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Colts overcome slow start to hammer Broncos

Oct 1, 2007 - 1:36 AM INDIANAPOLIS (Ticker) -- Even without Marvin Harrison, Peyton Manning had enough weapons to keep the Indianapolis Colts' offense rolling.

Manning threw two touchdown passes to tight end Dallas Clark as the Colts overcame the loss of Harrison and a slow start to post a 38-20 victory over the Denver Broncos on Sunday.

Indianapolis spotted Denver a 10-0 lead after the first quarter, but scored on six of its next seven possessions to win comfortably.

"We've been down early in the game," Manning said. "Certainly, it's not a panic situation, but there is a sense of urgency to go out and get the lead."

Harrison left the game late in the first quarter with a bruised left knee. He returned for one series, but went to the locker room just before halftime and did not return.

Manning had been somewhat unhappy with the Colts' execution in the red zone, but that was not an issue Sunday as Indianapolis scored touchdowns on five of its six trips inside the 20.

"Each game, you just try to go out and get better," said Colts running back Joseph Addai, who rushed for 136 yards and a TD on 19 carries. "That's something we really worked on and we got better."

Manning finished 20-of-27 for 193 yards yards and three TDs to keep the defending Super Bowl champions unbeaten. The Colts are off to their fourth straight 4-0 start.

"We talk about the season in terms of quarters," Manning said. "That was kind of the first quarter, and it was a good one."

But Indianapolis got off to a sluggish start as the Broncos (2-2) scored a field goal, touchdown and another field goal on their first three possessions to build first-half leads of 10-0 and 13-7.

Still, it could have been worse for the Colts as the Broncos managed only one TD on three trips in the red zone in the first half.

"They just played a better game than we did," Broncos defensive end Elvis Dumervil said. "We had some great opportunities. We just needed to take advantage of them."

The Colts surrendered 133 yards in the first quarter and allowed Denver running back Travis Henry to rush for 106 yards before halftime.

Indianapolis finally forced a punt when Henry was stopped for a one-yard gain on 3rd-and-2 at the Broncos 29 with two minutes remaining in the first half.

The defensive stop came after the Colts had taken a 14-13 lead on Manning's 9-yard TD pass to Clark.

"Our goal was to take the lead and take them out of their one-dimensional phase of running the ball and running the clock," Manning said. "It took us a while to get the lead, but we finally got there at the end of the first half."

Indianapolis' offense was unstoppable in the second half, scoring three touchdowns and a field goal on its first four possessions.

Manning played a part in all three TDs as he scored on a 1-yard keeper, then tossed TD passes of 3 yards to Clark and 5 yards to Reggie Wayne for a 35-20 lead.

With Addai leading the way on the ground, the high-powered Colts wore down the Broncos by rushing for 226 yards.

"It wasn't like he (Manning) was doing anything spectacular," Denver cornerback Champ Bailey. "It's just that the run game was killing us."

It was only the second two-TD game for Clark, who also had two TD receptions in a 49-14 win over the Houston Texans on November 14, 2004.

"We were able to get the running game going," Clark said. "We were able to get some big runs and get the chains moving. When you do that, it takes a lot of pressure off the passing game."

The Colts also did a much better job on Henry, holding him to 25 yards in the second half.

"He's one of the top backs in the league," Colts cornerback Marlin Jackson said. "He's a load. He's 5-9, 230 pounds and he's strong. We didn't do that well in the first half, but we turned it around in the second half."

Jay Cutler completed 13-of-21 passes for 131 yards for the Broncos, who dropped their second straight game.

"We've got to help (the defense) out as an offense and we didn't do a good enough job of that," said Broncos receiver Brandon Stokley, who made his first appearance in Indianapolis since the Colts released him in the offseason.