AN UNFORTUNATE END

Sunday, January 15 AN UNFORTUNATE END

By John Oehser - Colts.com Colts Lose in Divisional Playoff to Pittsburgh INDIANAPOLIS - Unbelievably, they had a chance. The Colts fought, scrapped and did everything possible to rally in a memorable, improbable, heart-stopping AFC Divisional Playoff game at the RCA Dome Sunday. The Pittsburgh Steelers' 21-18 victory in front of 57,449 came down to a 46-yard field goal attempt by Colts kicker Mike Vanderjagt, a kick he was sure was heading through the uprights when it left his foot with less than 20 seconds remaining. Unbelievably to Vanderjagt, it sailed right. Game over. Season over. And once again, the end came a few weeks too soon. “No question we’re disappointed,” said Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, who completed 22 of 38 passes for 290 yards and a touchdown while being sacked a career playoff-high five times. “All I’m going to do – and I get tired of saying it – is keep working. I think we put ourselves in good position with the bye, but we just weren’t able to take that next step and I’m disappointed. It’s hard to swallow. “Give Pittsburgh credit for coming in here and playing better than us.” The loss, which eliminated the top-seeded Colts (14-3) from the NFL playoffs, was the first postseason loss for the Colts in the RCA Dome under Head Coach Tony Dungy. The Colts have made the playoffs the last four seasons, losing in the Divisional Playoff the past two seasons. “They played better than we did,” Dungy said. “They deserved to win the game. We played hard and gave ourselves a chance, but didn’t make quite enough plays at the end. You know it’s disappointing to have a regular season like we had and put yourself in position and not finish it off. “We’ve got to use that disappointment and get into our off-season program when that starts up and then get ready for next year.” With the victory, the (13-5) Steelers moved to the AFC Championship Game against the Denver Broncos (14-3) Sunday at INVESCO Field in Denver, Colo. The Colts’ most successful regular season in their history ended with a loss in their first playoff game. “We had opportunities – we just didn’t get it done,” Colts center Jeff Saturday said. “It hurts bad – really bad,” Colts wide receiver Brandon Stokley said. “You can see it on everybody’s faces. Everybody’s really disappointed. “We didn’t play well enough to win. But give them credit.” The Steelers have won six consecutive games since a three-game losing streak in late November and early December. They won their last four games of the regular season to qualify for the playoffs, then beat Cincinnati in the first round of the playoffs. “Credit those guys – those guys came out ready to play,” said Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne, who caught seven passes for a game-high 97 yards. The Steelers can become the first No. 6 seed to qualify for the Super Bowl with a victory over Denver Sunday. “We expected to go to the Super Bowl and win it,” Colts wide receiver Troy Walters said. “It’s tough. It’s the playoffs. There’s finality and the season’s over. You don’t know who’s going to be back, if it’s going to be this group of guys again. It’s tough.” The Colts, after trailing 21-3 entering the fourth quarter, rallied to within three with an improbable final period. With the Steelers facing 1st-and-goal from the Indianapolis 2 with less than two minutes remaining, Steelers running back Jerome Bettis fumbled when hit by Colts linebacker Gary Brackett and cornerback Nick Harper returned it to the Colts 42. “We’re a team that’s going to fight 60 minutes,” Brackett said. “Until the final whistle, we were out there fighting. . . . We just didn’t finish. We just have to be motivated going into next season. . . . “We just didn’t get the job done.” The Colts moved into field-goal range with two passes by quarterback Peyton Manning but on 4th-and-2 from the Steelers 28, Vanderjagt’s kick sailed right and the Steelers ran out the clock. “He hasn’t missed too many big kicks since I’ve been here,” Dungy said. “I know he’s very disappointed, but I told the team to rally around him. That wasn’t the play that lost the game for us. We had many opportunities to get points and score. “We’re thinking of winning the game there at the end. We didn’t get it tied up. That’s just kind of the way the game went. We were just a little bit off today.” Vanderjagt’s miss ended a wild, controversial fourth quarter. The Colts pulled to within 21-10 on a 50-yard touchdown pass from Manning to tight end Dallas Clark with 14:09 remaining, then after forcing a Steelers punt, drove 80 yards in six plays for a 3-yard run by running back Edgerrin James with 4:24 remaining. A two-point conversion pass from Manning to wide receiver Reggie Wayne pulled the Colts to within three. That drive was extended by a controversial ruling by referee Pete Morelli. Originally, it was ruled that Steelers safety Troy Polamalu intercepted a pass by Manning from the Colts 44. Dungy challenged the play, and Morelli overturned the call, ruling the play an incomplete pass. Four plays later, James scored and Wayne’s two-point conversion moved the Colts to within a field goal. After the Colts forced a Steelers punt, the Steelers sacked Manning twice to give Pittsburgh possession at the Colts 2. On the next play, Brackett forced Bettis to fumble. Harper recovered and returned it to the 42, where he was brought down Roethlisberger, the last Pittsburgh player between Harper and the end zone. Manning passed 22 yards to Wayne on first down, and eight yards to wide receiver Marvin Harrison on the ensuing play. On 2nd-and-2, Manning passed into the end zone for Wayne, who reached over a defender and nearly made a touchdown catch. Manning’s third-down pass was incomplete, setting up Vanderjagt’s attempt. “On 3rd-and-2, you’d like to make a first down and keep it going,” Dungy said. “We weren’t able to. We thought we could make the kick. We thought we were in field-goal range. That was our thinking.” The Steelers, after leading 14-3 at halftime, took an 18-point lead late in the third quarter with a 1-yard run by Bettis. His power burst through the middle with 1:26 remaining in the third quarter capped a six-play, 30-yard drive and pushed Pittsburgh’s lead to 21-3. The drive was set up by a 20-yard punt return by Steelers wide receiver Antwaan Randle El, but on the possession following Bettis’ run, the Colts inched closer. Starting on their 28, the Colts drove quickly to cut into the Steelers lead. After Manning completed a 13-yard pass to wide receiver Brandon Stokley to convert 4th-and-2 from the Indianapolis 16, Manning found tight end Dallas Clark deep downfield. Clark evaded three Steelers defenders and beat the Pittsburgh defensive backfield to the end zone for a 50-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter. That made it, 21-10, Pittsburgh. After the Steelers controlled the first quarter, the Colts regained momentum in the second, largely because of a 15-play, 96-yard drive that consumed 9:36. Starting at their 2, the Colts drove to the Steelers 1, but on 3rd-and-goal from the 1, they were called for a false start. After a Steelers offsides penalty, running back Edgerrin James was stopped for a 1-yard gain and Colts kicker Mike Vanderjagt’s 20-yard field goal made it, 14-3, Pittsburgh. The Steelers dominated the first quarter, and if not for a big play by Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney, the Steelers could have led by more than their 14-0 margin at the end of the period. Pittsburgh took a two-touchdown lead on two touchdown passes by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger after two long drives. The Colts' defense pressured Roethlisberger at times, and the quarter ended with Colts defensive tackle Larry Tripplett sacking Roethlisberger for a 10-yard loss. But through the first quarter, the Colts' offense was unusually quiet, with Manning completing 2 of 6 passes for 37 yards. Roethlisberger had completed 9 of 12 passes for 147 yards and the two touchdowns. “We didn’t start fast,” Colts safety Bob Sanders said. Roethlisberger’s two first-quarter touchdowns came on passes of 6 yards to wide receiver Antwaan Randle El and 7 yards to rookie tight end Heath Miller. The passes capped drives of 84 and 72 yards. James had five yards rushing on three carries at the end of the first quarter, and finished with 56 yards on 13 carries. “I attribute Pittsburgh coming and playing smart football,” Dungy said. “They got after it early.” And although the Colts got after it late, for a fourth consecutive season, they fell a few weeks short of their ultimate goal. “When you don’t finish it the way you’d like, that makes it tough,” Dungy said. “It’s very disappointing right now. We’ll get a chance to look back and reflect a little bit as we have some time off. Again, I’m proud of this team. We have some special guys and I’m very proud of them. “I really thought the Lord’s hand was on this team. They handled every trial that came upon them. We’ll survive. “From my standpoint, it’s disappointing and my job is to get this team to play well. We didn’t quite do that today, but I know we’ll bounce back.”