a 3rd and 3, Manning tried to force a ball into Reggie Wayne, and he was intercepted by Donnie Edwards.  He probably shouldn't have thrown that ball, and it was a big mistake, one of the few he made on this day.  Six plays later, Tomlinson took a swing pass and went 74 yards for a TD, breaking tackles along the way.

Manning drove the Colts back down the field, only to stall out at the SD 18.  Vanderjagt got the Colts on the board, now down 7-3.  Nate Kaeding countered with a 50 yarder of his own, making it 10-3.  The Colts kept up their offensive struggles, punting the ball back to the Chargers.  Drew Brees found Eric Parker to go up 17-3.  Things were not looking good for the Colts with 7:09 to go in the 2nd quarter. 

Dominic Rhodes gave the Colts a spark by returning the ensuing kickoff 60 yards to the SD 36.  The Colts again got inside the 10 yard line, but had to settle for another FG.  They tacked on another FG with 0:20 left to go in the half to make it 17-9 at half.  Edgerrin fumbled on 3rd and 1 from the 5, and Jeff Saturday jumped on the ball.  This was not the best half of football by the Colts, but were only down a TD at half.  Manning's stats:

Ewww.  This certainly doesn't look like one of Manning's greatest games.  The Colts couldn't find the end zone, and it looked like Marino's record was going to stay in tact.  Something must have been said in the locker room, as Manning and the Colts looked like a much different team in the 2nd Half.  Well, at least after each team's first drive of the half.  The Colts went 3 and out, including a fumble by Manning.  The Chargers than marched down the field, and scoring on a Antonio Gates TD to go up 24-9.  I'll keep stats from this point forward...

The Colts converted its first 1st down of the drive, and faced a critical 3rd and 12 from their own 35.  Manning found his old friend Marvin Harrison for 30 yards, giving the offense a shot in the arm.  Three plays later, Manning found James Mungro on the shovel pass for #48 on the season, making the game 24-16.  The defense could not stop the Chargers, as Tomlinson ran around end for 16 yards for the TD to go up 31-16, 5 seconds into the 4th quarter.

The Colts needed another spark, and it came from Dominic Rhodes.  He returned the kickoff 88 yards for a TD.  (Maybe he can try returning kicks again this season...)  This pulled the Colts again to within 8, with a full quarter remaining.  The Colts got a break on the next Chargers possession, as they had a 3rd and 9 from the Colts 25, well within Kaeding's range.  Dwight Freeney makes a great play to get to Brees, force a fumble, and they lose 9 yards on the play.  The Colts catch a break as "Martyball" comes in full force, punting from the Colt's 34.

The Colts convert on a couple 3rd and longs on the next possession, but ultimately end up with a Vanderjagt clank of the goal post with 5:14 to go.  Again, thankfully, "Martyball" happens again, and the Colts get the ball back with 3:42 left in the game.  #18 takes over:

After a sack on 2nd down, Manning finds Edgerrin for 11 yards, setting up a 4th and 4.  Manning fits a ball in perfectly to Wayne, just as he turns around, for 18 yards and a first down.  It was a great read by Manning, and kept the game alive just before the 2 minute warning.  Manning then found Clark twice, and Harrison for 18 yards to the 21.  I'll let Bob Lamey do the rest:

The touchdown pass is simply amazing.  It was a perfect play call against the defense, and Stokley faked the safety out of his shoes.  Plus Manning put the ball on his numbers, making the pass before Stokley had made his cut to the end zone.  Manning has now surpassed Dan Marino for the all time record the TD passes in a season, but there is still work to be done, down by 2.  They run a draw out of the shot gum, and Edge gets in for the 2 pointer, tying the game with under a minute to play.  Nothing much else happens in regulation, and we go to overtime.

The Colts win the coin toss to start overtime, and never let the Chargers see the ball.  A 23 yard play to Stokley, and a 35 yard pass to Wayne, running right up the middle of the defense set the Colts up for the game winning field goal.  The play to Wayne is probably the best route Reggie runs, even today.  When Manning hits him in stride, it goes for 20+ each time.  Vanderjagt hits the game winner, and the Colts win 34-31.  It was an amazing game, led by Manning, like so many other times before, and after.  His 2nd Half stats, and final stats:

Manning showed us once again what makes him great.  He broke a 20 year old record, and had a game to spare.  That is why this is Greatest Game #4 in Peyton Manning's career.

via smokeys-trail.com

Here are the video highlights of the game:

Here is the NFL.com Gamebook:

I'm keeping the top 3 games top secret, so feel free to take your guesses...

via www.steelersfever.com

JakeTheSnake got me thinking the other day about our old "idiot kicker" from yesteryear, and today I come across an article talking about his return to kicking in Toronto, where Vanderjagt seems to think he'll make it to Canton:

"I don't know how achievable it is, but I'd love to be the CFL's most accurate kicker (percentage wise) to go along with the NFL's most accurate kicker title (which he currently holds at 86.4 per cent).

"So if I do those things I wouldn't mind being in Canton (the Pro Football Hall of Fame) someday. Those are lofty goals, but if you don't set goals you're going to be out there running around doing nothing. I'm not here just to collect a paycheque."

Just for fun, I thought I'd check out the NFL's career leaders in Field Goal Percentage, and I made a startling discovery:  Vanderjagt is now #2!  It would have been a good idea for the author of the above article to actually make sure Vanderjagt was correct in his statement, since Nate Kaeding is now the NFL's all time leader in Field Goal Percentage.  The CFL Leader is Sandro DeAngelis at 82.35%.  Vanderjagt is 73/99 career in the CFL, so he has some work to do, as well as hold off a former Irish kicker with a good rookie 2007 season.

While Vanderjagt is the all-time leading scorer in Colts franchise history with 995 points, he is most remembered for missing field goals in big spots.  After his field goal that went into the tunnel against the Steelers in the playoffs, he had a stellar 10 game stint in Dallas, where he made $2.5 million as a signing bonus!  I guess he was laughing all the way to the bank.  I'm sorry Mike, you don't deserve to be in the Hall of Fame, and I think you'll have a hard time convincing anyone here otherwise.

As a side note:  Now that Vanderjagt is #2, I wonder if this song is no longer accurate either.  I hope it still is, as it is a catchy tune...

With the draft right around the corner, I'm trying to overload on information, and read as much analysis as possible.  I really haven't read too many things, other than here, so I was interested in hearing some different perspectives.  I came across this article by Alex Marvez of Fox Sports, ranking teams on how they've done over the past 5 seasons.

I'll get to his analysis in a second, but I wanted to run down what the Colts have done the past 5 seasons , so we all know what we are comparing against (I really wanted to try out this new table feature, so here goes...):

My analysis first:  The top line of this table as absolutely fantastic, and is not matched by any other team in the NFL.  And just remember, the two previous years first picks were Reggie Wayne and Dwight Freeney.  It is unbelievable to think how good the top of the draft has been for the Colts, and it is all thanks to the Brain Trust of Bill Polian and Tony Dungy (like we all didn't know that already).  Once you get past the first line, however, it is very hit and miss:  Either the guy became a pretty good player, or he was out of the league within 2 years (the exception being Gilbert Gardner, as he is not a good player , and is still in the league).  There are some great late round picks (Mathis, June, Scott, Hagler, Bethea), but a lot of "who the hell is that guy?".  This list also does not include Gary Brackett or Ed Johnson, both undrafted but signed during this time period, and both huge parts of the Colt's defense.

On to the analysis of Marvez.  I'm not quite the homer that BBS is, but I'm still a homer at heart.  Marvez picks the Chargers as having the best drafts over the past 5 years.  I took a quick glance at their draft history, and they have done quite well.  I was all ready to start bashing away, but I don't think I can.  Marvez's opinion on their best pick:

Best pick: Eli Manning. Trading Manning to the New York Giants in 2004 netted fellow quarterback Philip Rivers and draft choices used for Pro Bowl linebacker Shawne Merriman and kicker Nate Kaeding. Rivers reached the AFC Championship game in just his second season as a starter.

They've done this before with Michael Vick.  They traded the pick to the Falcons, and ended up with Tomlinson and Brees, which is obviously a huge upgrade over the locked-up Falcon.  I tend to think he gave the nod to the Chargers based solely on this pick, as they have just as many "who?" players as the Colts do.  They only have one "steal" pick, which was Michael Turner.  Also, their 2005 draft was pretty awesome, with Merriman, Luis Castillo, Vincent Jackson, and Darren Sproles. 

Overall, however, I just don't see how you can rank them higher than the Colts, who Marvez had at #2.  Many of the players drafted over the past 5 years were instrumental to winning the Super Bowl, especially everyone on that top line (excluding Gonzalez, obviously).  Marvez's opinion on the Colt's best pick is a no-brainer:

Best pick: Safety Bob Sanders (2004/second round) was voted the 2007 Defensive Player of the Year.

A couple other comments from the article:

Front office: Polian earned the contract extension he recently received from team owner Jim Irsay. Polian has done an exceptionally good job surrounding quarterback Peyton Manning with talent and identifying players who can shine in Tony Dungy's cover-two defensive system.

Comment: A+. Polian excels at recognizing which picks may ultimately leave in free agency. He then drafts replacements that can be groomed for several seasons beforehand.

I also learned that A.J. Smith, Chargers GM, worked under Polian at a previous job, which explains why they are equally as good at the draft as Polian has been.  Overall, Marvez does a good job ranking all the teams, and has good explanations for each of them.  I'd agree with the Patriots being #3, and the Dolphins being #32.  They let their head coach take a friend's son over the face of a franchise, which is extraordinarily stupid, and cost said head coach his job after 1 win.