Colts' wild ride ends wide right

INDIANAPOLIS -- At 5 p.m., the jersey came off. The emotional tornado that had been the Colts' season dwindled down to deafening silence in the locker room.\nThe eye of the storm culminated in one corner of the room. While disappointed Colts' players dressed to go home, kicker Mike Vanderjagt sat facing his locker, uniform still on, head buried in his hands, tears in his eyes, surrounded by the first wave of prodding cold microphones and tape recorders. \nThe media, who usually wait for players to get dressed before asking questions, realized Vanderjagt's clothing was not coming off anytime soon and began cautiously firing questions.\n"I wasn't shy, I didn't choke," said Vanderjagt, barely above a whisper and without raising his head from his grasp. "I felt good ... I felt like I hit it good, then I looked up, and it wasn't even close."\nThe decision to go for the touchdown rather than running for the first down with three timeouts left the game to Vanderjagt. Forty-seven yards was all that stood between nervous fans who were holding hands and ready to scream for overtime. Forty-seven yards stood between the Colts and hope. \n"We were trying to win the game there," said quarterback Peyton Manning, who went for the end zone knowing that if they didn't make it Vanderjagt would be there to clean up the mess. "We threw the takeoff route to Reggie (Wayne). We believed until the end."\nSo did Vanderjagt.\n"I made everything all day -- in practice and pre-game," Vanderjagt said. "I made everything all week. I wasn't worried about the kick at all. I'm not sure what happened." \nNeither were the Steelers.\nThe field goal missed wide right. He slammed his helmet, resulting in a 15-yard penalty. The Steelers bled the clock dry and just like that the game was over. It was 4:22 p.m. \n"We thought the game was over. We were ready for overtime," said Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward. "Then the man who never misses field goals missed." \nThe kicker, who is the NFL's all-time most accurate field goal kicker, hadn't missed a kick in the RCA Dome all season, and a routine Pro Bowler will now join the ranks of Scott Norwood and John Hall -- kickers who failed on the big stage, when they were most needed.\nHis uncharacteristic performance mirrors that of his teammates, as the league's highest scoring team failed to break 20 points. The best offensive line surrendered five sacks, the best quarterback played inconsistently.\n"(The missed kick) wasn't the play that lost the game for us," Colts' head coach Tony Dungy said. "I told the team we've got to rally around him."\nBut Vanderjagt will always be remembered as the one who ended a record-breaking season with a miss. \n"You feel bad for that happen to anyone," said Pittsburgh running back Jerome Bettis, who almost gave the game away himself with a goal-line fumble that led to the missed field goal.\nAt 4:44 p.m. teammate Reggie Wayne emerged from the shower with a towel around his waste and one in his hand. He walked up to Vangerjagt, stood over him, lashed him with his wet towel, then patted him on the back without saying a word. Vanderjagt never looked up.\nAt 4:45 p.m. Vanderjagt let out a noticeable sigh, even from across the room.\n"I am the field goal kicker. I am here to make three points and we were down by three with 20 seconds left," he told the second wave of reporters, head still in his hands, uniform still on.\n"I should have made it," Vanderjagt mumbled to himself, and the remaining reporters fishing for comment.\nAt 4:55 p.m. only a few reporters and even fewer players remained in the locker room. People began to file out. Vanderjagt hadn't moved. \nFinally, at 5 p.m. the jersey came off.