The Sports Xchange
By Chris Goff, The Sports Xchange
Colts-Chiefs: Notes, quotes
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
–Only the Buffalo Bills’ 32-point comeback victory over the Houston Oilers tops what the Colts did to Kansas City in postseason lore. Almost 21 years ago to the day, Buffalo stunned Houston in overtime. But the Colts did something the Bills didn’t. They allowed 40-plus points and committed four turnovers. In fact, no NFL team had ever won a game when producing statistics that negative.
“We did everything that you could possibly do on the wrong end of it,” Indianapolis coach Chuck Pagano said. “Somebody said it was the second-largest comeback in history. Whatever. We’ve been there many, many times before. I don’t know if we won the statistical battles, but really the only one that counts and matters is the score.”
The 44 points the Colts’ defense allowed surpassed the 42 points they gave up to Pittsburgh on Dec. 29, 1996.
–Colts quarterback Andrew Luck and Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith were selected No. 1 overall in their respective drafts. But while Smith has been in the league since 1995 and is still stuck on one playoff victory, Luck has matched that total in just two seasons. Their duel marked the fifth time in NFL history that two former No. 1 overall picks met in a playoff game. Smith also lost to the New York Giants’ Eli Manning in the 2011 NFC Championship Game.
“We knew the quarterback was more than capable,” Pagano said of Smith.
–The Colts and Chiefs combined for 1,049 total yards, which set an NFL playoff record, topping the old mark of 1,038. Their 89 points fell seven shy of the record set by the Packers and Cardinals in 2009. Indianapolis’ 536 total yards are the ninth most in NFL postseason history. The Colts’ 436 net yards passing was the second-highest total in playoff franchise history, a history that includes plenty of future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning.
All the statistical odds and ends added to the charm for Indianapolis players.
“We used to watch NFL Films when we were kids and say, ‘That could be us,'” tight end Coby Fleener said.
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
–Rookie halfback Knile Davis carried 18 times for 67 yards and a touchdown and added seven receptions for 33 yards and another score through the air when pressed into action. Although he left late with a knee injury, Davis’ performance in place of Jamaal Charles — who led the NFL with 19 touchdowns in the regular season — was a big reason Kansas City opened a lead so wide.
Davis scored on a 4-yard rush right before halftime and then floated past Colts safety Antoine Bethea to give quarterback Alex Smith an outlet on a broken play early in the third quarter. Davis’ 10-yard TD catch made it 38-10 before the Chiefs folded.
–The Colts just seem to have Kansas City’s number when it comes to playoff football, no matter where the game is played. Saturday’s matchup was the fourth between the teams, and Indianapolis is undefeated. The Colts beat the Chiefs 10-7 in the divisional round on Jan. 7, 1996. They won again 38-31 in the divisional round on Jan. 11, 2004. And Indy vanquished the Chiefs 23-8 in the wild-card round on Jan. 6, 2007.
“We really have to cherish each play next year, and not let this situation happen again,” tight end Anthony Fasano said.
Kansas City might have seen it coming based on its conclusion to the regular season. In taking a 31-10 lead at halftime, the Chiefs looked every bit like the team that started 9-0. After that, they resembled the club that lost five of its final seven regular-season games.
–Receiver Dwayne Bowe caught eight passes for 150 yards for Kansas City. He was the target on the Chiefs’ final play, running past fill-in cornerback Josh Gordy down the right sideline but he caught the pass out of bounds around the Colts 20-yard line.
“Bump-and-run, couldn’t have drawn it up any better than that,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said.
Bowe’s 6-yard catch on a slant pattern was the first score of what became the third-highest scoring game in NFL playoff history. Kansas City went on top 10-7 on Ryan Succop’s 19-yard field goal, getting to the Colts 2 behind Bowe, who gained 63 yards on a catch-and-run. After averaging just 3.8 catches a game in the regular season, Bowe played his best in the postseason, but it wasn’t enough.
“We’ve just got to get back to the drawing board next year and put everything together,” Bowe said.
QUOTES:
–“Not much to say. I’m proud of my guys for the season. Sometimes the game speaks for itself. There’s a point you’ve got to stop the bleeding.” — Chiefs coach Andy Reid.
–“Jamaal (Charles) is a great player and you can use that as an excuse, but the guys never did. He went down and we didn’t have to change too much. The guys playing didn’t really flinch at that part. I’m proud of them for that.” — Chiefs coach Andy Reid.
–“Any time you can go from two wins and then make the playoffs, you have something to feel good about there — the turnaround that we had. We just did not get it done today. Any time you’re leading like that and have them battle back and take it, losing by a point, it’s a tough pill to swallow.” — Chiefs QB Alex Smith.
–“You’ve got to play two halves. In the second half, we did not show up. It’s hard to put into words. Defensively, we dropped the ball.” — Chiefs ILB Derrick Johnson.
–“Before we broke the huddle coming off the sideline, Coach (Chuck) Pagano told me, ‘Go win the game for us.’ We got in the huddle. Me and Andrew (Luck) started talking. He called the play and said, ‘Man, just run. Just run.’ I took an outside release, got up on the safety, got his hips turned and Andrew let it go. I used my speed and got past both of them.” — Colts WR T.Y. Hilton.
–“We’re all dead-tired right now. We’re a resilient team. We don’t quit. We don’t give up. ‘Sixty minutes, don’t judge’ is our motto. One thing you can’t measure with this group is our heart.” — Colts WR T.Y. Hilton.
–“I was disappointed in myself. Angry, felt like I was letting the team down. Coach (Pep) Hamilton did a great job getting me back zeroed in. I’m thankful that guys trust me to go out there and right my wrongs, per se.” — Colts QB Andrew Luck.
–“We hope this is not the highest of highs. We’re going to enjoy this game for what it is, but we don’t want the journey to end next weekend. It’s going to be two phenomenal football teams, whichever one we face.” — Colts QB Andrew Luck.
–“It seemed surreal, being down like we were down and then you have that fourth-down stop and you see him (Andrew Luck) on a knee and actually come back from 28 down and you get to advance in the tournament. Incredible, incredible victory. Our guys are unbelievable.” — Colts coach Chuck Pagano.
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