Colts owner Jim Irsay called his team’s 30-17 AFC Championship game win over the Jets “an incredible effort,” but added “we’ve got one more to go.”
Colts QB Peyton Manning’s three-touchdown, 377-yard day made him the first player in NFL history to throw for 300 yards in seven playoff games, breaking a tie with Kurt Warner and Joe Montana.
Manning, whose Colts trailed 17-6 deep into the second quarter, said the come-from-behind win reminded him of the 2006-2007 AFC Championship game, when Indianapolis won despite trailing New England 21-6 in the second half.
The Colts’ Super Bowl berth is just their second since the franchise moved from Baltimore in 1984.
With Manning picking them apart in the secondary, the Jets switched to a zone defense in the second half but still couldn’t stop Indianapolis.
Despite the loss, Jets QB Mark Sanchez’s teammates expressed full confidence in their rookie quarterback after one of his better games of the season.
Jets RB Shonn Greene never reentered after leaving Sunday’s game on the second play of the third quarter with a rib injury.
Jets fans seemed surprisingly upbeat in the wake of Sunday’s loss despite their team’s failure to qualify for Super Bowl XLIV.
Somewhat quietly, the Jets’ offensive line struggled throughout the game and may deserve the most blame for New York’s loss.
Jets nickel CB Donald Strickland, who was injured in the first quarter and never returned Sunday, believes he tore his groin muscle.
Why wouldn’t Jets fans be upbeat? I am ecstatic the Colts were able to close the mouth that roared, but the Jets have nothing but a bright future (did I just write that?) as long as they don’t read their press clippings and blog posts too carefully and get too full of themselves. The Colts and Jets could be playoff rivals to rival the Colts-Patsies. I think Jets fans have a reason to be excited, especially once the pain of losing dims. They might even have an NFL-elite- caliber QB for the first time in franchise history