Colts Eliminate Bills on 'MNF'
I N D I A N A P O L I S, Dec. 12 -- Peyton Manning, Edgerrin James and MarvinHarrison?
Who needs them when Paul Shields, Jeff Burris, Bernard Holseyand Mustafah Muhammed are around to keep the Indianapolis Colts inthe AFC playoff race?
Shields blocked a punt to set up one third-quarter score andBurris sacked Rob Johnson to force a fumble that Holsey returned 48yards for another touchdown as the Colts got just 237 yards ofoffense but beat the Buffalo Bills 44-20 Monday night.
Muhammed added a 40-yard interception return for a score in thefourth quarter as the Colts scored 35 points in the second half, 21by the defense and special teams.
Defensive Difference
“Anytime you see a defensive player running with the ball, it’sa great feeling on offense,” said Manning, who was 13-of-24 for acareer-low 132 yards. “When the defense scores, it’s a huge liftfor the whole team.”
The win kept Indianapolis (8-6) alive for an AFC playoff berthand eliminated the Bills (7-7), although the Colts still need helpto make it. Indianapolis’ victory also enabled Denver to qualifyfor the postseason, joining Oakland, Tennessee and Baltimore withtwo spots in the conference still open.
This was clearly a victory for the Indianapolis defense, whichfor two years has played the supporting cast to Manning, Harrisonand James.
This time, the offense supported the defense.
Sad Sacks
The defense sacked Johnson and Doug Flutie nine times — aftergetting just six sacks in its previous five games. The twoturnovers for touchdowns were among three for the game for a teamthat entered the game with just 15 takeaways, last in the NFL.
“You’ve got to make plays. That’s been our problem all season.We haven’t been able to take the ball away,” Colts coach Jim Morasaid. “We did that tonight. Of all the games this year, this wasthe most opportunities we’ve had to make plays and we made them.”
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