NFL

Indy goes to 11-0

	[AP photo]
	Colts wide receiver Marvin Harrison celebrates his 80-yard touchdown with teammate Dallas Clark. The score came on the team's first play from scrimmage.

INDIANAPOLIS - The Colts are shoving aside challengers as if they'll never be beaten.

Now the Pittsburgh Steelers are out of the way, too.

From their first offensive play Monday night, the unbeaten Colts dominated the Steelers, winning their 11th straight game 26-7. Peyton Manning hit a streaking Marvin Harrison in stride for an 80-yard score, and the Colts never looked back.

Now they can look forward to the final month of what is becoming an extraordinary season. The 11th team to go 11-0 and the first since Denver in 1998 has beaten three of its main AFC competitors, the Patriots, Bengals and Steelers, in four weeks.

"Is it a burden being 11-0?" Manning said, repeating a question. "I never thought of it as that. It's an honor because of the respect I have for NFL teams. It's hard to win 11 games in a season, let alone the first 11."

Though there are significant obstacles ahead in their quest to match the 1972 Miami Dolphins' perfect regular season, such as meetings with San Diego (7-4), Jacksonville (8-3) and Seattle (9-2), the Colts should be favored in all five remaining games.

In shutting down Pittsburgh (7-4) with a staunch, aggressive defense that yielded 197 yards, the Colts also ended a seven-game slide in this series dating to 1984. Manning hurdled his New England jinx on a Monday night at the beginning of November, and he got his first career victory over Pittsburgh to finish the month.

The Colts handed Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger his first road defeat. He was 9-0 but couldn't do much in his first game after missing three weeks because of knee surgery.

The Colts also set a franchise record with a 10th straight home win in earning their 400th victory, combining the years in Baltimore and Indianapolis.

"We went to New England and beat the AFC East leaders, we beat Cincinnati and Pittsburgh," coach Tony Dungy said. "Knowing we can beat the good teams and defending our turf is a good feeling."

Edgerrin James became the first rusher to gain 100 yards against Pittsburgh in 23 games, with 124 on 29 carries. By contrast, Roethlisberger led the Steelers in rushing with 21 yards until Willie Parker broke a 24-yard run in the final moments.

"I know when I get the ball I've got certain things I've got to do," James said. "It's just a matter of how many times I get the ball."

The only time Manning had faced the Steelers in his eight-year career was a 28-10 loss at Pittsburgh in 2002. He passed for 304 yards and a touchdown then but was intercepted three times.

On this night, he began another Colts rout, hitting Harrison behind Ike Taylor 1:44 in.

But after Mike Vanderjagt's 29-yard field goal made it 10-0, the Steelers sniffed out another deep pass to Harrison. Manning underthrew his star receiver and Troy Polamalu intercepted, slaloming through several weak tackle attempts in returning the ball 36 yards to the 7.

After penalties set back the Steelers, Roethlisberger hit Hines Ward for a 12-yard score, making it 10-7. That was about it for Pittsburgh.

Indy's vastly upgraded defense, ranked eighth and hitting as hard as the Steel Curtain ever has, shut down the Steelers the rest of the way. If not for Polamalu's pick and four 15-yard penalties against the Colts, Pittsburgh wouldn't have been in the game at halftime.

Jeff Reed missed a 41-yard field goal early in the second quarter. Vanderjagt made a 48-yarder later in the quarter and hit a 44-yarder on the final play of the half after Mike Doss' interception and a 15-yard personal foul on Pittsburgh's Jeff Hartings during the runback.

[Last modified November 29, 2005, 04:26:14]