Adam Vinatieri snapped a 31-31 tie with a game-winning 37-yard field goal with two seconds left to lift the Indianapolis Colts to a 34-31 win over the Denver Broncos on Sunday.
"It was a heck of a day for football," said Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, who connected for three second-half touchdowns and a two-point conversion with receiver Reggie Wayne.
"We played better in the second half. We threw the ball well in the first half but they had more plays in the red zone. The second half was the other way around."
The Colts (7-0) became just the second team in NFL history to start a season with seven wins in consecutive years. They were 13-0 last season before losing to San Diego.
The Green Bay Packers started at 7-0 three years in a row from 1929-31.
In other key matchups on Sunday, Ben Roethlisberger was intercepted four times as Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh lost to Oakland 20-13, while Chicago took advantage of turnovers and rolled to a 41-10 win over the San Francisco to remain undefeated.
Denver (5-2) had won five in a row since a season-opening loss at St. Louis. The Broncos are now tied with San Diego for first place in the AFC West.
Broncos coach Mike Shanahan did not have to get past the Colts en route to the AFC championship game last season. He may not be as lucky this time around.
The previous two years, the Colts eliminated the Broncos from the playoffs with victories of 41-10 and 49-24 at the RCA Dome.
Shanahan wanted his defense to prove that it could contain the Colts this time around. Denver had allowed a league-low 44 points and just two touchdowns this season before playing Indianapolis. But Indianapolis scored more points on Sunday than Denver had surrendered in its previous five games.
The Broncos couldn't stop Manning, who completed 32-of-39 passes for 345 yards.
"This was not unusual for him," Colts coach Tony Dungy said of Manning. "You cannot overemphasize how good he is. People try to do different things against him and he just follows his reads."
Denver had Champ Bailey, a Pro Bowl cornerback to blanket Colts star receiver Marvin Harrison. But second-year cornerback Darrent Williams could not handle Wayne, who had 10 receptions for 138 yards.
Denver rookie Mike Bell broke off a 47-yard run to set up a game-tying 41-yard field goal by Jason Elam with 1:49 left, tying the game at 31-31.
But that was more than enough time for Manning to set up Vinatieri for the winning kick.
"You just have to go out there, focus and put them through," Vinatieri said.
In Oakland, Roethlisberger, who was knocked unconscious and suffered a concussion a week ago, may have a bigger headache after his latest struggle.
Roethlisberger was intercepted four times, two of which were returned for touchdowns.
The Steelers (2-5) lost for the fifth time in six games, and fell to 0-4 on the road.
Meanwhile, Oakland (2-5) won for the second straight week after opening the season with five consecutive losses during which it was outscored 126-50.
The third-year quarterback Roethlisberger certainly looked shaky, getting picked off twice in the first quarter, including Nnamdi Asomugha's 24-yard touchdown return for a 7-0 lead with 6:12 left.
Oakland won despite quarterback Andrew Walter completing just five-of-14 passes for 51 yards and an interception.
In their game against San Francisco, the Chicago Bears extended their start to an impressive 7-0 streak.
RSS