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The first round of our Greatest Game in Indianapolis Colts History Tournament continues this morning with a pair of epic comeback wins: One by Peyton Manning, and one by Andrew Luck.
(7) 2012 at Lions
The Colts made a habit out of falling behind by multiple scores in 2012, then roaring back to win in dramatic fashion, and none was better than the game in Detroit, using every possible second remaining to pull out a win. The Colts looked left-for-dead after an Andrew Luck interception with 6:40 remaining, down 33-21, and the Lions were able to run off another two and a half minutes, giving the ball back to the Colts with 4:02 remaining. The Colts needed a 4th and 2 conversion to get the first drive going, and it ended on this beautiful catch by LaVon Brazill. After the Defense gave up a first down via penalty (that's so Cassius), they finally got the ball back with 1:07 left, no timeouts, and 75 yards away from a win. They moved it with ease to the Lions 14 with 18 seconds left, then stalled on three straight plays. On 4th down though, he found Donnie Avery streaking over a wide-open middle, and he walked in as time expired, giving the Colts an improbable 35-33 win, taking them to 8-4 on the season.
(10) 2006 at Jets
Peyton Manning had a lot of game-winning touchdown drives while with the Colts, but I don't remember any other game where he had to do it on back-to-back drives without the Defense stepping on the field. In Week 4 of 2006, he had to do just that. The Jets took a 21-17 lead with eight minutes remaining, and Manning methodically took the Colts down the field, reaching a 3rd down only twice, and Bryan Fletcher caught a 2 yard TD to make it 24-21 with 2:40 to go. Little did we know we were just getting started. The Jets take the ensuing kickoff 103 yards back for a TD, immediately negating the TD drive just finished, giving the Jets a 28-24 lead. Manning, used to this by now from the other parts of the Colts, shredded the Jets Defense a second time, capping it off himself with a one-yard dive and emphatic spike of the ball with 50 seconds left. The Colts were smart and squib kicked, and Leon Washington totally misplayed the ball, getting swallowed up by two Colts at the Jets 2 yard line, making a comeback nearly impossible. On the final play the Jets lateraled five times, fumbling twice, before mercifully being picked up by Jason David, securing a Colts win.
Voting closes at Midnight (PT) on Wednesday night. Get your vote in now!
Results from last match-up: '05 Patriots 176, '11 Titans (H) 29