Graduation Day

Lucas Oil Stadium may be the House that Peyton Manning built but after Sunday night, there isn’t any doubt that Andrew Luck has taken over the penthouse.

And didn’t it work out wonderfully for Colts owner Jim Irsay?

Oddly, with all the talk about Manning’s history of great regular seasons followed by post-season disappointments – Irsay certainly made that clear this week – it’s in the post-season when Manning may have to force Irsay to eat his untimely words.

On this night, Luck got the best of him, as did a ravenous pass rush. The game didn’t end without Manning giving the fans that honored him before the game a scare. He had a chance to pull off the 50th fourth quarter or overtime comeback of his career in bringing the Broncos back from 19 points down.

But two turnovers in the final 7:00, a Manning interception and a Ronnie Hillman fumble, aborted the effort. The Broncos’ four turnovers in all were the main reasons for a 39-33 loss, its first of the season, leaving the Chiefs (7-0) as the NFL’s only unbeaten team. 

“I was probably a little tired coming into this week,” Manning said afterwards. “I’m in some ways somewhat relieved this game is over. I feel like hopefully we’ll get a chance to play these guys again because that would mean we made the playoffs.

“We’ve got a long way to go before that but you certainly see them being in the postseason. If there is a next time, it may be a little bit easier because it was somewhat of an emotional week. It can be a little bit draining.”

The Colts brought back Manning’s old teammates Edgerrin James, Marvin Harrison and Jeff Saturday and saluted Manning with a 90-second video tribute that began as the Broncos were taking the field. Manning said he’d never forget the gesture and thanked Irsay for it. He ended up taking off his helmet and waving to the crowd while patting his heart.

But it was also evident this is Luck’s town now. He, too, had to ignore the circus atmosphere of the week. He didn’t throw for as many yards as his predecessor but he matched Manning’s three TD passes and ran for another, thriving on the big stage. He has to, with Irsay counting on him for multiple Super Bowl wins – Manning was able to produce one in his time in Indianapolis.

“What a setting. It was rocking. The energy, you could almost taste it. It was a very special environment to play in,” Luck said.

It shouldn’t be a total surprise. This is how the Colts beat up the 49ers and Seahawks, two of the best teams in the NFC. Along with the Broncos, those teams are 17-1 against everyone else. The Colts can certainly play with the big boys, although they have to be concerned about the status of WR Reggie Wayne, who had to be helped off the field with a knee injury late in the game.

Maybe the most surprising thing was how they threw Manning off his game for such long stretches, beginning with the turning point of the game, a vicious blindside hit by Robert Mathis that jarred the ball out of Manning’s hands for a safety with about 9:00 left in the second quarter with the Broncos up 14-10 at the time. It was the first of four unanswered scores and set up five straight Broncos punts.

Manning would finish 29-49 for 386 yards but didn’t look right throwing the ball for a long time after the Mathis hit. He did dispute that theory, however.

“I’ve thrown a lot of wobbly passes, probably a lot of wobbly touchdowns, too,” he said.

“This is a game we need to learn from,” he went on. “We had four turnovers but still we had a chance to win. I’d like to have seen it go to a two-point game and seen what would have happened. It never got to that point. I think we can learn from it. We certainly have to improve.”

Finally, Peyton was asked about the week, in other words, Irsay’s comments.

“I can move past it. I can’t speak for anyone else,” he said. “I don’t see that being a lasting factor.”

At least not until the postseason.