That’s all for today.

TORONTO - 

Who knew that Peyton Manning’s pain in the neck was contagious? It’s turned into an injury that took down the big players in the Indianapolis Colts’ front office.

It’s been hardly a secret for the past decade that Manning’s brilliance as a quarterback was central to the Colts’ steady string of successes, including a Super Bowl title.

Nobody realized, though, how quickly the house of cards constructed by vice-chairman Bill Polian and his son Chris, the club GM, would fall apart without Manning. Both were dismissed Monday.

“It’s a new era,” said owner Jim Irsay during a late-afternoon press conference.

“We’re moving into exciting times by my estimation. The search for a GM begins immediately. We have not talked to any teams or potential GMs yet. This is not like ’97 where we replaced the GM in matter of hours. It will be a matter of time, possibly a couple of weeks.”

After a season without Manning, who has had three neck surgeries in the last year, produced two victories and a chance at the Next Big Thing — Andrew Luck — Irsay came to the conclusion that maybe it was time for some new blood in the Colts’ executive suite.

“It was time,” said Irsay. “It was the right decision to make. Fourteen years is a long time in this league. It’s an intuitive decision. A lot goes into it.”

And, once Irsay gets rolling on this franchise renewal process, the broom could get even broader. He said Monday that head coach Jim Caldwell’s status is still under review.

So, less than 24 hours after the Colts put the capper on a 2-14 season with a loss in Jacksonville, Irsay sent the Polians packing, with the potential for vets like Reggie Wayne, Jeff Saturday, Ryan Diem and Robert Mathis, (all free agents) to follow in the not-too-distant future.

You might even be able to add Manning’s name to that list. The Colts have to decide whether to pick up Manning’s $28-million option in March and if this turns into a total rebuild, then what would Irsay want with a 36-year-old superstar quarterback with health concerns?

That becomes especially problematic if he has Luck waiting in the wings to be the centrepiece of the next generation of Colt excellence.

As far as Bill Polian is concerned, he was the architect of many moves in the late ’90s and into the new century that created the framework around which Manning could work his magic. His hiring of Tony Dungy was a coup, along with the trading of Marshall Faulk and the subsequent draft of Edgerrin James. The Colts won at least 10 games in every season but one from 1999 through 2010.

Unfortunately, the last five Indianapolis drafts have not produced many impact players as the core of the team got older. Still, Polian can be proud of his record that has earned him NFL Executive of the Year honours six times.

He built Super Bowl teams in both Buffalo and Indianapiolis, with a stop in Carolina in between where he constructed a team that went to the NFC title game.

The Colts were a broken franchise when Polian arrived in 1997 but he ended up with the No. 1 draft pick that he used to select Manning, an immediate star, over Ryan Leaf, a massive bust.

It is difficult to predict how the Manning/Luck situation is going to play out. If Irsay, or his new GM, is able to confidently judge that Manning is going to be able to stand the rigors of regular NFL play again, then there is no reason why Luck couldn’t take a backup role for a season or two before growing into the role as Manning fades into the sunset.

Manning has suggested that he could work with a young quarterback.

“I think I can co-exist with any player I’ve ever played with,” Manning told reporters on Sunday. “I think I’ve always been a good teammate in that way.”

The elephant in the room is not so much Luck but the $28 million that must be paid to Manning early in March as part of his contract. There has been talk of a renegotiation — but not by Manning.

The alternative would be to cut Manning but it would be a very sad way to part company with somebody who was, and remains, an Indianapolis icon.

The futures of Wayne, Saturday and Mathis, as well as several other high-priced veterans, probably rest with Manning.

If he is back and ready to play, then the expectation will be there to contend. But if he’s not in the picture, then many of those veterans will not be there, either, as the rebuild begins.

That’s all the news for today.

What are your opinions.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP)

Bill Polian used his first draft pick in Indianapolis on Peyton Manning.

Not getting an adequate backup for Manning at some point over the next 13 years cost Polian and his son, Chris, their jobs.

Less than 24 hours after finishing a 2-14 season with Manning on the bench, team owner Jim Irsay started the housecleaning by firing the architect of the Colts’ success and his hand-picked successor. Coach Jim Caldwell is safe, for now, though the evaluation continues.

The moves caught Colts players off-guard.

”Shock, man, just shock,” safety Antoine Bethea said after finding out the Polians were gone. ”I knew there were going to be some things happening, but I didn’t expect them to come so soon.”

While swift moves are common right after the season for struggling NFL teams, stability has been a key part of the Polian regime.

Since making Manning the top overall pick in 1998, the Colts have celebrated 141 regular-season wins, 11 playoff appearances, six division titles, two AFC championships and one Super Bowl title. During that span, there have been only three head coaches, two offensive coordinators and one family making the personnel moves.

The problem in Indianapolis was losing, which came in bunches this season.

”I felt that it was time for a change, that there was a need for a change,” Irsay said, flanked by his three daughters. ”Bill had entered a role where he was less involved, but still quite a bit involved because of the lockout and Peyton’s injury and the losing streak. He was around a lot more than he probably anticipated or I did. But it really was a question about both situations. I thought that it was time to change the personnel department on the football side of things that wasn’t involved with the coaching.”

Bill Polian declined to comment when The Associated Press contacted him by phone, but did issue a statement through the team.

”I’m grateful for all the support the fans have shown us in good times and bad,” Polian said. ”Indianapolis has been a wonderful place to live and work. Most of all, I would like to thank the players coaches and staff who have played the pivotal role in this magnificent journey. I will miss them all.”

Those players became increasingly dismayed with Polian’s comments, particularly those made on his weekly radio show. And the most vocal critic was Manning, probably the only person in the organization with more leverage than the team’s vice chairman.

Manning missed the entire season with a neck injury after signing a five-year, $90 million deal in July, about six weeks before he needed his third neck surgery in 19 months.

When Polian told listeners to his show that he and Manning had discussed drafting his eventual successor and that Manning was ”OK” with it, the four-time league MVP later said he and Polian had never discussed the 2012 draft and it would be inappropriate for him to have those discussions. And just before Christmas, Polian told reporters that Manning would fail his season-ending physical. Following Sunday’s 19-13 loss at Jacksonville, Manning said: ”That’s news to me.”

An even bigger problem was that the lack of a backup plan.

With Manning struggling to come back from May surgery on his neck, Indy brought 17-year veteran Kerry Collins out of retirement in late August with a $4 million contract. He didn’t last a month.

Collins was replaced by Curtis Painter, who started well but struggled badly after Bill Polian said he felt ”vindicated” by Painter’s success.

The Colts lost their first 13 games, finished with the second-fewest victories since the team moved to Indianapolis in 1984 and wound up with the No. 1 draft pick.

Bill Polian repeatedly said he should be blamed if there was a talent deficiency.

Chris Polian, who was named the team’s GM four years ago but didn’t start making the day-to-day decisions until this season, got caught in the crossfire. He was seen leaving the team complex Monday afternoon, just about the time word leaked of the firings.

”To think that just less than less than two years ago we were getting ready to go to Miami and play in a Super Bowl, and we were cleaning off the confetti from the turf in Lucas Oil Stadium, it has been a very sharp decline,” Irsay said. ”Even after going 10-6 last year, if people had said you would have the No. 1 draft pick and go 2-14, nobody would have believed it.”

Irsay has not established a timeline for finding a new general manager, though he said he would start contacting other GMs and teams Monday night.

No decision on Caldwell is expected to be made until after the GM is hired, though players have overwhelmingly supported him.

”One thing about Jim is that he’s a stand-up guy, and guys respect that,” cornerback Jerraud Powers said. ”He’s a great coach, a good guy, and it was unfortunate situation this year. But he never lost the locker room.”

In fact, Irsay said, there’s a good chance Caldwell will be back.

Whoever replaces Polian faces an abundance of decisions in a major rebuilding effort.

Manning never played after undergoing his third neck surgery in 19 months, a fusion of two vertebrae to fix a damaged nerve that was causing weakness in his throwing arm.

He did, however, start throwing to teammates in mid-December and received good reviews from both Bill Polian, who was watching, and running back Joseph Addai, who was catching balls. Doctors familiar with the procedure who did not treat Manning say he should return to a high level of play now that the fusion has healed.

If he is healthy, Irsay has promised to bring back Manning regardless of the $28 million bonus he is owed in March, potentially putting two franchise quarterbacks — Manning and Andrew Luck — on the same roster.

”I think I can co-exist with any player I’ve ever played with,” Manning said Sunday. ”I think I’ve always been a good teammate in that way.”

If Manning returns, Irsay might be more likely to bring back former Pro Bowlers Robert Mathis, Jeff Saturday and Reggie Wayne, all of whom are now in their 30s, and keep other key high-priced cogs in the Colts’ success such as Brackett and safety Melvin Bullitt.

But the Polians will no longer be making those decisions.

”Bill and I had a chance to have a second meeting and to have some tears and a hug, and that was good,” Irsay said. ”It’s extremely difficult. Walking out of the locker room in Jacksonville that was a hard walk, and it’s hard because my affection for them is deep.”

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The Indianapolis Colts finished their dismal 2011 season the same way that they began it, which was by losing to a division rival on the road. Thanks to all that happened in between the opening loss to the Houston Texans and the closing loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, though, the two games had a distinctively different feel. By the time the Colts took the field in Florida on January 1, fans had long since lost all hopes of Peyton Manning’s return this season, another playoff appearance or virtually anything else positive. In fact, for the first time that I can remember, I found myself rooting hard for the Colts to lose a game so that they could hold onto the first pick in the 2012 NFL draft and the chance to groom another franchise quarterback. The Colts and Jags made it interesting but, in the end, Indianapolis was no match for running back Maurice Jones-Drew and granted me my wish, falling by a final score of 19-13.

The story of this game featured many of the same chapters that the Colts wrote throughout the season. In particular, Jones-Drew rode Indianapolis’s weak run defense to a 169-yard performance that gave him the NFL rushing title with 1606 yards. That total also gave him the Jacksonville franchise record, eclipsing the 1572 yards that Fred Taylor racked up in 2003, and it further cemented the Colts defense as a breeding ground for big running days by the opposition. On the other side of the ball, the Colts couldn’t get their own running game moving, crafting just 56 yards on 22 carries. In a bit of symmetry, Jones-Drew broke Taylor’s mark on a 56-yard carry in the third quarter, matching Indy’s ground output for the day on one glorious play.

On the plus side, quarterback Dan Orlovsky threw for 264 yards and a touchdown, though he did throw two interceptions and was sacked three times. Austin Collie grabbed nine balls for 96 yards and also scored a touchdown, while Reggie Wayne picked up 73 yards in what could be his last game as a Colt. Linebacker Pat Angerer finished his breakout year with another strong performance that included 11 tackles, six of which were solo jobs. Antoine Bethea threw in 10 tackles for good measure (eight solo).

All in all, there wasn’t much positive to take from this game or this season, but at least it’s over now. We can turn our attention in earnest to the rebuilding that lies ahead and the fun of speculating about what the Colts will do with the number-one pick. Should be an interesting 2012.

Adam Hughes was raised, and still lives, in rural Indiana. He has been a Colts fans since the team arrived in Indianapolis on a snowy morning in 1984. The Blue and White eventually replaced the Chicago Bears as his #1 team, and Super Bowl XLI was a dream come true.

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INDIANAPOLIS —
The game — Indianapolis Colts (2-13, 1-3 AFC South) at Jacksonville Jaguars (4-11, 2-3 AFC South), EverBank Field (Grass), Jacksonville, FL, 1 p.m. (EST).

Coverage ­ CBS Sports (Spero Dedes, Steve Beuerlein); Colts Radio Network (Bob Lamey, Will Wolford, Kevin Lee); Sirius NFL Radio Channel 113 (Colts), Channel 112 (Jaguars); XM NFL Radio Channel Channel 233 (Jaguars).

The coaches — Colts: Jim Caldwell (26-21, 3rd year); Jaguars: Mel Tucker (1-3, 1st year). Jim Caldwell has a 3-2 career coaching record against the Jaguars. Tucker is Jacksonville¹s interim head coach and has never faced Indianapolis in his current role.

The series — 22nd regular-season meeting. Colts lead series, 15-6. The Jaguars have posted wins in two of the last three matchups. Indianapolis, though, has won four of the past six and six of the past 10 meetings. The Colts have a 7-3 record against Jacksonville in road games. Six of the last eight games have been decided by a touchdown or less. Seven of the last eight meetings have been decided by 10 points or less. Eight of the last eight matchups have been decided by 14 points or less. Jaguars PK Josh Scobee has provided the margin of victory for Jacksonville in three of the series meetings (53 yards with 0:38 left on 10/24/04; 51 yards with 0:04 left on 9/21/08; and 59 yards with 0:05 left on 10/3/10).

Noting it ­ QB Dan Orlovsky has completed 34-of-58 passes for 326 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions over the past two weeks in wins over Tennessee and Houston. Orlovsky has a 95 passer rating in fourth quarter as a Colts starter in 2011ŠRB Joseph Addai had two rushing touchdowns in his last meeting at JacksonvilleŠWR Reggie Wayne needs 113 receiving yards to reach 1,000 for the eighth consecutive season. Wayne has 887 receiving yards this seasonŠWayne has caught two touchdown passes in his last two games, wins over AFC South rivals Tennessee and HoustonŠWR Austin Collie has hauled in four touchdown receptions in his past four meetings with the JaguarsŠDE Robert Mathis has registered three sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in his last two gamesŠMathis needs 1.5 sacks to reach 10 for the fifth time in his NFL career.

Did you know? ­ With Minnesota winning last Saturday against Washington, it’s down to Indy and the Rams as to who will get the No. 1 pick in the 2012 NFL draft. But draft positioning is the farthest thing from the mind of the Colts.

Did you know 2? ­ The Colts have never been swept by an AFC South opponent since the division came into existence in 2002. The Titans and Texans fell the last two weeks and Jacksonville is up next.

Did you know 3? ­ WR Pierre Garcon needs 75 receiving yards to reach 1,000 for the first time in his NFL career. Garcon has six touchdown receptions this year, which ties his single-season best (2010).

Did you know 4? ­ DE Dwight Freeney has recorded nine career sacks against Jacksonville. DE Robert Mathis is aiming for his third straight game with a sack against the Jaguars.

Stat of the week ­ Reggie Wayne has 1,599 receiving yards against the Jaguars, the most against any opponent.

The game plan –  Finish. That’s the goal heading into the Jacksonville game on Sunday.

Finish with a sweep of AFC South teams after knocking off Tennessee and Houston the last two weeks. Finish on offense when you’re in the red zone.

Find a way to punch the ball into the end zone. And finish on defense. Finish the turnaround that started in the second half of the loss to Baltimore.

Simply put, the Colts must be able to have a sustained running game while taking advantage of passing situations. Defensively, Indianapolis has to be able to slow down the Jaguars running game. And they must find a way to force mistakes by a rookie quarterback.

Key matchups –  Colts WR Reggie Wayne vs. the Jaguars secondary. Wayne usually plays well against Jacksonville and he has played well over the last two weeks in wins over the Titans and Texans. Depending on how his offseason contract negotiations go, Sunday’s game with the Jaguars could very well be Wayne’s last in an Indianapolis uniform.

Jaguars QB Blaine Gabbert vs. the Colts’ pass rush. Indianapolis didn’t do a bad overall job against Gabbert earlier in the season, although there were some crucial breakdowns in the second half of that game that allowed the rookie signal caller to break free of the pocket and make some plays downfield. That can’t happen on Sunday.

Colts run defense vs. Jaguars RB Maurice Jones-Drew. Jones-Drew is considered to be the best running back that Indianapolis’ defense faces on a regular basis. He has been tough for the Colts to stop completely. They’ve slowed him down some on occasion, but Indianapolis — who came very close to drafting Jones-Drew in 2006 and teaming him with RB Joseph Addai — has yet to completely shut him down.

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The Indianapolis Colts have struggled in 2011. The opened the season 0-13 and looked as if they had a possibility of going winless on the season. Then the team dug in and won two games in a row to move to 2-13 on the season. Through the ups and downs, Reggie Wayne has always been there and has had a very good season.

Indianapolis’ statistics are down across the board on offense from what fans are used to seeing. Peyton Manning has not played this season and the quarterback play has been just awful. Kerry Collins and Curtis Painter were downright awful for the first 11 games of the season. Dan Orlovsky has been a big improvement and has the team playing better football lately.

Even with the poor quarterback play, Reggie Wayne has hung in there and is quietly having a very good season at 33 years old. A lot of talk has been made recently about Wayne’s upcoming free agency and that the December 22 matchup against the Houston Texans could have been his last game at Lucas Oil Stadium. If it was, Wayne didn’t disappoint. He didn’t disappoint this entire season when you factor in what he’s had to play through.

With one game left to play, Wayne has 67 receptions for 887 yards and four touchdowns on the season. Wayne has an average of 13.2 yards per catch which is higher than his averages of the last two seasons. You can’t fault Wayne for the fact that his quarterbacks have been awful and have not been able to get him the ball.

Indianapolis has two wins on the season and both wins were clinched with touchdown catches by Reggie Wayne. This is no coincidence.

Reggie needs 113 yards in the finale against the Jacksonville Jaguars on January 1 to finish off his eighth straight season with over 1,000 yards receiving. This would be an amazing feat when fans look back on this seasons Indianapolis Colt team.

Wide receiver Pierre Garcon currently has one more catch and 37 more yards on the season than Wayne. Garcon has been the beneficiary of several deep balls early in the season and yardage that has been added on late in blowout losses. Wayne has consistently made the big plays and catches in key situations. Anyone who argues that Garcon has become the better player is simply not watching the games.

It’s impossible to say what would have been in Indianapolis if Peyton Manning had not missed the season. What I do know is that Reggie Wayne has not lost a step and deserves to be re-signed in Indianapolis to complete his career there. If anything, he needs to be rewarded for the work he has put in over the last 11 seasons. Fans have to appreciate the work Reggie Wayne has put in all season in 2011.

Kyle Rapoza is a Featured Contributor for the Yahoo! Contributor Network and has been a lifelong fan of the Indianapolis Colts. He attended Super Bowl XLIV in Miami and follows the team closely. Follow him on Twitter @kyler11.

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INDIANAPOLIS—

The Indianapolis Colts scored a touchdown in the final minute to stun AFC South rivals Houston 19-16 at Lucas Oil Stadium on Thursday.

It was the second consecutive win for the Colts, who lost their first 13 games of a miserable season. The Texans (10-5), who have already clinched the division, suffered their second loss in a row.

With several key players out with injuries both teams struggled offensively, scoring one touchdown each.

The Colts continue to miss quarterback Peyton Manning, who has been out following off-season neck surgery and were without tight end Dallas Clark.

The Texans started T.J. Yates in place of injured quarterbacks Matt Schaub and Matt Leinhart and wide receiver Andre Johnson remains out with a hamstring injury.

Dan Orlovsky, starting in place of Manning, led the Colts on a 12-play, 78-yard scoring drive in the final two minutes of the game, capping the drive with a one-yard pass to Reggie Wayne in the corner of the end zone with 19 seconds left.

“He walks by my locker every day and says: ‘Throw left,’” Orlovsky told reporters. “He walked by me in pre-game tonight and said: ‘Throw left.’ I think he deserved the opportunity.”

The Texans scored their touchdown in the opening minute.

Brian Cushing sacked Orlovsky on the first play of the game and two plays later Arian Foster scored on a nine-yard run.

“I’ve got to give them a lot of credit,” Texans head coach Gary Kubiak said. “Dan (Orlovsky) did a great job on that last series.

“If we had made one more play on offense, or one more play on defense, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

In between the two touchdowns, the teams settled for field goals with Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri connecting on four of five attempts while Neil Rackers was three-for-three for the Texans.

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From Our Press Services

INDIANAPOLIS — It doesn’t look as if Peyton Manning will go anywhere next season — unless he’s not healthy.

On Thursday, Colts owner Jim Irsay told NFL Network he couldn’t foresee a scenario in which Manning would play anywhere but Indianapolis unless he can’t play at all.

Manning his missed the entire season and has not participated in full team practices since having the third and most invasive surgery on his neck Sept. 8.

“I think the situation is if he’s back and he’s healthy, I see him coming back and playing here,” Irsay said in a 10-minute interview before the game with Houston began. “I think the hope is that his health is in the position where he could return again. That remains uncertain and that’s something that’s first and foremost on my mind.”

The signs are encouraging.

On Dec. 1, surgeon Dr. Robert Watkins issued a statement saying the fusion between two vertebrae had healed firmly and that Manning could increase the intensity of his workouts.

Last Wednesday, for the first time since having the surgery, Manning put on pads and a helmet and threw with teammates. He took snaps from center Jeff Saturday and worked with running back Joseph Addai, receiver Anthony Gonzalez and an unnamed receiver from the practice squad.

Colts vice chairman Bill Polian and coach Jim Caldwell both watched the session. Polian and Addai have given Manning good reviews.

Manning was inactive Thursday night and has already been ruled out of next week’s season-finale at Jacksonville. Caldwell also said this week that Manning would continue to do individual work but would not participate in team work the rest of the season.

The only four-time MVP in league history also is due a $28 million bonus in early March — a prospect that had some thinking Thursday night could be the final time Manning would be on the home team’s sideline at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Irsay also said the Colts would take a quarterback, Manning’s successor, if the right one is available in April’s draft. The Colts (1-13) are the front-runners for the No. 1 overall pick, a slot that most analysts believe will be filled by Stanford’s Andrew Luck. Another possible candidate, Southern California’s Matt Barkley said Thursday that he would return to school for his senior season.

Thursday’s game

Colts 19, Texans 16 at Indianapolis: Reggie Wayne caught a 1-yard touchdown pass from Dan Orlovsky with 19 seconds left and the Indianapolis Colts beat the Houston Texans.

The Colts (2-13) have now won two straight, both against division foes, behind Orlovsky, the former Texans quarterback who lost his first nine NFL starts.

AFC South champion Houston hardly looked playoff-ready. It settled for two red-zone field goals, didn’t convert a third down until getting a lucky bounce late in the fourth quarter, its running game was stymied late and the defense helped the Colts with three penalties on the decisive drive.

Other DEVELOPMENTS

Ex-players blame league for brain injuries: Jamal Lewis, Dorsey Levens and two other former NFL players have sued the league over brain injuries that they say left them struggling with medical problems years after their playing days ended.

Lewis and Levens, along with Fulton Kuykendall and Ryan Stewart, filed the lawsuit against the National Football League and NFL Properties LLC this week in U.S. District Court in Atlanta.

Miami’s Fasano questionable: Miami Dolphins interim coach Todd Bowles says tight end Anthony Fasano is questionable for Saturday’s game at New England because of a low-grade concussion.

Fasano didn’t practice Thursday. He has missed only three games in the past four seasons.

Samuel misses 2nd practice for Eagles: Four-time Pro Bowl cornerback Asante Samuel has missed a second consecutive practice Thursday with a hamstring injury.

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So here’s what we know now about your Indianapolis Colts, who are still awful but no longer epically awful:

1. Bad mojo apparently takes a day off once in awhile.

2. Or not.

No. 1 is true because, from the time Adam Vinatieri gave the Colts their first lead since the outbreak of World War II (OK, their first lead in more than 500 minutes, then), Sunday was clearly their day. Reggie Wayne, missing for weeks, scored a touchdown. Jacob Lacey, missing for life, had a pick six. And on Donald Brown’s game-sealing 80-yard jailbreak, Dan Orlovsky sprung him with a block that looked for all the world like he was just trying not to get hurt.

So, Colts 27, Titans 13, and good for them. The 0-16 2008 Lions and 0-14 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers can bust out the champagne, their record of wall-to-wall futility secure.

However, sometimes bad mojo only looks as if it’s taking a day off. Which brings us to No. 2.

By winning, and doing so in a way that suggests it was no fluke, the Colts have put themselves in jeopardy of a reverse 2009 – i.e., instead of willfully surrendering an undefeated season, they might be willfully surrendering presumptive No. 1 draft pick Andrew Luck, the Stanford quarterback. They’re now just a game ahead of the Rams and the Vikings in the race to the bottom – and, brothers and sisters, the Rams and the Vikings are coming on weak.

Sunday, the Vikings got smoked like a country ham by the Saints, 42-20, an impressively lily-livered showing. And the Rams displayed an equally impressive will to die against the Bengals, losing 20-13 in a game the Rams actually led 6-3 at halftime.

So, it’s on like Donkey Kong. The Rams are at Pittsburgh this week, another sure loss, and then they finish against the 49ers, yet another. The Vikings are at the Redskins, who just blistered the Giants, and then are home to the cliff-diving Bears.

The Colts, meanwhile, get a Texans team that’s already clinched the division and can’t much affect its playoff status win or lose. Then they finish at Jacksonville, where the 4-10 Jaguars have nothing to play for except getting the season over with.

It doesn’t take more than six hits to the head from James Harrison to see 3-13 coming out of that. Which means the Rams might be the leader in the clubhouse right now in the Race for Luck.

And, yes, I know what you’re thinking about that: Would it really be such a bad thing if the Colts played their way out of Luck?

It’s a school of thought that will gain steam now, especially with the Colts opting to play it safe by shutting down Peyton Manning. And while part of me gets that school of thought, most of me doesn’t.

Most of me thinks that no matter how carefully the Colts bring along Manning, his tread’s all but gone. He’s had three neck surgeries, including a spinal fusion, and he’s on the downhill side of 35. Fine crystal is less fragile.

So given a choice between 1-15 and Luck or 3-13 and, say, Robert Griffin III, I’ll take door No. 1. I’ll take the Next Franchise Quarterback, and “Good luck in free agency” for the current one.

The future, see, is all that matters in the NFL. And it has no truck with sentiment.

Especially now. Especially in Indianapolis.

That’s all for today.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP)—The Indianapolis Colts piled up wins for more than a
decade. Their victory Sunday might go down as one of their most memorable.

After 14 straight losses, 50 weeks without a win and 14 years between
non-Peyton Manning victories, the Colts don’t have to worry about 0-16 anymore.
They’re 1-13.

Dan Orlovsky threw a touchdown pass and had the key block to spring an
80-yard touchdown run that sealed Indianapolis’ 27-13 victory over Tennessee,
giving Orlovsky the first win of his NFL career.

“To finally get one, and in the aspect of a lot of certain situations, it
feels great,” Orlovsky said. “I’m very humbled to be a part of it. I’m happy
for a lot of people on this team, for a lot of people in this organization. It
is a lot better than the feeling we have had lately.”

And for a change, the Colts had plenty to smile about.

Orlovsky had lost his nine previous NFL starts including the season-finale
in Detroit’s 0-16 season. He’s the first quarterback not named Manning to win a
game for the Colts since December 1997 when Jim Harbaugh was the quarterback.

Brown ran 16 times for a career-high 161 yards, tying Tom Matte’s franchise
record for longest run, set in 1964. The breakout performance might also
temporarily quiet some of Brown’s biggest critics, who have labeled him a
first-round draft bust.

Indy’s much-maligned defense forced three turnovers, scored a touchdown on
Jacob Lacey’s 32-yard interception return and stopped Tennessee (7-7) on fourth
down with less than 2 minutes left so Orlovsky could run out the clock with the
traditional kneel-down.

Even coach Jim Caldwell got some support.

“I just want to say how happy I am for Coach Caldwell, our coaching staff
and for our players for how diligently and spectacularly they’ve worked and
prepared through all this difficulty,” team vice chairman Bill Polian said.

But the celebration was muted. After the last defensive stop, Indy’s players
and coaches simply raised their arms as the remaining fans cheered loudly.

The good news was that Colts avoided becoming the first team in franchise
history to go 0-14.

The bad news: They’re still playing for the No. 1 draft pick, which goes to
the team with the worst overall record and will have to do it without Manning.
Polian ruled him out of the last two games just minutes after the victory.

“It (winning) means a lot, but we’re a proud ballclub so one game out of 13
or 14, we still have a ways to go,” defensive end Robert Mathis said.
“Everybody held the fort today. We just kept chopping wood and the tree fell
today.”

For Tennessee, it’s an inexplicable loss that could keep them out of the
playoffs.

By closing the season with three straight wins, the Titans could have
controlled their own destiny. Now, they’ll probably have to win their last two
and get help.

“In the first half, we played uninspired football on the offensive side of
the ball and we still had a 6-3 lead because the defense played very well,”
Titans coach Mike Munchak said. “You have to run the football and we couldn’t.
Not only could we not run it, we were losing yards and that put us in a tough
spot. The turnovers start creeping in and (Jared) Cook fumbles the one that
could’ve been the chance to get something going then the interception happened.
That’s really what killed us.”

There were plenty of other problems, too.

Matt Hasselbeck returned from his calf injury but didn’t play well,
finishing 27 of 40 for 223 yards with no TDs and two interceptions. Chris
Johnson ran 15 times for 55 yards. And when Jake Locker got the Titans back in
the game after relieving Hasselbeck, the defense couldn’t corral Brown.

Locker’s 7-yard TD pass to Nate Washington with 3:43 left got the Titans to
20-13.

But on Indy’s next offensive play, Tennessee’s defense appeared to have
Brown cornered in the backfield. That’s when Brown reversed field and Orlovsky
jumped in front of the defender closest to him, running a basketball pick. It
was just enough to get Brown a wide-open lane, and he sprinted right through it
80 yards for Indy’s longest run since Matte in 1964.

“He was about to go down. Akeem Ayers came in there for the tackle. Donald
just got out of it. I went in for the tackle, and the quarterback cut me off,”
safety Michael Griffin said. “From there I don’t know what happened, but we
have to tackle better.”

Indy opened the scoring with a 47-yard field goal that ended a of more than
500 minutes in which the Colts never had the lead

Rob Bironas answered with two field goals before halftime to give the Titans
the 6-3 lead.

This time, Indy needed only about 10 minutes to retake the lead. Orlovsky’s
18-yard TD pass to Reggie Wayne made it 10-6. Lacey followed that with his
interception return and Vinatieri made it 20-6 after Indy forced a punt
following a muffed kickoff that went out of bounds inside the 1.

Locker’s TD put the game back in doubt, but Brown wrapped it up with the
long run.

“You just feel like a dark cloud has been removed for the time being, of
course,” the excited Mathis said. “Back to work Tuesday, trying to do it
again.”

Notes: Colts running back Delone Carter left in the first half with an
undisclosed forearm injury and did not return. … The Titans are 0-4 at Lucas
Oil Stadium. … Locker was 11 of 16 for 108 yards with one TD after relieving
Hasselbeck. … Johnson had eight catches for 54 yards.

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The Indianapolis Colts are still in search of their first victory of the season in week 15. This is not what I expected to be writing about at the beginning of the season, but here we are. Indianapolis has only three games remaining to avoid finishing the season winless. This week they will face the Tennessee Titans at home on December 18.

This game will be the best chance for Dan Orlovsky to show what he can do against an average team. In his first two starts, Orlovsky faced the New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens and was not terrible. He was clearly better than Curtis Painter and he actually moved the ball and helped the team score points on offense. There is no reason why he should not do significantly better against the Tennessee Titans.

Indianapolis needs to try to air it out downfield to Pierre Garcon and Reggie Wayne in this game. They have nothing to lose and need to be more aggressive in this game. As a fan of the team, it remains frustrating that the coaching staff refuses to do anything unconventional in an attempt to win. Why not go for it on every fourth down? There is no downside to it at all at this point. There is no reason why fans should expect anything different from Jim Caldwell this week though. It’s as if he has no idea that he is coaching for his job.

Colt fans early in the week appeared lucky enough to be facing rookie quarterback Jake Locker. Matt Hasselbeck now looks like he is on pace to start against the Colts. Whichever quarterback gets the start, they should have no trouble moving the ball against the Colt defense. One sign of hope is that Indianapolis generally does a very good job defending against running back Chris Johnson. If they can slow Johnson down, they may even stand a chance in this game. Tennessee does not have an explosive offense and should not be able to run away in this game.

I think this is a game where Indianapolis remains competitive and can put themselves in a position to win the game. They will likely fall short like every other game this year. At this point, fans can only hope that Dan Orlvosky will pull off his fourth quarter magic and make the game appear closer than it really is again. Orlovsky has shown that he is great at scoring points in the fourth quarter when the game is out of hand. Luckily, I think he’ll be able to do that and give fans hope that the game was actually closer than it really was.

Prediction: Titans 24, Colts 17

Kyle Rapoza is a Featured Contributor for the Yahoo! Contributor Network and has been a lifelong fan of the Indianapolis Colts. He attended Super Bowl XLIV in Miami and follows the team closely. Follow him on Twitter @kyler11.

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(c)2011 The News-Sentinel (Fort Wayne, Ind.) Distributed by MCT Information Services

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Peyton Manning can still throw a football! As minor as this seems, this is big news for fans of Manning and the Indianapolis Colts. It’s been over three months since his last surgery and Manning recently got news that he is progressing. Coach Jim Caldwell announced on December 14 that Manning has begun throwing the ball again. He has yet to participate in practice but throwing the ball is a step forward.

The most important news will be whether Manning’s body responds well to increased activity. If he suffers no setback, Manning would very much be on pace to play at the beginning of the 2012 season. If he is in fact healthy, there is no doubt he should be playing for the Indianapolis Colts. Andrew Luck could also be in Indianapolis, but there is no doubt that Peyton Manning would be the quarterback.

As a fan of the team, it’s nice to hear any positive news on Manning. Indianapolis Colt fans have had very little positive news in 2011 and any progress for Manning is great news. Indianapolis is trying not to go winless after an 0-13 start to the season in 2011. Fans have had to suffer through seeing Manning watching the team from the sidelines this season.

For fans who questioned all year why Manning was still on the active roster, they may soon have an answer. If Manning is healthy enough and gets cleared to practice, he should. It will help a lot more to have him line up on the field and throw to the ball to Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark and Austin Collie than equipment managers and trainers. This is the reason Indianapolis has held out a roster spot for Manning in 2011. Owner Jim Irsay recently said that Manning is unlikely to suit up and play in games in 2011 at this point.

Even if they end the year 0-16, fans should all be encouraged if Manning is in pads and practicing with teammates soon. As a big fan of Manning, it leaves me excited and encouraged for the future.

Kyle Rapoza is a Featured Contributor for the Yahoo! Contributor Network and has been a lifelong fan of the Indianapolis Colts. He attended Super Bowl XLIV in Miami and follows the team closely. Follow him on Twitter @kyler11.

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

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