Luck leads another rally as Colts beat Seahawks 34-28
By CLIFF BRUNT
ISL Editor/The Sports XChange
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Colts recovered from a slow start and some uncharacteristic mistakes to defeat the Seattle Seahawks 34-28 on Sunday afternoon.
The Colts fell behind by 12 points, had a punt blocked for a safety and gave up 423 yards, yet rallied to give the Seahawks their first loss.
“Guys keep fighting,” Colts quarterback Andrew Luck said. “It’s been that way since I’ve been here.”
Luck passed for 229 yards and two touchdowns, T.Y. Hilton caught five passes for a career-high 140 yards and two scores and Reggie Wayne had six catches for 65 yards for the Colts (4-1).
It was Luck’s ninth fourth-quarter comeback victory in just 21 regular-season starts. He ripped Seattle’s vaunted secondary in the second half, completing 11 of 16 passes for 132 yards.
“That’s Andrew being Andrew,” Colts coach Chuck Pagano said. “We’re very lucky, no pun intended, to have him.”
Below is video of Luck’s postgame press conference:
Russell Wilson passed for 210 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 102 yards and Marshawn Lynch also had 102 yards rushing for the Seahawks (4-1).
The Seahawks, though, failed to capitalize on numerous opportunities. They moved the ball seemingly at will, yet Steven Hauschka kicked five field goals and made four because the Seahawks couldn’t move the chains on critical third downs.
“The game was there to be had by us in a number of different ways, a number of things to look at,” Seattle coach Pete Carroll said. “We gave up some big plays, and we didn’t convert touchdowns on drives.”
Hauschka hit a 36-yard field goal on Seattle’s first drive of the third quarter to push the Seahawks’ two-point halftime lead to 22-17.
On the Colts’ next possession, Chris Clemons swatted the ball away from Luck and Seattle’s Cliff Avril recovered at the Indianapolis 30. Hauschka made a 41-yard field goal to bump Seattle’s advantage to 25-17.
Indy responded when Luck found Hilton near the back of the end zone for a 29-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion try failed, and Seattle still led 25-23.
Seattle responded with another field goal by Hauschka, this one from 46 yards, to take a 28-23 lead.
The Colts rallied. They benefited from a pass interference call against Richard Sherman on a third down, then later, Luck connected with Hilton for 12 yards on a third-and-8 to move the ball to the Seattle 33.
The Colts faced third down again, and Luck connected with Wayne. The catch was originally ruled short of the first down, but Indy challenged the spot and won. Two plays later, Donald Brown scored from three yards out. Luck found Wayne across his body in the end zone for the 2-point conversion to give Indianapolis a 31-28 lead.
The Colts ran 4:42 off the clock on their next possession before Adam Vinatieri hit a 49-yard field goal to make it 34-28 with 1:55 left.
Seattle took over with no timeouts and needing a touchdown. Wilson started the drive with a first down on a 22-yard run, but Darius Butler intercepted his pass with 1:23 to go to end the threat.
The Seahawks struck first on a 42-yard field goal by Hauschka.
On their next possession, they used Lynch’s running to set up a 10-yard touchdown pass from Wilson to Golden Tate that gave Seattle a 10-0 lead with 6:14 left in the first quarter.
On the Colts’ next possession, Jermaine Kearse blocked Pat McAfee’s punt. Jeron Johnson couldn’t quite get possession of the ball before he slid out of the end zone, so it was ruled a safety.
“Our blocked punt for a touchdown not being seen that way was a huge swing,” Carroll said. “He had the ball to his chest. They just had to overturn the call, but they did not.”
The Colts finally got rolling. They finally got a first down, drawing a cheer from the crowd. On the next play, Luck found Hilton for a 73-yard touchdown pass. Hilton split two defenders, caught the ball, stopped and cut back inside to make it a game again.
Seattle threatened again, but Lawrence Guy blocked Hauschka’s 48-yard field-goal attempt and Delano Howell ran it back 61 yards for a touchdown to give the Colts a 14-12 lead 13:06 left in the second quarter.
“It sure felt like a lot more than 12 points,” Luck said of the deficit. “You look up at the scoreboard, and it’s 14-12, and we’re up. It didn’t feel like we were up.”
Kearse caught an acrobatic 28-yard touchdown pass from Wilson, and the Seahawks regained the lead at 19-14. Vinatieri responded with a 41-yard field goal to close the scoring in the first half. The field goal helped put the Colts in position to do what they’ve become known for — winning tight games in the second half.
“Nobody’s built, I don’t think, nobody’s built better to win these close games, especially down the stretch, especially in the fourth quarter, than this team,” Pagano said.
NOTES: Luck and Wilson entered the game among the top rushing quarterbacks in the NFL. Wilson had 131 yards and Luck had 126 yards. They ranked fifth and sixth in the league, respectively. … Colts RB Ahmad Bradshaw sat out with a neck injury. Colts S LaRon Landry missed the game with an ankle injury … The Colts opened the season with four straight 100-yard rushing games as a team for the first times since 1988. … Wilson played at Lucas Oil Stadium in the Big Ten Championship game two seasons ago. He led Wisconsin to a 42-39 win over Michigan State. … Howell’s blocked field goal return for a score was Indy’s first since 2004. … Colts LB Robert Mathis recorded his 100th career sack on the final play of the first half.
