Colts offensive coordinator Clyde Christensen (right, alongside Peyton Manning) could be a candidate to succeed Mike Martz with the Bears. (Getty Photo)

Running low on time today, i’ll be back tomorrow hopefully with some more news.

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.

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.”

If anybody needs tickets to games, remember to click the tickets link at the top.

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.

Leave your comments on the news below.

Read More: Indianapolis Colts, Houston Texans

The Indianapolis Colts are actually moving up some of the weekly power rankings. Not only did they upset the division rival Tennessee Titans a couple week ago, they went ahead and beat the division winners, the Houston Texans on Saturday. On top of all of that, they looked good doing it. This is all nothing more than proof that the NFL does not and has never made any bit of sense whatsoever. It’s odd to see a 13-loss team suddenly winning games, but at the very least, they’re now moving up the rankings.

ESPN, for instance, bumps the Colts up one spot:

31. A painful/annoying week ahead for players and coaches dealing with the world asking them if they really want to win. (Kuharsky)

It’s also entertaining to see Kuharsky so obviously silenced by this, that nothing about the Colts themselves is actually written in the spot to give reasoning as to why the Colts are ranked there. Either way, that’s where they fall, ahead of just the lowly St. Louis Rams.

Feel free to leave your comments below.

Read More: Pittsburgh Steelers, Indianapolis Colts, St. Louis Rams

The St. Louis Rams are 2-13 and going nowhere fast, but then again, nobody thought they could drop any further with the Indianapolis Colts insulating them from the bottom of the barrel. Well, the Colts have ripped off two wins in a row and the Rams have now dropped six in a row, so the time has finally come where the Rams have punctuated their nightmare season with the most dubious distinction in the world of NFL Power Rankings. ESPN has released their rankings for Week 17, and the Rams have finally moved down the last spot to No. 32 overall:

32. St. Louis Rams (2-13, LW: 31) – The Rams rushed for 164 yards, committed no turnovers and still got shut out by the Steelers, 27-0. (Sando).

The only ray of hope for Rams fans is that the organization seems intent on moving forward from this by changing the guard, and GM A.J. Smith and former head coach Jon Gruden have been mentioned as possibilities for the team.

Stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis for more information, and for in-depth analysis on the St. Louis Rams be sure to visit Turf Show Times. Visit SB Nation NFL for more news and notes around the league.

Feel free to leave your comments below.

INDIANAPOLIS —
Are the Indianapolis Colts treating Sunday’s game at Jacksonville as the final game of the season or just the next game on the schedule? 

Despite a 2-13 record, the Colts have plenty on the line – particularly when it comes to draft positioning as well as the future of several key players on the Indianapolis roster. And then there are the questions about what’s going to happen to coach Jim Caldwell and his coaching staff, if anything, once the season is over.

“It is the last game of the year, but also can be used as stepping stones to launch you into the offseason and those kinds of things,” Caldwell explained Monday.

“There are a lot of different things you can sort of talk about in terms of this ball game, but for us it is the next one. What we are trying to do, and [what] we have been trying to do, is get incrementally better, just a little bit better each and every week. I think our guys have been doing that, and this one will also be a challenge to get just a little bit better this week. I think that is indeed the key. And we are going to face an opponent that is doing the exact same thing.”

As for the questions about possible draft positioning, with Minnesota scoring an upset over Washington last Saturday, the Vikings have played themselves out of contention for the No. 1 pick in April’s National Football League draft.

It’s now down to the Colts and St. Louis Rams, who are also 2-13 this season. Due to the league’s tie-breaking procedure, which is strength of schedule, Indianapolis is still the leading contender for the top pick. NFL officials said over the weekend, though, that a Colts win and a St. Louis loss would give the selection to the Rams.

But, again, that could change depending on how teams on both Indianapolis and the Rams’ schedules fare in their games Sunday. According to team vice-chairman Bill Polian, who broached the topic during his weekly Monday night radio show, a final determination won’t be known until after this weekend’s games have been completed.

Caldwell said that the Colts aren’t concerning themselves right now about what might happen in the draft. Their immediate goal is the Jaguars.

Indianapolis has never been swept by an AFC South team since the division was created in 2002 and it doesn’t want to start any precedent now. The Colts are even in the season series with Tennessee and Houston after winning their last two games.

“I do not [worry about the draft]. My job is to win ball games, plain and simple,” the Indianapolis coach said. “[Being swept by a division opponent] hasn’t happened around here in a long time, and I think it is something that they’ve been really focused on and working hard to make certain that it doesn’t happen. That is the real challenge.”

•  Injury list — No decision has been made as to whether tight end Dallas Clark (neck burner), weakside linebacker Philip Wheeler (foot), offensive guard Joe Reitz (ankle) or linebacker A.J. Edds (ankle) will be available to play against the Jaguars Sunday.

“I do know [Clark and Wheeler] are making good progress, but I’m not certain of their status at this point. If [Clark] is not healthy and ready to go, then we won’t (play him),” Caldwell said.

While there is a possibility that Clark could be placed on the team’s injured reserve list if he is unable to play at Jacksonville, no decision has been made.

“We have to do what we think is best for us to win this game, so we’ll look at all phases in that regard,” the Colts coach voiced.

The team is treating the season finale at Jacksonville like any other game in terms of injured players being available.

“There are certain individuals that may have borderline issues,” he said. “But the doctors typically, if [they are] borderline, they are going to rule against [them playing].”

That’s all for today guys, i’ll be back to blog you tomorrow.

Not much else going on in the NFL world today.

Andrew Luck (Getty Images file photo)

MINNEAPOLIS — All that good luck the Indianapolis Colts received on the field these last two weeks could leave them with no Luck when the NFL draft rolls around.

The Colts won two straight games to tie with the Vikings and Rams for the league’s worst record and the chance to take Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck with the No. 1 pick.

With Peyton Manning out for the year with a neck injury, the Colts lost their first 13 games of the season, and most figured Luck could start looking for an Indy-based realtor. Then a funny thing happened — the Colts started winning.

The Colts beat Tennessee two weeks ago for their first win of the season. No big deal, right? They still had a game on two-win teams in Minnesota and St. Louis and didn’t have to deal with the ignominy of going winless for an entire season.

Vikings fans were already dreaming of USC offensive tackle Matt Kalil coming in to protect Christian Ponder and clear a path for Adrian Peterson. With Sam Bradford under center, Rams fans were drooling over the prospects of bringing in Oklahoma State’s Justin Blackmon as a stud receiver.

Then the Colts went out and won on Thursday night against the playoff-bound Texans.

All of a sudden some Colts fans have an entirely different pain in their necks. Now all three teams are tied for the fewest wins in the league, with the Vikings and Rams still to play this weekend.

The Associated Press

What do you guys think about this.

The Houston Texans can’t beat the Indianapolis Colts on the road. Even with the Colt sitting at 1-13 and the Texans already secured a playoff spot, Houston managed to lose. The loss dropped Houston’s record in Indianapolis to 0-10. They now have the second worst active road record against one opponent without a win. Houston’s missed opportunity keeps on this dubious list a little longer. Here are the worst active road losing streaks for one team against one opponent without a win in the regular season.

San Diego Chargers – 14 losses versus Pittsburgh Steelers

This is an interesting streak. While the Chargers are 0-14 against Pittsburgh in the regular season on the road, they have actually won twice there in the playoffs. Still, this list is about the regular season and the Chargers just don’t win in Pittsburgh. The streak began back in 1971. The Chargers have been close a few times but they have also been blown out a few times. The worst loss was a 52-24 pounding in 1984.

Houston Texans – 10 losses versus Indianapolis Colts

Houston is just 3-17 overall against the Colts. All three wins came at home. They have missed some opportunities to end their skid in Indianapolis. They led into the final minute of the 2011 game before losing. They also lost one score games in 2008 and 2009.

Minnesota Vikings – Nine losses versus Indianapolis Colts

The Vikings have never won a road game against the Colts. That counts nine regular season games and one playoff game. Most of those losses occurred when the Colts played in Baltimore. Only two of the losses have come since the team moved to Indianapolis. The Vikings lost by a field goal there in 2004 and were crushed in 2000. The last time they faced the Colts on the road before that was 1968. Minnesota went 5-0 against the Colts at home between those years.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Seven losses versus Tennessee Titans

The Buccaneers have not fared well on the road against the Titans since joining the league in 1976. They have all seven of those games. The first four came when the Titans were the Houston Oilers. The last three came when the franchise moved. Tampa Bay lost in Tennessee 23-17 in 2011 for the seventh straight loss on the road against the team.ousHH

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That’s all for today.

By Stephen F. Holder, Times Staff WriterTampa Bay Times
In Print: Thursday, December 22, 2011

That’s all for today.

Tennessee Titans defensive end Jason Jones reaches out to Indianapolis Colts running back Donald Brown during the second half Sunday. Brown rushed for a career-high 161 yards, including an 80-yard TD gallop. (Sam Riche, MCT)

INDIANAPOLIS — The Colts avoided their first 0-16 season thanks to a quarterback who was trying to prevent his second.

Dan Orlovsky, who closed out the NFL’s only 0-16 season with Detroit in 2008, threw one touchdown pass and the key block to spring an 80-yard touchdown run Sunday and lead the previously winless Colts to a 27-13 victory over playoff hopeful Tennessee.

It was the Colts’ first win in 14 games without Peyton Manning, and all it took was 14 tries and three quarterbacks.

Colts players and coaches celebrated by throwing their arms in the air, and Orlovsky got to close it out by taking the traditional kneel downs for the first time in his NFL career.

“I’m happy for a lot of people on this team, for a lot of people in this organization,” Orlovsky said. “It’s a lot better than the feeling we’ve had lately.”

Indianapolis (1-13) had been waiting for what seemed like an eternity, 50 weeks, since their previous win, also at home against the Titans.

For Orlovsky, the drought was even longer. The seven-year veteran was 0-9 in his previous NFL starts. He didn’t have to do too much Sunday, going 11-of-17 passing for 82 yards and one touchdown, but he didn’t turn the ball over. And though the numbers looked nothing like Manning’s, they were good enough to get a win.

“I think in my career, I’ve learned not to take them (wins) for granted,” Orlovsky said, drawing polite laughter.

Donald Brown added a career-high 161 yards rushing, including a late 80-yard touchdown run for Indianapolis.

The Colts will need their offense to keep playing like this in the final two games, after team vice chairman Bill Polian announced that Manning would not be back this season, though he has started throwing to his teammates.

For Tennessee, the loss was a devastating blow.

Had the Titans (7-7) closed out the season with three wins, they might have been able to reach the postseason without any help. Now the Titans will probably need to win their last two games and get help from some others to make it.

But Tennessee had only itself to blame for this one.

Matt Hasselbeck was 27-of-40 passing for 223 yards, no TDs and two interceptions before being lifted in favor of rookie Jake Locker. Chris Johnson ran 15 times for 55 yards. The Titans lost a fumble and also muffed a kickoff out of bounds at their 1-yard line.

“I never would have expected us to come out, and they’re playing like the team going to the playoffs and we’re the team that’s 0-13,” said Titans coach Mike Munchak. “We just weren’t playing well at all. The intensity wasn’t there at the start.”

Running low on time today, i’ll be back tomorrow hopefully with some more news.

Not much else going on in the NFL world today.