News / Sports
AFC Playoffs from Saturday: Indianapolis Colts Knock Off Kansas City Chiefs 23-8
NFL Playoffs
The Indianapolis Colts flipped the script on the Kansas City Chiefs and held one of the most feared running backs in the league, Larry Johnson, to just 32 yards in their 23-8 victory on Saturday.
For weeks now the Indianapolis Colts have been subjected to endless criticism concerning their rushing defense. On Saturday they shut up their detractors and may have become the team to beat in the AFC playoffs.
No question about it, the story of the game was the Colts defense. They held the Chiefs to just 126 yards of total offense and gave up a minuscule 44 total yards rushing to Kansas City. Holding the Chiefs ground game in check, the Colts were able to concentrate on Kansas City’s Trent Green. The Chiefs quarterback threw for 107 yards, lost a fumble, and was picked off twice in a game that forced him to pass more than he wanted. Kansas City could only manage seven first downs and was 1-11 on third down conversions.
Perhaps tired of hearing about the running prowess of Larry Johnson, the Colts Joseph Addai put on his own show for the Indy crowd. Addai ran for 122 yards and a third quarter touchdown to make life a little easier for quarterback Peyton Manning.
The Colts quarterback completed 30/38 passes for 268 yards and a touchdown. Manning hit Dallas Clark nine times and found Addai coming out of the backfield seven times. He connected with Reggie Wayne for his only touchdown, a 5-yard toss in the fourth quarter.
Offensively the Colts racked up 435 yards of totals offense, converted 28 first down opportunities and held a 19-minute time of possession advantage over the Chiefs.
Indianapolis established a 9-0 lead at the half after Adam Vinatieri kicked field goals of 48, 19, and 50 yards.
