Colts remain perfect with 31-17 win over lowly Texans

By John Onan | Sunday, November 13, 2005 | ( 0 )

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The Indianapolis Colts remained the lone undefeated team in the NFL as quarterback Peyton Manning torched the Houston Texans secondary for 297 yards through the air and three touchdowns on 26-of-35 throwing in a 31-17 win at the RCA Dome to move them to 9-0 on the season.

Edgerrin James added 122 yards rushing on 26 carries, including a five-yard run to help give the Colts an early 14-0 lead. Manning then hit Brandon Stokley on a 21-yard strike on their next possession to make it 21-0 late in the second quarter.

After cutting the Indianapolis lead to 21-7 right before the half on a 14-yard Jonathan Wells run, Houston Texans signal-caller David Carr found Jabar Gaffney on a 13-yard strike to get within a touchdown. Carr finished 16-of-25 for 138 yards, and Wells ran for 58 yards on 15 attempts in place of the injured Domanick Davis.

The Indianapolis Colts answered on their ensuing drive, as Manning found Marvin Harrison for the 90th time in his career, this one from 30 yards to give them a 28-14 cushion. Harrison caught seven balls for 108 yards, and in the process, he and Manning became the only tandem to combine for 10,000 yards in a career. They already hold records for completions and touchdowns by a duo.

Indianapolis doubled Houston's offensive output on the day 419 to 209, and won easily despite turning the ball over twice and looking sloppy at times off their emotional win over New England on Monday night 40-21.

The Texans drop to an NFL-worst 1-8 on the year.

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