At some point, the Indianapolis Colts' fourth-quarter luck has to run out.
On second thought, maybe I'm safer expressing that in the form of a question: Doesn't the Colts' fourth-quarter luck have to run out at some point?
The Colts improved their record to 10-0 with their 17-15 win Sunday over the Baltimore Ravens in Baltimore. But their winning streak continued once again by a slim margin. A perfect 10, they're not.
For the fourth consecutive week, the Colts trailed in the fourth quarter. For the fourth consecutive week, the Colts were outplayed on the whole. And, yet, for the fourth consecutive week, the necessary plays and circumstances to lead to a Colts win appeared at the opportune moments.
Last week, New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick made a fourth-down decision that looked as if he owed Peyton Manning a favor.
This week, the Ravens' slim final chance at a win ended when Ed Reed's brain froze on his last punt return and he tried to lateral the ball, resulting in a fumble recovered by the Colts. That bonehead move came after Ravens coach John Harbaugh burned two timeouts while challenging a ball spot that wasn't all that close. So, even if Reed had held on, the Ravens' lack of timeouts might have left them hanging. Harbaugh's backfiring move came a few plays after Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco threw an interception in the red zone.
The Colts should use an old Beatles number as their theme song - They get by with a little help from their friends.
A pass interference call a week ago helped sustain a late Colts drive against the Patriots. On Sunday, it was a late-hit personal foul by Baltimore's Haloti Ngata on Pierre Garcon that helped the Colts en route to Matt Stover's go-ahead field goal in the fourth quarter.
Good teams also make their own luck, of course, and the Colts keep themselves in position for fourth-quarter wins by big plays throughout.
There were a handful of them on Sunday. The ones I made sure to rewind on my remote were:
♦Dallas Clark's opening-drive touchdown catch. Muscular tight ends from Iowa aren't supposed to catch a fade pass with one hand in the corner of the end zone. It was Marvin Harrison worthy. Or Reggie Wayne worthy. Same thing. It was also Clark's only catch of the day. The Ravens blanketed him so thoroughly the rest of the game, I wondered if Clark had left early to visit Bob Sanders.
♦Tight end Tom Santi's leaping snag during the Colts' second scoring drive. It put the Colts in Ravens' territory as part of Santi's greatest and worst day as a Colt. He caught six passes for 80 yards as the open, slower version of Clark, but fumbled near the goal line when he was turned into a human propeller by Ed Reed and Ray Lewis.
Then Santi failed to catch another would-be touchdown pass. You could tell he should have caught it by the look on his face. And the look on Manning's face.
Finally, Santi was called for a false start when the Colts were trying to milk the clock late. He's going to love and hate this week's film session.
♦Joseph Addai's juke past Lewis for a touchdown. Barry Sanders in his prime couldn't have done it better. Addai remains the most underrated key to the Colts' success so far.
♦The Colts' defense stuffing Baltimore three times at the 1-yard line, forcing a field goal late in the fourth quarter. Clint Session and Gary Brackett both came up big on a classic goal-line stand.
♦Brackett reading and picking off Flacco's pass in the red zone with 2:42 left to ruin the Ravens' best chance at a win.
The Colts have won 19 consecutive regular-season games, two short of the Patriots' NFL record. From a logical standpoint, there's no reason to believe the streak will survive another week. Indianapolis heads to Houston to meet the Texans, who had the Colts down at home on Nov. 8. They're hungry and capable and the law of averages should be dressing in their locker room.
But this isn't a logical season. Manning is having his best passing year despite having his least-experienced group of receivers - he finished one yard short of his ninth 300-yard passing game this season. The Colts continue to thrive on defense despite injury after injury (Sanders, Marlin Jackson, Tyjuan Hagler, Kelvin Hayden). The game-winning field goal against the Ravens came off the foot of Stover, who was unemployed earlier this season.
Analysts have been wary of talking about the Colts' chances for an undefeated season because the team has looked vulnerable and on the verge of losing on a weekly basis.
If there's a game still to be lost, it'll come at the hands of one of the AFC South foes. Houston, Tennessee and Jacksonville know the Colts better than anyone, better even than the Patriots. Two of those games are on the road. All those teams will be desperate for a win, with the Texans and Jaguars still in the playoff hunt.
It still seems unlikely the Colts will finish unbeaten. Six games and a variety of scenarios remain to be conquered.
But if the Colts are behind in the fourth quarter and there's still time on the clock, betting against them is a fool's wager this season.
