Indianapolis Colts manhandled by Green Bay Packers – First Half
The Colts have had a tough time so far in this preseason. Not only have they had no success this far in any of their games, their defeats also have been less than dignified. 37 -17 against San Francisco and 21 – 34 against Buffalo defeats suddenly seem like good competitions when we look at the Green Bay Packers vs. Indianapolis Colts game. The Packers were firmly in control and points by the end of the game showed just that. For Indianapolis fans the 24 – 54 defeat would have been unbearable.
That doesn’t, however, mean that the Colts were just spectators. They put their heart into it and in the first few minutes of the game they put on an absolutely stunning display of football.
After the Green Bay kickoff, the first Indianapolis play started at the 33 yard line and what a play it was. It was Joseph Addai with the ball streaking across the Packers defences almost without effort. Addai wasn’t stopped until the Green Bay 18-yard line after being pushed out of bounds by Packer’s cornerback Tramon Williams. In one play and just 20 seconds into the first quarter, the Colts had gotten themselves within the redzone.
Another 4 seconds of play later it was the first Colt’s touchdown. Peyton Manning passed deep right to wide receiver Pierre Garcon in the endzone. Before the Packers defences could get to him the 18 yards touchdown pass was already complete. Indianapolis 7 – Green Bay 0 but the Colts celebrations were cut short soon afterwards.
The first Packers drive began with quarterback Aaron. The Packers started their drive, after the Indianapolis punt, on the 30-yard line. The next 4 plays earned them just 16 yards taking them to their 46-yard line. The rest of the drive was carried by the Colts themselves. Penalties took the Packers from there to the Indianapolis 6-yard line. Aaron Rodgers took over and completed an easy pass to wide receiver Driver. Colts cornerback Jacob Lacey pulled Driver down but he couldn’t stop the pass in time. The field goal was good. Both the Colts and Packers had scored a touchdown in the first 5 minutes of the game.
The next drives for both the Packers and Colts were slow and ended with less than 15 yards. The Colts were the first to put more points on the board with a field goal drive led by Peyton Manning. The quarterback completed 3 of 5 passes, throwing 11, 35 and 10 yards to get to the Green Bay 23 yard line. Adam Vinatieri attempted a field goal which was good. The Colts were again in the lead with 5 minutes remaining in the quarter.
The Second quarter was twice as explosive as the first. The Colts continued their drive from the first quarter with Peyton Manning on the Green Bay 22-yard line. Manning started off the quarter with a 17-yard pass to wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez. Manning then passed another 10-yard (after a penalty pushed the Colts back) to Reggie Wayne for touchdown.
Aaron Rodgers started the next Packers drive from the 24-yard line. The Colts defence was onto the Packers, they almost lost the ball when Grant was jumped by Colts’ safety Bob Sanders. The Packers somehow kept pushing till the Indianapolis 15-yard line. On the 15-yard line, Rodgers was almost taken down before he could pass ahead but found a wide open Finley in the Colts endzone. With the touchdown the Packers were still trailing the colts but that was about to change in a major way.
The Packers regained possession 7 plays later at their 25-yard line with Rodgers leading. In 5 plays the Packers gained 22-yards but after two incomplete passes at the 47-yard line, they opt for the punt. Colts Wide receiver Brandon James muffed the ball in the redzone as the Green Jerseys converged on him. It was running back Korey Hall who recovered the ball on the Indianapolis 3-yard line for touchdown.
That wasn’t it as far as the Colts and costly mistakes were concerned. Two plays after a muffed ball resulted in a touchdown, the Colts quarterback Peyton Manning threw an interception. The short right pass was intended for Garcon but Packers’ Safety Morgan Burnett intercepted and carried the ball 11-yards to the Indianapolis 18-yard line.
The Packers couldn’t capitalize on the opportunity though. Second play after the interception, the Packers lost possession after Colts’ linebacker Clint Session charged the Packer’s Brandon Jackson on their 5 yard line forcing a fumble. Colts’ defensive tackle Fili Moala recovered the ball at the six yard line with no gain. The colts had corrected their earlier mistake but still couldn’t drive past their 44-yard line and lost possession.
With just one minute remaining till the end of the second quarter, Aaron Rodgers led a 75-yard drive in 7 plays ending it with a short left, 3-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver James Jones. The Second Half ended with Indianapolis at 17 and the Packers on 28.
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