Peyton Manning hit a streaking Marvin Harrison in stride for an 80-yard score on Monday as the unbeaten Indianapolis Colts dominated the Pittsburgh Steelers to win their 11th consecutive game 26-7.
Now they can look forward to the final month of what is becoming an extraordinary season. The 11th team ever to go 11-0 and the first since Denver in 1998, the Colts have beaten three of their main AFC competitors -- the Patriots, Bengals and Steelers (7-4) -- in a span of four weeks.
While there are some significant obstacles ahead in their quest to match the 1972 Miami Dolphins' perfect regular season, such as meetings with San Diego, Jacksonville and Seattle, the Colts should be favored in all five remaining games.
In shutting down Pittsburgh with a staunch, aggressive defense that yielded only 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 this month, and he got his first career victory over Pittsburgh to finish off the month
They handed Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger his first road defeat; he was 9-0, but couldn't do much in his first game back after missing three weeks because of knee surgery.
The Colts also set a franchise record with a 10th consecutive home win in earning their 400th victory, combining the years in Baltimore and Indianapolis.
Edgerrin James became the first rusher to gain 100 yards against Pittsburgh in 23 games, running for 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.
The only time Manning had faced the Steelers before in his eight-year career was a 28-10 loss at Pittsburgh in 2002. He passed for 304 yards and a touchdown, but was intercepted three times.
On this night, he began another Colts rout, hitting Harrison behind Ike Taylor just 1:44 into the game.
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.
A man arrested for running onto the field during a NFL game between the Philadelphia Eagles' and the Green Bay Packers on Sunday told police he was spreading his late mother's ashes.
Christopher Noteboom, a bar owner from Tempe, Arizona, ran onto the field with a plastic bag, leaving behind a cloud of fine powder. As he reached the 30-yard line, he dropped to his knees, made the sign of the cross and laid down on his stomach. Security personnel reached him moments later and he offered no resistance as he was escorted from the field.
The 33-year-old Noteboom, a native of the Philadelphia suburb of Doylestown, said his mother died of emphysema in January, shortly before the Eagles' Super Bowl appearance.
"She never cared for any other team except the Eagles," Noteboom told WPVI-TV after he was released from custody on Monday.
"I know that the last handful of ashes I had are laying on the field, and will never be taken away. She'll always be part of Lincoln Financial Field and of the Eagles," he said.
Noteboom was charged with defiant trespass. He has a hearing scheduled for Dec. 27.
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