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Peyton Manning leads Colts on late scoring drive as they beat Titans 14 13

The Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans played role reversal Sunday for a half. Then Peyton Manning finally performed like a two-time MVP.

Manning led the Colts on a late scoring drive for the second straight week, hooking up with Reggie Wayne for a two-yard touchdown pass with 5:10 left and giving Indianapolis a 14-13 come-from-behind victory.

For 3{ quarters, it appeared the winless Titans might pull off one of the most shocking upsets in the NFL this season.

But Manning was masterful in the second half. He finished 20-of-31 for 166 yards with two touchdowns _ both in the second half _ and one interception. It was enough to keep the Colts unbeaten at 5-0.

Indy won its 12th straight over an AFC South foe and completed a sweep of its home games against a divisional rival.

The Titans (0-5) have lost seven straight in the series.

Despite playing with rookie quarterback Vince Young and without defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth, who served the first of his five-game suspension, the Titans played their best game of the season.

Like each of Indy's opponents in 2006, they took advantage of the Colts' run defence early and played keepaway. Young threw only two passes in the first quarter, and with 214 yards rushing, why not?

Tennessee rushed for 100 yards in the first quarter, and Travis Henry, who was inactive last week, finished with 19 carries for 123 yards _ his first 100-yard game as a Titan.

The Colts had no answers in the first half and trailed 10-0.

Young looked poised early, marching Tennessee 88 yards on the opening possession and providing a glimpse of what the Titans liked so much about him coming out of college: mobility. He capped the drive by eluding a couple of tackles and scoring on a 19-yard run.

Midway through the second quarter, Young took advantage of good field position after Keith Bulluck recovered Dominic Rhodes' fumble near midfield. The Titans settled for a 22-yard field goal from Rob Bironas to make it 10-0.

Meanwhile, the Colts' offence was stuck in neutral with only seven first-downs and Manning out of sync. He couldn't even complete a pass to his favourite target, Marvin Harrison.

But Manning produced in the second half, as did Harrison.

After forcing Tennessee to punt on its opening possession, Manning methodically moved the Colts downfield and hooked up with Harrison on a 13-yard pass to make it 10-7.

It was Harrison's first touchdown reception of the season and he also broke Marshall Faulk's NFL record for most consecutive games with a reception at the start of the career. Harrison has now caught a pass in all 159 games of his career. Faulk started his career with 158.

Tennessee answered with a 47-yard field from Bironas to make it 13-7 late in the third quarter.

And when it looked like this one might get away from the Colts, Manning delivered again.

He missed one scoring chance when a pass went off Wayne's hands near the goal line and Chris Hope picked it off. But the defence forced a punt and gave Manning another chance.

This time, Manning found Wayne just inside the end zone for the winning score.

Young was 10-of-21 for 63 yards with one interception, and his final desperation pass was knocked down at about the Colts 10-yard line.

Rhodes ran 20 times for 84 yards and Indy's Joseph Addai carried 13 times for 62 yards.


© The Canadian Press, 2007

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End: Peyton Manning leads Colts on late scoring drive as they beat Titans 14 13
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