Manning magic

DENVER – Maddeningly meticulous and impeccably precise, this was Peyton Manning at his cruel best.

Skewering a Denver defense that was designed specifically to stop him, Manning led the Indianapolis Colts over, around and through the Broncos on Sunday, throwing for 345 yards and three touchdowns to Reggie Wayne for a message-sending 34-31 victory.

“When you play a guy like Peyton Manning, and the guy’s going to put it on there on the money, what can you do?” Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey said.

Not much, as the Broncos (5-2) found out repeatedly, watching Manning lead the Colts to scores on seven of their final eight drives – the only miss coming when he kneeled down to end the first half.

Manning’s final drive set up the winning points on a 37-yard field goal by Adam Vinatieri with 2 seconds left. It made the Colts the first team to go 7-0 in consecutive seasons since the 1929-31 Green Bay Packers did it three straight times.

Manning made a mockery of Denver’s cushy zone defense. Wayne dissected it best, catching 10 passes for 138 yards, most of them in front of Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams.

Williams was Denver’s first pick in the 2005 draft, a defense-heavy class that was part of an ongoing effort by the Broncos to shore things up after 41-10 and 49-24 playoff losses at Indy in 2003 and ‘04.

But the Broncos aren’t the only team that uses the offseason to get better. Manning’s work ethic is impeccable, and in a 2006 full of stops and starts, he was practically perfect against the team many thought would be Indy’s biggest challenger.

“When you’re throwing against Bailey and Williams, that’s why you work in April, May and June,” Manning said. “That’s why you throw a lot in the offseason, with nobody covering. You pretend it’s Champ Bailey covering. You have to throw a perfect throw and run a perfect route.”

The Colts gained 437 yards and fell 10 points short of matching what the Denver defense had allowed all season.

Manning went 32 for 39 for 345 yards with a passer rating of 129.2. He wasn’t intercepted, wasn’t sacked and probably won’t even need to send that white Colts uniform to the laundry room.

Wayne’s third touchdown gave Indy a 31-28 lead with 3:35 left. But when Bell answered immediately with a 48-yard run, it was obvious he might have done it too quickly. Indeed, the Broncos stalled at the Colts 30 with 1:49 to go and had to settle for a tying field goal. And then, it was Indy’s game to win.

Manning won it cruelly and efficiently, working the sidelines and finding every soft spot in the zone the Broncos used, and surprisingly stuck with, even as Indy’s yardage piled up.

The two big plays were Manning to Wayne for 14 yards and Manning to Wayne for 9 more – both catches made in front of Williams.

Vinatieri, brought to Indy to make kicks exactly like this, nailed his 19th game-winner in the final minute of regulation or in overtime to cap a 4-for-4 day. Denver’s desperation kickoff return went nowhere and the Broncos saw their 13-game, regular-season home winning streak come to an end.