Colts quarterback Peyton Manning was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player for the second straight year Monday. The award came a day after Manning directed the Colts to a 49-24 first-round win over the Broncos and a week after a season in which he set the record for touchdown passes with 49.\nManning received all but one of the votes from Associated Press writers, with the lone dissenter choosing Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick. \n"(Manning) plays well in big games," Colts Coach Tony Dungy said. "We're glad he's on our side."
Not so soft anymore\nDenver drew the ire of Colts fans last week when Broncos players said the Colts wide receivers were soft. Sunday, those wide receivers made the Broncos eat their words as they dismantled the Denver secondary for 457 yards on 27 catches.\n"We know we're all men," said wideout Reggie Wayne, who led the way with 221 yards and 10 catches. "There's no doubt about it, we just wanted to come out and play our football. \nDungy said perhaps the verbal sparring from Denver motivated the wideouts to their stellar performance. \n"Maybe we need someone to do that every week, to challenge our guys," he said. "But we're proud of the way our guys handled that. They just set about doing their business. They know they're a tough group. They don't have to talk about it and they showed it today."\nManning said the team didn't really listen to the reports of jabs from Denver during the week.\n"We didn't give that a whole lot of merit," he said. "Those guys are all fearless going across the middle and running slants." \nWayne said the talk stopped as soon as the Colts hit the field. Indianapolis owned a 21-0 lead midway through the second quarter and never trailed in the game.\n"We jumped on them so fast, they didn't really have time to say anything," Wayne said.
Quarterback sneaking\nThe Colts ran a play they almost never call in the waning seconds of the third quarter Sunday: the quarterback sneak. Manning said he is never eager to run the ball himself, especially after a run-in with a certain 365-pound defensive lineman a few seasons ago. \nManning called the play and sneaked the ball in for a touchdown with six seconds left in the second half. \n"Quarterback sneak, now that was a tendency-breaker there," Manning said. "That was not on the hit chart."\nManning said he chose the play because the alternative would have been calling a time out to design a play. \nInstead, he decided to just go ahead and try to push it in, get the touchdown and save the time out.\n"The quarterback sneak has not been called in a solid five years," he said. "We had one a few years back and I remember Ted Washington was in the middle and I said no more sneaks."
Second-half woes\nThe Colts dominated the first half of Sunday's game, but allowed the Broncos to mount a sizable comeback in the second half. The Broncos led in time of possession, scoring, first downs, total yards, passing yards and rushing yards after trailing in all of those categories in the first two quarters. \n"We were a little disappointed in the second half," Dungy said. "We said we wanted to come out and keep them under control. We played probably as good a first half as we've played, but then in the second half we didn't keep that edge."\nStill, Manning said the Colts are pleased with the win and are looking forward to playing New England Sunday.\n"We have an opportunity, obviously we want to keep advancing," Manning said. "We've got a tough road ahead of us next week, no question about it ... I'd like to go up there and help my team win the game -- whether it's 35-34 or 3-0. And you never know what it could be like up there."
Injury update\nFor the Colts, linebacker Rob Morris suffered a stinger Sunday and defensive end Robert Mathis left late in the game with a sprained knee. Both will be evaluated this week, Dungy said.\nThe Patriots are without star cornerback Ty Law. Law intercepted Manning three times when the Colts lost to the Patriots in last year's AFC Championship game. Manning isn't resting easy, though.\n"It's been no Ty Law since the Pittsburgh game (Oct. 31) and they won every game," Manning said. "Maybe that just tells you how good of a team they are."\n-Contact Staff Writer Gavin Lesnick at glesnick@indiana.edu
