PATRIOTS 38, COLTS 34: New England wins on a goal-line stand at the end.
By Associated Press
Published December 1, 2003
INDIANAPOLIS - Willie McGinest refused to let a bad knee slow him Sunday.
With 14 seconds left and the Colts 1 yard from completing another fourth-quarter rally, McGinest got around the right side of the offensive line and caught Edgerrin James in the backfield to preserve New England's 38-34 victory.
The Patriots extended the league's longest winning streak to eight and improved to 10-2 for the first time. McGinest's game-saving tackle typified the Patriots' charmed season.
"When it came down to it for the gusto, our guys came with it on the goal line," said McGinest, who saved the game just two plays after limping off with a knee injury. "That's how you want to win it."
Indianapolis dropped out of first in the AFC South for the first time this season. Tennessee, which leads by half a game, plays the New York Jets tonight.
As for the Patriots, each week they seem to find another player to fill in, and another way to win.
"I was thinking, "It's looking pretty bleak,"' linebacker Ted Johnson said of the final drive. "But are you guys surprised? With this team?"
Even before Peyton Manning tapped his rear end, telling McGinest it was a run instead of a pass, the Colts were in trouble.
Indianapolis tight end Dallas Clark left in the second quarter with a fractured right fibula. Fullback Detron Smith left in the first half with a right knee injury and running back James Mungro, Indianapolis' short-yardage runner, was out with a foot injury.
That forced the Colts to alter their power package, and it didn't work.
James ran for 1 yard on first down from the 2, then went nowhere on second down. Then Manning tried to hit Aaron Moorehead but Moorehead got tied up on the line of scrimmage.
Manning called timeout to set up the final play and when he got to the sideline, he realized the predicament.
"We didn't have the goal-line offense," Manning said. "Everybody was in street clothes over there."
New England took a 31-10 lead behind Tom Brady, who was 26-of-35 for 236 yards, and Bethel Johnson's kickoff returns.
But Manning rallied the Colts from a 21-point deficit for the second time this season. The first resulted in a 38-31 overtime win over the Bucs on Oct.6.
The Colts tied it at 31 with a 6-yard score to Troy Walters with 10:21 left.
After ending the first half with a 92-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, the longest by a Patriot since Nov.15, 1999, Johnson broke free in the fourth quarter, going 67 yards to the Colts 31.
Four plays later, Brady found Deion Branch open in the back of the end zone to make it 38-31 with 8:36 left.
