MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL Colts rally for 38-35 overtime victory
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- One of the biggest comebacks in NFL history wiped the stoic look off Tony Dungy's face.
The Indianapolis Colts rallied from a three-touchdown deficit in the last four minutes of regulation, then beat Tampa Bay 38-35 on Mike Vanderjagt's second-chance field goal in overtime Monday night.
"I've never been in one quite like this, where we were so far down and shooting ourselves in the foot and getting to the point where you almost thought you were out of it," Dungy said. "You get 21 points behind these guys, it's tough to visualize coming back and winning. But nobody on our sideline gave up."
The victory was especially sweet for Dungy, who was fired by the Bucs in January 2002 after six seasons.
Celebrating his 48th birthday on his first trip back to Raymond James Stadium, the coach looked right at home walking around the field, shaking hands, exchanging greetings and chatting with former players and assistants during pregame warmups.
"It's got to be incredibly great for him after being here for so many years," Colts defensive end Chad Bratzke said. "He was really happy after the game, as you can imagine. How couldn't you be?"
Manning has big game
Peyton Manning threw for 386 yards, two touchdowns and one interception that Tampa Bay's Ronde Barber returned 29 yards for a 35-14 lead with just over five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
Instead of folding, the Colts -- 5-0 for the first time since 1977 -- became the first team in NFL history to win after trailing by 21 or more points with under four minutes to play in regulation.
James Mungro scored on a 3-yard run with 3:37 to go, and Manning threw a 28-yard scoring pass to Marvin Harrison to trim it to 35-28 with 2:29 to go.
The normally stringy Tampa Bay defense, which allowed only one TD in its first three games, suddenly didn't have any answers as Manning sent the game into overtime, leading an 85-yard drive capped by Ricky Williams' 1-yard run with 35 seconds remaining.
Manning launched the winning drive in overtime from his own 13 and kept the march alive with third-down completions to Harrison, Reggie Wayne and Troy Walters.
In overtime, Vanderjagt's first attempt -- from 40 yards -- sailed right. But Tampa Bay's Simeon Rice was called for leaping and landing on a teammate, and the kicker -- a perfect 13-for-13 this season -- got another chance.
"The call was leaping," referee Johnny Grier said. "Leaping is a player starting more than 1 yard off the line of scrimmage and running forward and landing on players."
Vanderjagt made the second kick -- barely, with the ball banging off the right upright and through after being deflected at the line by a Tampa Bay player.
A week after throwing for 314 yards and six TDs in a 55-21 rout of New Orleans, Manning completed 34-of-47 passes against a secondary that played most of the night without injured cornerback Brian Kelly. Harrison, who caught a 37-yard TD pass early in the third quarter, finished with 11 receptions for 176 yards.
Brad Johnson threw for 318 yards and three touchdowns for Tampa Bay (2-2), which dropped to 0-2 at home.
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