HOUSTON — The unbeaten Indianapolis Colts are the AFC South champions, the first team to clinch a playoff berth.
Peyton Manning threw for three touchdowns and the Colts rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit Sunday for a 35-27 win over the Texans, their 20th consecutive regular-season victory. Indianapolis (11-0) is one win shy of the New England Patriots’ NFL-record 21-game run from 2006-08. The Colts can tie the record if they beat Tennessee at home this weekend.
The Colts improved to 15-1 against Houston (5-6) in their fifth straight come-from-behind win. They gained the AFC South title after San Francisco beat Jacksonville 20-3.
“We don’t get overexcited certainly when things aren’t going the way we want them to,” Manning said. “We don’t panic, we don’t yell, we don’t throw helmets. We just try to put the series behind us and move on to the next one. There was a lot of that (Sunday).”
Manning threw two first-half interceptions, but had a pair of second-half TD passes, including a 6-yarder to Dallas Clark that gave the Colts a 21-20 lead with about nine minutes left.
Clint Session stretched the lead to 28-20 when he returned an interception by Matt Schaub 26 yards for a touchdown seconds later.
“That’s a good team over there, but we’re the Colts,” Session said. “We do things the right way and we try to get every win we can get.”
Schaub fumbled on Houston’s next possession and Chad Simpson’s touchdown run put the game out of reach.
Houston’s chances of earning its first playoff berth grew more dim after a third consecutive loss.
The Texans were all but unstoppable in the first half, and Houston scored on its first four possessions. It was a different story after halftime, with the Texans unable to get anything going offensively until Schaub hit Jacoby Jones for a touchdown with 18 seconds remaining.
“This isn’t the first time this has happened to us,” Texans receiver Andre Johnson said. “It’s just real frustrating. I’m very upset with myself. It’s kind of sounding like a broken record; we’ve just got to find a way to play for four quarters.”
The Colts’ first lead came on Manning’s touchdown pass to Clark.
In what was a theme Sunday, the drive was helped by a 17-yard pass-interference penalty on Houston.
Matt Stover missed a 32-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter to keep Houston’s lead at 20-14.
In the third quarter, the Texans were called for pass interference on third-and-goal from the 8-yard line, giving the Colts a first down at the 1. Reggie Wayne caught a touchdown pass three plays later to make it 20-14.
Houston’s Jacques Reeves got a 43-yard pass-interference penalty on the third play of that drive.
Manning finished 27-of-35 for 244 yards. Schaub was 31-of-42 for 284 yards, with two TDs and two interceptions.
“We’ve been really, really good and then poor in some situations, so it’s my job to find some consistency,” Houston coach Gary Kubiak said.
