NEW ORLEANS - Talk about your Happy Homecomings.
And talk about your “slump”-breakers.
Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, playing a regular-season game in his hometown for the third time in his NFL career, entered the game amid talk of a Colts offensive slump - despite being one of the league’s six remaining unbeaten teams.
He left with a team record.
Manning, after completing three touchdown passes in the first three games of the season, threw a team-record six Sunday night as the Colts (4-0) remained unbeaten with a 55-13 victory over the New Orleans Saints (1-3) in front of 70,020 at the Louisiana Superdome.
“Offensively, we came alive tonight,” said Manning, who completed 20 of 25 passes for 314 yards and the six touchdowns with no interceptions.
“Every now and then, you’re going to have a night that kind of belongs to one team. The Saints have an excellent team. It was just our night.”
The Colts, despite winning their first three games, had scored four offensive touchdowns - two against Tennessee in Week 2 and two against Jacksonville in Week 3.
“So much for that, huh?” Colts tight end Marcus Pollard said.
Manning, a three-time Pro Bowl selection, broke the franchise record of six touchdown passes previously held by Gary Cuozzo (1965) and Gary Hogeboom (1987). Manning became the first player to throw six touchdowns in an NFL game since Mark Rypien did it with the Washington Redskins in 1991.
“We blew ‘em out,” Colts running back Dominic Rhodes said. “This was a big-time win.”
The six passes were also a professional Superdome record, breaking the record set by Joe Montana in the 1990 Super Bowl.
“Anytime you throw six - yeah, that’s fun,” said Manning, who deflected questions about the significance of setting the record in his hometown. “It was one of those nights where you have good protection and guys are getting open. But you don’t take it for granted.”
Manning left the game after three quarters.
The Colts scored on four of five first-half possessions, and eight of their first nine possessions overall. They did not commit a turnover, leading 24-10 at halftime, 48-13 after three quarters and 55-13 with 14 minutes remaining.
“I’m obviously proud of our team,” Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy said. “We talked about finishing September well and going on the road and playing with the same energy as we had at home. I thought we did that. We played well in all three phases.
“This was a difficult game. It didn’t seem like that with the final score, but they’ve got a lot of weaponry.”
The victory kept the Colts a game ahead of the Tennessee Titans in the AFC South, and left them unbeaten after four games for the first time since 1996.
“It’s been a good quarter (of the season), is what is was,” Manning said. “We’re 4-0 in the quarter, and now we’re starting again. It’s October, so it’s a good start, but it’s all about what we’re going to do this week.”
The victory also gave the Colts a 7-3 road record under Dungy, who is now 13-7 as the Colts’ head coach, the third-best record after 20 games for any coach in franchise history.
Three of Manning’s touchdown passes went to four-time Pro Bowl selection Marvin Harrison, who finished with six receptions for 158 yards and the three touchdowns - all season-highs.
Manning also threw touchdowns to running backs Ricky Williams and Dominic Rhodes, and tight end Dallas Clark, a rookie who caught his first career touchdown pass.
“They had some people hurt, and we felt that they would have to take some chances and come after us blitz a little bit to stop us,” Dungy said. “I thought (Colts offensive coordinator) Tom Moore did a good job of preparing them.
“Once we got some momentum, it was sort of like sharks in the water.”
Harrison, after a catching an NFL-record 143 passes last season, had been held without a 100-yard game this season. He entered the game with 16 receptions for 134 yards and a touchdown, and on Sunday night, he caught a season-high six passes for 158 yards and three touchdowns.
Defensively, the Colts forced four turnovers, all of which led directly to touchdowns including a fourth-quarter fumble return for a touchdown by Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney, the Colts’ second defensive touchdown of the season.
The Colts, playing without injured running back Edgerrin James (sore back) and injured right tackle Ryan Diem (ankle sprain), had their biggest offensive day of the season using a rotation of three running backs - Williams, James Mungro and Rhodes.
Rhodes, who missed all of last season and the first four games of this season with a torn anterior cruciate knee ligament, rushed for 36 yards on six carries in his first game since sustaining the injury during training camp last season.
The Colts dominated early, taking a 14-0 lead after the first quarter - largely because of an opportunistic defense and Harrison.
“One of our goals was to come out and try to get something going early, to try to get the crowd out of it if we could,” Manning said.
On the game’s second play from scrimmage, Saints quarterback Aaron Brooks threw a slant pass to wide receiver Joe Horn. The pass caromed from his hands into the air, and was intercepted by Colts linebacker Jim Nelson.
“Nelson’s interception might have been the biggest play,” Manning said.
He returned the interception 10 yards to the Saints 23, and three plays later - on 3rd-and-4 from the 17, Manning pump faked in the direction of Williams. Manning then threw a high pass into the end zone that Williams caught for a touchdown and a 7-0 Colts lead.
The Colts held the Saints without a first down on the next possession, after which Indianapolis drove 61 yards on eight plays, with tight end Marcus Pollard catching two passes for 29 yards on the drive.
On 1st-and-10 from the Saints 14, Manning threw to the back of the end zone, where Harrison tipped the high pass to himself and made the catch just inside the end line for a touchdown and a 14-0 Colts lead.
After that, the touchdowns came fast and often.
Early in the second quarter, Manning threw deep to Harrison, who turned the play into a 79-yard touchdown pass and a 21-0 Colts lead.
The Saints cut the lead to 24-10 at halftime, and the Colts extended it to 27-10 after a 53-yard drive on the first possession of the second half. Kicker Mike Vanderjagt’s 42-yard field goal capped the drive.
On the Saints’ next drive, Colts linebacker Marcus Washington blitzed and sacked Saints quarterback Aaron Brooks, forcing a fumble that Washington recovered on the Saints 12. Two plays later, Rhodes caught a screen pass from Manning for a 12-yard touchdown - Manning’s fourth touchdown pass of the game - and a 34-10 Colts lead.
After the Saints cut the lead to 34-13, the Colts drive 72 yards in seven plays, taking a 41-13 lead on Manning’s 32-yard touchdown pass to Harrison, Manning’s fifth touchdown pass of the game and Harrison’s third.
On the Saints’ next possession, Nelson again intercepted and three plays later, Manning threw his sixth and final touchdown pass - an 11-yarder to Clark that made it 48-13.
The Colts’ defense, which already had sacked Brooks two times, then scored its second touchdown of the season. In the Saints’ first drive of the fourth quarter, Brooks lost possession and Freeney picked up the fumble and returned it for a 55-13 Colts lead.
“It was a total victory,” Dungy said. “We didn’t feel like we were going to score 55 coming in. We knew it was going to tough, with a lot of noise and a great atmosphere early. We were just prepared for a very, very tough game.
“It’s still September. We are playing better every week, and that’s what you want to see, but we’ve still got a few things we need to work on.”
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