All Chuck Pagano
asked the Indianapolis Colts to do was focus on football. Andrew Luck
and Reggie Wayne did that -- and a little more to honor their ailing
coach. With his career-best 362-yard passing effort Sunday, Andrew
Luck set a Colts rookie QB record. The 18-point comeback also was the
best by a rookie quarterback since Matthew Stafford led a 21-point
rally for the Lions vs. the Browns in 1999.
Interim coach Bruce
Arians, nicknamed BA, acknowledged he was fighting back tears when he
spoke to reporters. From the sounds of it, so were Luck and Wayne.
The sometimes emotional team owner, Jim Irsay, sniffled as he spoke
inside a silent locker room before dashing off to the hospital where
Pagano is undergoing treatment for leukemia. Wayne finished with 13
receptions for a career-high 212 yards -- the second-highest total in
Colts history behind Hall of Famer Raymond Berry in 1957. It was a
wild finish to an emotionally-charged week in Indy. Green Bay (2-3)
had a chance to force overtime with a 51-yard field goal. But Mason
Crosby's attempt went left with 3 seconds to go, setting off an
emotional celebration on the Colts' sideline. In the second half, the
Colts dominated. Luck threw an 8-yard TD pass to Dwayne Allen and set
up Adam Vinatieri for a 50-yard field goal to make it 21-13 midway
through the third quarter. He then ran it in from 3 yards out with 18
seconds left in the third quarter to get the Colts within 21-19.With
the clock ticking down, Luck converted two third-down passes to
Wayne, then scrambled for a third third-down conversion before,
fittingly, spotting Wayne for the go-ahead score.
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