Defense steps up for Indianapolis in rout of Texans

INDIANAPOLIS -- The defense that took the field for the Indianapolis Colts in their 49-14 win Sunday didn't look like the one that had been out there the previous eight games of the season. The one that showed up at the RCA Dome tied a season-low for points given up, had five sacks and forced four turnovers -- two returned for touchdowns.\nAdd that defensive effort to Peyton Manning's five-touchdown performance, and the Colts (6-3) have themselves a big win over a divisional foe in the Houston Texans (4-5).\n"That was a pretty complete win, and it's something we're very happy with," Indianapolis head coach Tony Dungy said. "We talked all week about getting our total game going."\nThe defense has taken a lot of heat all season for its poor play and is ranked near the bottom of the NFL in most defensive categories. But in the last two weeks there has been improvement, and the unit's confidence is slowly growing.\n"We were out there last week (against Minnesota), and we were able to make some plays and make some things happen, shut down a good offense," said Colts' linebacker Cato June, who had 11 solo tackles. "We just wanted to continue that -- go out there and do the little things, make sure everybody was on the details and take care of business."\nIndianapolis got off to a quick start scoring three times in the first half with touchdown passes to Brandon Stokley, Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark. Manning ended the day 18 of 27 for 320 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions. It's the third time this season he has thrown five touchdowns in a game, and he is still on track to break Dan Marino's 1984 record of 48 touchdown passes as he now has 31.\n"I thought it was a combination of both sides feeding off of each other," Manning said. "Our defense did a great job of putting pressure on their quarterback and getting us the ball back in some nice little field positions." \nThe second half was much of same with Manning hitting Stokley on a 69-yard touchdown pass on the second play of the half. Three plays later, Colts' safety Bob Sanders picked up a David Carr fumble and took it 37 yards for a touchdown. The fumble was forced by defensive end Robert Mathis, who forced three on the day and collected three sacks.\n"As a defense, we know as long as we hold up our end, we got a real good chance to win," Sanders said. "If we keep a team under 17 points a game, we have a real good chance to win."\nThe two touchdowns the Texans did score were because of great field position after Manning's interceptions. Houston started on the Colts' 16 and 32 for its two scoring drives.\nIn fitting fashion, Colts' defensive back Von Hutchins ended the day's scoring with a 77-yard interception return for a touchdown. \n"All in all, it's hard to find fault with a win like this coming off of the Monday night game and getting a big divisional win," Dungy said. "I'm really proud of our guys, and the way they played."\n-- Contact staff writer Tyler V. \nHoeppner at thoeppne@indiana.edu.