COLTS DROP DENVER TO 0-4 WITH 19-10 WIN Rodgers Leads Indy to Third Win September 17th, 2010: If the Broncos played a full game, they might have a chance to win once in a while. The Indianapolis Colts jumped to a 13-0 first quarter lead, putting ten points on the board on their first two possessions before the Broncos ran their second play from scrimmage, and then added another field goal on their third possession to go up 13-0. The Broncos outscored the Colts 10-6 over the final three quarters, but lost 19-10. The Colts raised their record to 3-1 in the AFC Central, while the Broncos fell to 0-4. The Broncos have now lost their last 12 in a row, dating back to the middle of last season. The Broncos decided at game time to give rookie QB Josh Freeman a breather and sat him down, giving Rex Grossman the start in his place. Grossman was the QB of record in the Broncos last win, sneaking for the winning score in week eight last year. As for Freeman, "Josh's decision-making has dropped off a bit, and we felt getting a chance to observe a veteran making good decisions from the sidelines would help a bit," head coach Hank Sienzant said after the game. Of course, the veteran has to play well, and when Grossman's first pass was picked off by defensive end Jared Allen, the plan didn't look so smart. Especially after the Colts added a 41-yard Matt Prater field goal off the turnover after scoring a touchdown on their first possession on a crisp, six-play, 66-yard drive with Ryan Grant punching it over from the Bronco one (after a successful review) for the score. Just like that, the Broncos were down 10-0 seven minutes and one offensive play from scrimmage into the game. After the Broncos lost ten yards and had to punt it away their own 44 yard line on their next possession, it quickly became 13-0. Ryan Grant did the bulk of the heavy lifting to move the ball inside the Bronco 30 on the ground, and Matt Prater booted his second field goal of the contest, this time from 45 yards out. The Colts appeared to relax. They were ready to bury the Broncos. But Grossman rallied the troups, and led the Broncos to a touchdown on a 13-play, 81-yard touchdown drive to cut the Colt lead to 13-7. Grossman mixed his plays beautifully, taking what the defense gave him, converting three different third downs and completing six of six for 56 yards and throwing an eight yard touchdown pass to second-year tight end Jermichael Finley. Finley caught three of Grossman's six passes on the possession for 35 yards. The Broncos ran the ball seven times for 25 yards on the possession, with Lendale White rushing right up the middle for nine yards to set up Grossman's third and one TD pass to Finley. Both teams punted twice until the Colts took over at their own 47 with 1:51 remaining in the half. They moved the ball to the Bronco 26, but on second and ten, rookie defensive end Michael Johnson broke through and sacked Aaron Rodgers for a big 11 yard loss, seemingly pushing the Colts out of field goal range back to their own 37. But Prater booted a 54-yarder right down the middle just before the end of the half to boost the Colts to a 16-7 halftime lead. The Broncos had their longest scoring drive of the season thus far to start the second half, taking eight minutes off the clock on a 19-play, 76 yard march from their own 20. But once they got to the Colt eight yard line, the drive stalled, and Glen Coffee was stopped on a trap play into the line on third down, forcing the Broncos to settle for the field goal of 21 yards by Mason Crosby to cut the Colt lead to 16-10. On the drive, Grossman completed four of seven for 41 yards, and the Denver ground game contributed nine rushes for 32 yards. The Broncos need to force a stop and swing the momentum in their favor, but they could not do it until the Colts moved the ball to the Bronco five yard line on their next possession. Facing a third-and-two from there, Aaron Rodgers opted to throw a short crossing pass for the score, but with everyone covered, Rodgers held the ball too long and defensive tackle Tony Brown tracked him down and threw him for a six yard loss to stymie the drive late in the third quarter. The Colts added a fourth field goal by Prater to up their lead to 19-10 and end the scoring on that ten-play, 53 yard march. The fourth quarter was scoreless, with five punts (three by Denver), and only four first downs (one by Denver) in the final stanza. Game Notes: Aaron Rodgers completed 16 of 25 for 199 yards, with no touchdowns or picks (88.6) to win the MVP, but this writer's vote went to Prater for his four of four on field goals, including a 54-yarder that gave the Colts a nine point lead at halftime, 16-7. Rex Grossman probably earned a second consecutive start, as he completed 13 of 21 for 116 yards with one touchdown and one interception (72.7). Ryan Grant was the leading rusher in the game with 23 for 93 and one touchdown. He had three separate runs of 15 yards, accounting for 45 of those 93 yards. On his other 20 rushes, he was rather ineffective, as he gained only 48 yards (2.4). The Broncos running back by committee approach got the Broncos 108 yards on the ground, with Lendale White picking up 55 on 12 carries (4.6) to lead the Broncos in that category. Jermichael Finley must've eaten his Wheaties or something before the game,as he caught six for 66 yards and one TD. Last year Finley had 13 receptions for 161 yards all year. He's now got 14 receptions for 134 yards and one score this year, the Broncos only touchdown through the air thus far this season. Wide out Greg Camarillo led the Colts with four catches for 53 yards, while linebacker Larry Foote lead the Indianapolis squad with 12 tackles. Dawan Landry had nine to lead Denver. The Broncos host 2-1 Buffalo, the first game of a three-game homestand for Denver. Indy travels to Detroit to face off against the 2-1 Lions. That game is the first of three consecutive road games for the Colts.