Colts down by 6, 2:00 left on the clock. They get the ball at/around their own end zone.
Manning starts a drive, completing calm, cool, laser pass after calm, cool, laser pass. He chews up yardage. 15 yards, 8 yards, 20 yards. Completion, completion, completion.
The Colts get first and goal from the 5 with one timeout and 35 seconds remaining.
1st down (35s left): quick out pattern to Clark near the endzone. Clark catches it, but his sideways momentum and a closing defender put him out of bounds at the 2 yard line.
2nd down (28s): Play action pass, fade up the left sideline to Wayne. Good defense causes an incompletion.
3rd down (22s): Run up the gut for no gain, Colts call timeout.
4th down (12s): Colts line up with 5-wide personnel, but in a power-I formation. Manning goes through his gyrations. Hard count. Some defenders twitch, but don't bite. At the same moment, Manning drops from under center to shotgun and the Colts move to a 4-wide formation with Addai as the lone back next to Manning. Seconds tick off the play clock. Manning hikes the ball. Nobody's open. He pump fakes once. Nothing's there. He pumps again. Nothing's there. Receivers are scrambling around in the end zone, but to no avail. There's only 3 rushers. Manning escapes pressure to his left as the pocket collapses. He pulls the ball down and heads towards the goal line. Vilma pulls out of coverage, drawing a bead on Manning. A vicious head-to-head collision happens at the 1 yard line, driving Manning backwards and into the turf. The crowd goes wild. Bourbon street erupts into euphoria.
Underneath the score, CBS puts up the "Penalty" indicator. Everyone not in Indianapolis groans with morbid anticipation.
"Roughing the passer, 51, defense. 15 yard penalty and automatic first down. The ball will be placed on the one yard line. Due to the rule that the game cannot end on a defensive penalty, the Colts will have one more play."
The announcers immediately start to downplay the call. "I don't know if I see what he saw, but that certainly was a vicious hit". "Well, you normally don't see that kind of call on that kind of play, but Vilma can't be allowed to do that."
Manning is slow to get up. Medical personnel start to come onto the field, but Manning waves them off. He knows if he takes an injury, he won't be able to play the final down. He stand up and wobbles to the huddle under the support of his teammates.
The Colts huddle up as Caldwell sends in the play over the headset. Manning gives a visible thumbs-up to the sideline. The announcers immediately start gushing about Manning. Of course they mention the only tougher guy in football is BrettFavre. They also mention how Favre is probably riding a tractor right now.
The Colts line up in 5-wide. Manning doesn't bother with the normal gyrations. You can tell he is a wounded animal. Manning assesses the defense. Gives Reggie Wayne a look. The ball is snapped. Manning stands in, and fires a bullet to Wayne. Greer, seeing the previous interaction, jumps the route and picks off the ball. He falls to the ground securing possession and a Saints victory.
