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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Peyton Manning, Edgerrin James and Marvin
Harrison?
|  | | Indianapolis Colts defensive end Chad Bratzke, front, is congratulated by Jason Belser after Bills QB Rob Johnson was sacked. |
Who needs them when Paul Shields, Jeff Burris, Bernard Holsey
and Mustafah Muhammad are around to keep the Indianapolis Colts in
the AFC playoff race?
Shields blocked a punt to set up one third-quarter score and
Burris sacked Rob Johnson to force a fumble that Holsey returned 48
yards for another touchdown as the Colts got just 237 yards of
offense but beat the Buffalo Bills 44-20 on Monday night.
Muhammad added a 40-yard interception return for a score in the
fourth quarter as the Colts scored 35 points in the second half, 14
by the defense and another TD set up by the special teams.
"Anytime you see a defensive player running with the ball, it's
a great feeling on offense," said Manning, who was 13-of-24 for a
career-low 132 yards. "When the defense scores, it's a huge lift
for the whole team."
The win kept Indianapolis (8-6) alive for an AFC playoff berth
and eliminated the Bills (7-7), although the Colts still need help
to make it. Indianapolis' victory also enabled Denver to qualify
for the postseason, joining Oakland, Tennessee and Baltimore with
two spots in the conference still open.
This was clearly a victory for the Indianapolis defense, which
for two years has played the supporting cast to Manning, Harrison
and James.
This time, the offense supported the defense.
The defense sacked Johnson and Doug Flutie nine times -- after
getting just six sacks in its previous five games. The two
turnovers for touchdowns were among three for the game for a team
that entered the game with just 15 takeaways, last in the NFL.
"You've got to make plays. That's been our problem all season.
We haven't been able to take the ball away," Colts coach Jim Mora
said. "We did that tonight. Of all the games this year, this was
the most opportunities we've had to make plays and we made them."
"I got a little impatient," said Johnson, who was 12-of-22 for
188 yards and two interceptions. "I tried to make some plays. I
got frustrated and I made some bad decisions."
Two of the heroes were making their first starts -- Brad Scioli,
who had two sacks, in place of Holsey, and Muhammad in place of
Tyrone Poole.
The Colts led 9-6 at halftime after an exchange of field goals
by Mike Vanderjagt and Buffalo's Steve Christie.
But Indianapolis came out energized in the second half,
especially on defense.
It stopped the Bills on three plays on the opening series, then
Shields, who started four games at fullback last year but had been
cut and re-signed twice this season, broke up the middle and
blocked Chris Mohr's punt. Mohr juggled the ball and had to
re-start, but it was too late, and he fruitlessly tried to run.
"We didn't have a block called at that time. We had a return
called," Mora said. "He just took a long time to get the kick
off."
That gave Indianapolis the ball at the 25. James carried the
ball four straight times, the last time taking it in from the 1.
The play that broke it open came late in the third quarter.
With Buffalo facing a third-and-2 at the Colts' 45, Burris
blitzed from the right corner and hit Johnson from the blind side.
The ball came loose and was picked up by Holsey, who took it
untouched to the end zone to make it 23-6.
"You get the blocked punt, where the punter missed the ball,
then they return the fumble for a touchdown. That knocked us right
out of the ballgame pretty quick," Buffalo coach Wade Phillips
said. "We fought them the first half and were only three points
behind and suddenly we're down 17 points in a couple of minutes."
Buffalo cut it to 23-12 on a 1-yard run by Sammy Morris late in
the third quarter that was set up by a 34-yard pass from Johnson to
Eric Moulds. But the Colts came right back and went 62 yards on 12
plays, scoring on the second 1-yard TD run by James, who finished
with 111 yards on 27 carries.
After Muhammad's interception return, the Bills added a late
touchdown on a 29-yard pass from Flutie to Peerless Price.
James closed out the scoring with a 13-yard TD run giving him 34
TDs in two seasons. That ties Eric Dickerson and Gale Sayers for
most touchdowns in their first two seasons.
Game notes
Seven Colts recorded sacks, including former Cornelius
Bennett, who played with a broken bone in his hand. Bennett's two
sacks were his first against Buffalo, for whom he played for nine
seasons. ... James became the second player in NFL history to
record at least 4,000 yards from scrimmage in his first two
seasons. ... Moulds, the AFC's leading receiver, managed just two
catches against the Colts. ... The blocked punt was the first by
the Colts since Dec. 17, 1989.
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ALSO SEE
NFL Scoreboard
Buffalo Clubhouse
Indianapolis Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Edgerrin James talks with ESPN's Ed Werder about the Colts' race to the playoffs.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Chad Bratzke tells ABC's Melissa Stark the Colts' defense looked to step it up early.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Jeff Burris tells ESPN's Ed Werder the Colts' defense put in a good effort.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
The Colts' Bernard Holsey feels his team is in control of their own destiny.
wav: 138 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
ABC's Eric Dickerson catches up with Edgerrin James after his 117-yard, 3 TD performance.
wav: 316 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
 FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Doug Flutie Official Site
Peyton Manning Official Site
Edgerrin James Official Site
Marvin Harrison Official Site
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