Colts defense reappears ... so does Cardinals' penchant for mistakes
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Indianapolis Colts dispelled a couple of myths Sunday night.
One: They can't stop the run.
Two: The Arizona Cardinals boast an elite defense.
| Video |
| More Colts-Cardinals links |
|
Recap: Colts 31, Cardinals 10 |
As for the notion this Colts offense is one of the best the league has ever seen? Well, that one is alive and might still be running at University of Phoenix Stadium.
After misfiring on his first two passes, Colts quarterback Peyton Manning completed 19 of his next 27 throws for 328 yards as Indy blitzed Arizona with 28 quick points to turn a marquee matchup into a macabre, 31-10 massacre.
Manning's final stat line was gaudy: 24 for 35 for 379 yards and four touchdowns. It was the 18th time he has thrown for at least four touchdowns in a game. Only Dan Marino (21) and Brett Favre (20) have done it more.
"He does it so often it can start to look commonplace," Colts coach Jim Caldwell said.
But it didn't have to be this one-sided.
Arizona had a 3-0 lead and appeared headed for a touchdown early in the second quarter when running back Tim Hightower coughed up the ball at the Colts 5.
The blunder was one of several crucial and poorly timed gaffes by the Cardinals, who, in two home games, have resumed their old, blundering ways.
|
|
| Tim Hightower's fumble costs Arizona a chance to go up 10-0. From that moment, Peyton Manning and Indianapolis take control. (Getty Images) |
Rodgers-Cromartie got torched on two of Manning's TD tosses and Wilson took a terrible angle on Donald Brown's back-breaking, 72-yard reception that set up Indy's fourth TD after the Cards had come out of halftime with their only TD drive of the game.
"They said that when you make a mistake, he'll find it," Rodgers-Cromartie said of Manning. "He found it."
For those keeping tabs, that's two game-altering mistakes by Wilson in two home games. The defensive captain and Pro Bowl selection also blew a coverage assignment on Frank Gore's winning touchdown grab for the 49ers two weeks ago.
Arizona now heads into a bye week searching for answers while Indianapolis heads into a home game with banged-up Seattle coming off its best performance of the season and having survived back-to-back Monday night and Sunday night road games.
"We just got hot," Manning said. "It just felt like we were running our offense."
The Colts finished the night with 505 yards, thanks to a potent rushing game led by Joseph Addai and Brown that kept the Cardinals defense off balance.
But for a change, the Colts also displayed a defense. Indianapolis' 30th-ranked rushing defense held Arizona to 24 yards, allowing ends Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis to do what they do best -- rush the quarterback.
"We kind of just lick our chops," said Freeney, who left the game late with a right leg injury. "This is what we want."
With Freeney, Mathis and Co. harassing Warner all night, the Cardinals offense never found a rhythm.
"I think that was the difference in the game," said Freeney, who dominated his matchup with left tackle Mike Gandy.
Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald had a third consecutive ordinary performance with seven catches for 76 yards. He also did not catch a touchdown pass, breaking a string of eight games in a row in which he had done so.
"We're not going to point fingers," Fitzgerald said. "We are going to find solutions."
As for the Colts, who are one of the NFL's seven remaining unbeaten teams, they appear to have all the answers right now.
"This is the NFL, so you never know what's going to happen from week to week and you always have to come prepared," defensive tackle Antonio Johnson said. "But we're definitely building confidence.
"To have a complete effort like this tonight from all of our units, that helps you build it."
