I have only been a Colts fan for about 7 years or so, but I haven't been a "die-hard-watch-every-snap-of-every-game" fan since 2003, that really started in about 2008. 2008 was my first year in college, and on a Christian campus Sunday afternoons are a bore, so that pushed me toward watching football, and following my team. There have been some pretty epic comebacks since Peyton Manning took the reins, but for me, I have 5 that really stick out to me that go far beyond any others. This list may be skewed and a little wrong in your opinion, but like I said, they are games that I remember and watched.
Here they are, the top 5:
5. Colts 27, Dolphins 23
Last year I was involved in a homeless ministry on Monday nights. I rarely, if ever, saw an entire Monday night football game. But since this was MY team, I turned it on the radio on the way back. My friend, who has DVR, told me he would record it, so I quit listening. When I got to his house, he found out his DVR did not work properly, and therefore I began to watch the game in the 2nd quarter, with the Colts getting beat badly.
The cool thing about this comeback was that Pierre Garcon made a fantastic play to end the game, and it was the first time people started paying attention to him as a player. We did not deserve to win this game based on the way our defense played, but we came out on top! This highlight does not give credit to the comeback. Miami had the ball for 45:07 meaning the Colts had the ball for less than 15:00 of offense (14:93). Check it out here:
4. Colts 38, Buccaneers 35
I remember starting out watching this game at a guy from our church's house with a bunch of student ministry students, I was in 8th grade at the time. We were just about to move, and don't judge me, but for some odd reason, right before our move, I started making up my bed in the closet, with my 13" rabbit ear TV at the my feet. I barely fit, but it was a little cave, and I loved it. So that is where I watched the end of this game. And it was my first time ever staying up late enough to watch the entire Monday Night Game. I remember being so tired the next day I felt like I got hit by a bus.
Either was this game was so memorable to me. I remember the leaping penalty (and that's why this year when Eric Foster did it vs. the Cowboys, I couldn't be angry), the doinked upright (which was the beginning of the end, in my mind, of Vanderjagt), and the incredible luck that went on in this game. If I were older when this game happened I would probably rank it higher, I was just a squirt, and don't remember much from the game itself. I just recall being in total shock when the final score flashed up on the screen. This game is prior to the 'YouTube' era, so not many highlights are available. Check out what I got here:
3 Colts 31, Texans 27
This was my first year of college, at this time my family was commuting to a small church in central Ohio, and I met them this week to go to church. After church, we went to a family in the church's barn that they converted into a bed and breakfast, and the family had Sunday Ticket. We were already not off to as hot of a start as I would have liked to the season, and my dad and I were just chatting away and asking questions like why we were such a bad team. My dad actually said, "Just need to give up, and wait for next year I guess."
This game had so many big plays. My friend Evan actually fell asleep with the Colts getting demolished, and woke up to our screaming as they were taking the lead, and he says, "What just happened?!" It was incredible. The defense made some huge plays to get us back in it, and Reggie Wayne had one of the best catches that I've ever seen. This game was incredible, plus we kept our win streak against Houston alive. Check it out:
2 Colts 35, Patriots 34
This game came really close to being my number one, but due to the magnitude of the game that tops the charts, it sits here at a very close number two. I remember watching this game in my dorm room, door locked because of the Patriots fan down the hall, and just wishing and praying for a miracle. There actually came a point in the game where I left my room to watch in another room because people came in talking smack and I just wanted to watch our first loss in peace.
This game was CRAZY! I just remember the sinking feeling on 4-2 and hoping that they would not get it! But prior to all of that, our team was in a huge hole, and needed stops that we were not getting, and making plays on offense that we were not making, finally though Peyton pulled it off, and we were victorious. Check it out:
1 Colts 38, Patriots 34
This just makes this list that much sweeter that the Patriots are both one and two on this list. I was watching this game first with my family. When things started to go south I walked upstairs to my room. At one point I remember throwing my hat in frustration. Nothing was going right, and we were about to choke, again! I was so upset. But once we gained out composure a little bit, I made my way back down the stairs. By the end of the game all five member of my family were standing up, surrounding the TV, we were pumped!
Nothing was going right in this game, down 21-3 all hope was either lost of very close to it. But the Colts came up with another epic comeback, like only a Peyton Manning led team can do. The defense stepped it up, but most importantly the offense cut down the turnovers and got committed to winning this thing and go on to the Super Bowl. Of all the games in this years post season, this was the most gut wrenching and memorable, the Super Bowl was not that difficult to watch, this however may be one of the best Colts games in NFL history. PS. This video was impossible to find, best I could come up with.
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