 |
| Peyton Manning would complete 28 of 40 passes for 393 yards and throw five touchdown passes. |
When the Green Bay Packers traveled to Indianapolis to take on the Colts in Week 3 of the 2004 NFL season, many fans were hoping for a shootout as this game would feature two of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history in Packers quarterback Brett Favre and Colts quarterback Peyton Manning.
The fans at the RCA Dome and the millions of fans who watched on TV would not be disappointed as they would get a quarterback duel for the ages.
Both teams entered the game with a 1-1 record and were considered Super Bowl contenders as the Packers had won the NFC North Division the previous two seasons under head coach Mike Sherman while the Colts had made it all the way to the AFC Championship Game the previous year under head coach Tony Dungy.
Both teams' strengths would be their offenses as the Colts had Manning who was coming his first MVP season in 2003, which he shared with Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair, and led an offense that featured running back Edgerrian James and a trio of wide receivers in Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, and Brandon Stokley.
As for the Packers, Favre still had some juice left entering his 13th season as the Packers' quarterback as he had running back Ahman Green in the backfield, who had run for 1,883 yards in 2003.
With all these explosive offensive players, many fans expected a shootout and would get it.
The Colts got the ball to start the game at their 34-yard-line where Manning came out firing as he would four of five passes on the drive with the last completion being a 36-yard touchdown to Wayne to put Indianapolis on the scoreboard first just 1:45 into the game.
The Packers would get the ball at their 18-yard-line for their first possession of the game which was a little bit more methodically as they mixed passes and runs to drive 82 yards in nine plays with Favre completing all four of his passes on the drive, including hitting Donald Driver for 14 yards on 3rd & 11 from the Green Bay 44-yard-line.
The drive would culminate with a 36-yard touchdown pass from Favre to Javon Walker to tie the game at 7 with 8:39 to go in the first quarter.
After James Mungro returned Ryan Longwell's short kick 17 yards to the Colts 40-yard-line, Manning would hit Wayne for 15 yards, then Stokley for 9, then back to Wayne for 8, and then finally hitting Harrison for a 28-yard touchdown as the Colts took a 14-7 with less than seven minutes to go in the opening period.
The Packers would take over at their 21-yard-line when Favre fired a deep pass for Walker, who beat his man to make the catch and run untouched for the 79-yard touchdown to tie the game just 16 seconds after Harrison's touchdown.
The Colts would get the ball back at their 28-yard-line where Manning was able to catch the Packers with 12 men on the field to pick up a 1st down on 3rd & 5 from the Indy 33-yard-line.
Manning would find Harrison for 12 yards, then after Packers defensive back Michael Hawthrone a would-be interception, connected with Wayne for 16 yards, before going back to Stokley, who was wide open for a 34-yard touchdown to put the Colts back on top 21-14 with 4:11 left in the first quarter.
Green Bay took over at its 32-yard-line when a strange thing happened; they went three-and-out to punt the ball back to the Colts, who took over at their six-yard-line.
Manning kept firing as he hit Wayne for eight yards, then found Wayne again for 21 yards for a 1st down at the Colts' 35-yard-line.
Manning would then connect with tight end Marcus Pollard for 11 yards, then Stokley again for an nine-yard gain which became a 24-yard gain as Packers linebacker Na'il Diggs was called for roughing the passer to give the Colts a 1st down at the Green Bay 30-yard-line.
 |
| Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne would catch 11 passes for 184 yards and a touchdown. |
Manning would complete his fifth pass in a row to Pollard for five yards to bring the first quarter to an end with the Colts on top 21-14.
In all, Manning completed 17 of 22 passes for 247 yards and three touchdown passes in the first quarter alone while Favre completed five of six passes for 143 yards and two touchdowns.
To begin the second quarter, the Colts surprised the Packers with their first running play of the game as James ran for six yards and a 1st down at the Green Bay 19-yard-line.
A holding penalty and two incomplete passes forced the Colts into a 3rd & 18 situation when Manning found Stokley again for a 27-yard touchdown to increase the Indianapolis lead to 28-14 with 13:43 left in the second quarter.
The Packers would come right back with a 50-yard kickoff return by Antonio Chatman to the Colts' 41-yard-line as Green would carry the ball three straight times, picking up 16 yards before Favre connected with tight end Bubba Franks for 11 yards and a 1st down at the Indianapolis 14-yard-line.
But a seven-yard loss on a screen pass to Tony Fisher would kill the drive, forcing the Packers to settle for a 38-yard field goal by Ryan Longwell to make it a 28-17 game with 9:34 left in the first half.
The Packers defense finally stopped the Colts' offense on their next drive, forcing them to go three-and-out to get the ball back at their 31-yard-line.
Favre decided to do his best Manning impression as he threw the ball on all but two plays as he completed four of seven passes for 35 yards to set up a 52-yard field goal attempt by Longwell.
But Longwell's kick came up short as it hit the crossbar keeping it 28-17 and giving Manning and the Colts the ball at their 43-yard-line.
Manning wasted no time in driving the Colts down the field as he found Wayne for 25 yards to start the drive, then hit Stokley for 11 more yards to the Packers' 22-yard-line.
The drive bogged down a bit as Manning hit Harrison for only three yards, then had a six-yard completion to Wayne called back because of a holding penalty, pushing the Colts back to the Green Bay 28-yard-line when Manning fired a pass for Wayne in the end zone, which fell incomplete but drew a 27-yard pass interference penalty on Packers defensive back Jason Horton to set up 1st & goal at the one-yard-line.
After Dominic Rhodes was stopped for no gain, Manning went back to the air and found Mungro for the one-yard touchdown, his fifth touchdown pass of the first half, to increase the Colts' lead to 35-17 with 57 seconds left before halftime.
Favre was able to complete three passes but only got Green Bay to their 47-yard-line before punting the ball to the Colts who took a knee to run out the clock in the first half as they went into the locker room with a 35-17 lead.
The Packers would get the ball to start the second half as they took over at their 35-yard-line where after Favre threw an incomplete pass to start the drive, completed four in a row for 35 yards before handing the ball off to Green, who ran up the middle for six yards and a 1st down at the Colts' 24-yard-line.
Four plays later, Favre found Walker wide open in the end zone for a 12-yard touchdown to cut the Indianapolis lead to 35-24 with 9:59 left in the third quarter.
 |
| Packers wide receiver Javon Walker would catch 11 passes for 200 yards and three touchdowns. |
The Packers would force a three-and-out to get the ball back at their 16-yard-line when they drove to the Colts' 39 yard-line until a holding penalty on left tackle Chad Clifton helped kill the drive and force a Green Bay punt.
The Colts took over at their 21-yard-line and decided to go to James, who had carried the ball only three times in the first half, as he would carry the ball six times for 27 yards while Manning found Wayne for a 23-yard completion to drive Indianapolis to the Packers' 29-yard-line as the third quarter came to a close.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, the Colts appeared to have a 1st & goal at the one-yard-line as Manning found Stokley for 28 yards, only to have wiped it out by a holding penalty on left tackle Tarik Glenn pushing the Colts back 10 yards to the Green Bay 39-yard-line, which was followed by a false start penalty on right guard Tupo Peko which cost the Colts another five yards.
Manning would connect with James for 17 yards to set up a 45-yard field goal by Mike Vanderjagt to increase the Colts' lead to 38-24 with 13:34 left in the fourth quarter.
Then on the ensuing kickoff, Robert Ferguson would run it back 71 yards before being stopped by Vanderjagt at the Colts' 22-yard-line, giving Green Bay an excellent opportunity to cut into the lead.
After an incomplete pass and a false start penalty, Favre fired a 27-yard touchdown pass to Driver just 21 seconds after Vanderjagt's field goal to make it a 38-31 game.
Both teams would exchange punts until the Packers got the ball at their 21-yard-line and drove to their 43-yard-line as Favre completed three passes in a row.
Favre would complete his fourth pass in a row, a eight-yard completion to Walker, only to have Colts cornerback Jason David knock the ball loose, causing a fumble that was recovered by the other cornerback, Nick Harper, whose 15-yard return gave the ball to the Colts at the Packers' 36-yard-line with 6:07 left in the fourth quarter.
From there, Manning decided to use up as much time as he could while leading the Colts for a score that could put the game out of reach.
After James picked up five yards on the first play of the drive, Manning hit Wayne for nine yards and a 1st down at the Green Bay 22-yard-line.
Then after James lost two yards on 1st down, Manning found Wayne again, this time for 15 yards to give the Colts a 1st & goal at the nine-yard-line.
James would pick up five yards on back-to-back carries to set up 3rd & goal where Manning threw an incomplete pass only to have Packers cornerback Al Harris be called for holding, giving the Colts an 1st down at the two-yard-line.
It would take the Colts three tries to punch into the end zone as James ran it from the one-yard-line to increase the Indianapolis lead to 45-31 with 1:49 left in the game.
If the Packers were to pull off a miracle and score two touchdowns in the final 1:49, they would have to do it without Favre, who was pulled from the game because of a charley horse in his left hamstring.
 |
| Brett Favre would finish with 360 yards and four touchdowns on 30-of-44 passes. |
Future Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson came in at quarterback and completed his first four passes for a total of 34 yards to drive the Packers from their 38-yard-line to the Colts' 28-yard-line.
But that is where the Packers' hopes ended as Pederson would throw an incomplete pass then be intercepted by Colts linebacker David Thornton, allowing for Manning to come onto the field and take a knee to run out the clock as the Colts would come away with the 45-31 win.
In total, Manning and Favre combined to complete 58 of 84 passes for 753 yards and throw nine touchdown passes as the Colts moved to 2-1 while the Packers dropped to 1-2.
The Packers would lose their next two games to fall to 1-4 before going on a 9-2 tear over the rest of the regular season to finish with a 10-6 record and clinch their third straight NFC North Division title, only to be knocked in the Wild Card Round by the Minnesota Vikings 31-17.
The following year, the Packers would fall to 4-12, leading to Sherman's firing as Mike McCarthy was hired in the offseason as two years later the Packers made all the way to the NFC Championship Game before losing in overtime 23-20 to the New York Giants in what would be Favre's final game as a Packer.
As for the Colts, they would go to finish the season with a 12-4 record to win the AFC South for the second year in a row as Manning would break Dan Marino's record of most touchdown passes in a season as he threw 49 touchdown passes to earn his second straight MVP award.
Manning and the Colts would knock off the Denver Broncos 49-24 in the Wild Card round, but would be eliminated again by the New England Patriots in the Divisional Round.
Two year later, the Colts would finally get over the hump as they defated the Patriots 38-34 in the AFC Championship Game after trailing 21-3, then knocked off the Chicago Bears 29-17 in Super Bowl XLI.
 |
| Favre and Manning greet each other after their classic quarterback duel. |
No comments:
Post a Comment