INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -Peyton Manning’s 12-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Gonzalez in the first quarter gave the Indianapolis Colts a 7-6 lead over the New England Patriots at halftime Sunday night.
Gonzalez’ scoring catch with 2:22 left in the opening quarter capped a 15-play, 91-yard drive that took 9:02 off the clock. Manning completed 7 of 8 passes for 69 yards on the Colts’ longest possession of the season in plays, yardage and time consumed.
New England dominated the second quarter, but couldn’t finish two long drives.
second quarter to cut Indianapolis’ lead to 7-3. The 13-play, 56-yard drive took nearly seven minutes off the clock. Gostkowski made a 35-yard field goal with 1:27 left in the half to cut the Colts’ lead to 7-6. That concluded a 13-play, 61-yard drive that took just over six minutes.
The Colts tried to add to their lead in the closing seconds of the first half, but paid for having used all their timeouts. Manning completed a 26-yard pass to Marvin Harrison that moved the ball to the New England 26-yard line. Manning tried to spike the ball, but he was called for a false start because the Colts weren’t set, and the automatic time runoff ended the half.
New England’s top receivers were held in check. Randy Moss wasn’t even targeted in the first half, and Wes Welker caught two passes for three yards.
The rivals have met in two of the last five conference championship games, most recently in 2007, when the Colts won 38-34.
The Colts gave the Patriots one of their toughest tests during their unbeaten regular season last year. New England prevailed, 24-20 last November in a battle of undefeated teams.
This season, Indianapolis (3-4) has lost two straight and is trying to get back into the playoff hunt. New England (5-2) has won two straight.
us Green-Ellis got the start and gained 34 yards on nine carries in the first half.
Colts safety Bob Sanders played for the first time since Indianapolis faced Jacksonville in Week 3. Sanders was the league’s defensive player of the year last season, but he sprained his ankle in Week 2 against Minnesota.
Colts running back Joseph Addai started after missing the past two games with a hamstring injury. He had nine carries for 19 yards and caught two passes for 10 yards in the first half.
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