FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The NFL’s greatest-ever regular-season dynasty all started with Jake Plummer.
Never has a team dominated a regular-season decade as the Indianapolis Colts did in the first 10 years of this 21st century. The postseason Colts are another matter — just one Super Bowl title with a chance to add a second Sunday.
But the regular-season Colts won 115 games in the 2000 decade — one more win than even those great San Francisco 49ers teams of the 1980s.
“It all started with coming home after losing to Minnesota and seeing the Arizona Cardinals down by (10) points and seeing Jake Plummer bring them back with less than 10 seconds left, throwing a touchdown pass and giving us the No. 1 pick,” Indianapolis owner Jim Irsay said.
It was a vintage Jake the Snake comeback. The Cardinals and Colts each entered the final game of the 1997 season with an NFL-worst 3-12 record. And the Cards held the tiebreaker for the No. 1 pick in the 1998 draft.
The Colts had already lost to the Vikings on that final Sunday, and Plummer, who later posted the highest regular-season winning percentage of any Broncos quarterback, was finishing up his rookie season with his Cards, who were down 26-14 to the Atlanta Falcons with less than five minutes remaining.
Plummer finished with two touchdown passes — the last one with five seconds remaining — then ran in a two-point conversion for a 29-26 win.
The Broncos, meanwhile, went on to win their first Super Bowl title that season behind John Elway. In the ensuing draft, the Colts with the No. 1 pick took Peyton Manning.
It should be noted that had the Cards held the No. 1 pick, they would not have taken Manning because they had just selected their “franchise” quarterback the year before in Plummer.
The Cards wound up trading their No. 2 draft pick to the San Diego Chargers, who took Ryan Leaf. At No. 3, the Cards took linebacker Andre Wadsworth.
Wadsworth and Leaf played only three seasons. Manning, meanwhile, just finished leading the Colts to their seventh consecutive year of at least 12 wins and second Super Bowl appearance in four seasons.
So raise those glasses, Indianapolis: Here’s to Plummer! Wherever he is.
Saints’ “D” tested. All the Colts had to do to reach Super Bowl XLIV is beat a couple of young quarterbacks — Joe Flacco and Mark Sanchez, who have three combined NFL seasons — in the playoffs.
The New Orleans Saints got here by beating Kurt Warner and Brett Favre — who have 31 combined NFL seasons — in the postseason. So the Saints may be more battle-tested against Manning than the Colts will be against Drew Brees.
“We’ve had a stretch here where each week these guys are special,” Saints coach Sean Payton said.
Freeney, Powers update. Indy coach Jim Caldwell revealed that starting cornerback Jerraud Powers (foot) will play Sunday and defensive end Dwight Freeney (ankle) was getting closer to being able to play.
