• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Resting Colts cruise past Titans for ninth straight win

Dec 29, 2008 - 4:22 AM INDIANAPOLIS (Ticker) -- The Indianapolis Colts have gone from the despair of 3-4 to the team nobody wants to face in the playoffs.

Peyton Manning was perfect in limited playing time and Adam Vinatieri kicked three field goals as the Colts rolled to a 23-0 victory over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.

In what amounted to little more than a glorified preseason game, Manning was 7-of-7 for 95 yards - including a 55-yard TD toss to Joseph Addai.

Guard Jamey Richard recovered a fumble in the end zone for Indianapolis (12-4), which has won nine straight following a 31-21 loss to Tennessee that dropped them one game under .500 on October 27.

Last season, the Colts went 13-3 and lost a home playoff game to San Diego. This season, they head into the playoffs as one of the hottest teams in the league, but must go on the road in their quest to reach Tampa.

They will get a rematch with AFC West champion San Diego next Saturday at 8 p.m.

"It's a little bit of a different feeling than last year," Colts head coach Tony Dungy said. "We played well and wanted to get off to a fast start. I was proud of our guys and the way we played. I like where we are and we'll be ready to go where ever we have to go."

"It's always exciting to be in the playoffs and to be in the mix," Manning said.

The Colts also managed to pick up some milestones before resting.

Manning extended his NFL record for most 4,000-yard seasons to nine with his toss to Addai, his last pass of the game. He entered the contest needing 93 yards to reach the mark.

In addition, Marvin Harrison moved into second place on the all-time receptions list and Dallas Clark broke John Mackey's single-season franchise record for most yards by a tight end - a mark that had stood since 1966.

"I really wasn't thinking about that. I was a little more conscious about Marvin and Dallas," Manning said of his record.

Jim Sorgi went 23-of-30 for 178 yards in place of Manning.

"I think as a team we started to jell and play consistent football," center Jeff Saturday said of the team's winning streak. "It doesn't go on one player."

"They're playing very, very well, but there's a chance we may play them again, so we just lined up and played today," Tennessee head coach Jeff Fisher said.

Tennessee (13-3) has already clinched home-field advantage and rested several key starters.

Tennessee rookie running back Chris Johnson was inactive and Kerry Collins left after throwing two passes. Vince Young saw his first significant playing time since Week One, completing 9-of-13 passes for 55 yards.

Young suffered a sprained knee in Week One, and Collins has spurred the Titans to the top seed in the AFC in his absence.