INDIANAPOLIS — Washington knocked Peyton Manning around for a half. Then Manning knocked out the Redskins. After being bent over awkwardly twice in the first half and once appearing hurt, the two-time MVP responded with three third-quarter touchdown passes, leading Indianapolis to a 36-22 victory Sunday.
Colts story line
In the previous three games, Manning needed late drives to secure victories. Against Washington, Manning made it easier on himself by opening the second half with three straight TD drives. Indy remained the AFC’s only unbeaten team and became the ninth team in league history to start 6-0 in back-to-back seasons.
Redskins story line
After a promising start to the season, Washington (2-5) lost its third in a row and saw its playoff hopes take a big hit. The Redskins’ ground game struggled as Clinton Portis managed only 43 yards on 12 carries. Ladell Betts ran 10 times for 52 yards.
Fantasy figures
Manning finished 25-of-35 with four touchdowns and continued climbing the NFL’s career charts. The last TD pass, No. 256, sent him past Dan Fouts (254) and Sonny Jurgensen (255) into 10th in NFL history. Manning also passed Jim Hart for 14th on the career yardage list with a 342-yard day, giving him 34,809 career yards. Hart had 34,665.
Marvin Harrison had seven catches for 73 yards and two touchdowns for the Colts, moving past Irving Fryar and into eighth on the league’s career yardage list. He also tied Lenny Moore’s franchise record for TDs (113). Harrison has 12,846 yards receiving; Fryar had 12,785.
Injuries of note
Colts DT Montae Reagor was involved in an automobile accident en route to the game, leaving him hospitalized with a head wound.
Colts S Mike Doss sprained a knee and will need an MRI exam.
Redskins WR Santana Moss left the game with what Coach Joe Gibbs described as a hamstring injury.
Postgame chat
“I’ve seen him [Manning] take some tough shots, and he’s a little tougher than people think.” — Colts Coach Tony Dungy
“I attended the Bill Belichick school of not discussing injuries the past few summers . . . so I don’t really discuss that.” — Manning
“In the second half, we couldn’t get anything done. Give a lot of credit to them, they overwhelmed us in the third quarter.” — Gibbs
The last word
The Colts hardly looked like a team coming off a bye week.
