Nov 8, 2015 5 min read

Andrew Luck finally reverted to his old form Sunday and the Colts finally looked like the team everyone expected.

Now they just have to keep playing this way.

Luck threw two touchdown passes and set up Adam Vinatieri for a tie-breaking 55-yard field goal with 6:13 left, giving the Colts a 27-24 victory over Denver that ruined Peyton Manning’s homecoming.

“That’s who we need to be, consistently,” Luck said. “Probably a little bit of soul searching, trying to figure out what we want to be. The truth of the matter is we have the pieces, which is pretty darn obvious.”

The Colts (4-5) ended a three-game losing streak, won for the first time in six tries outside the horrible AFC South, and retained their division lead.

Manning, meanwhile, fell 3 yards short of becoming the NFL’s career passing leader after his second interception and two late defensive penalties allowed Indy to run the final six minutes off the clock.

Denver’s quarterback heads into next week’s game against Kansas City with 71,836 career yards; Brett Favre had 71,838.

But that was not the record Manning really wanted to break in a venue many credit him with helping build. He’ll also have to wait to break Favre’s career record for most career regular-season wins (186) by a quarterback after going 21 of 36 with 281 yards, two TDs and two interceptions.

The Broncos (7-1) were the only unbeaten team to lose this weekend.

“I’ve been in enough situations like that in my career where I’ve been able to focus on the task at hand trying to win the football game,” he said after losing his second straight at Lucas Oil Stadium in what could be his final game in Indy. “I kind of dealt with them (the emotions) a few years ago. I felt like this time coming back was just playing against a good football team.”

A team that that was mired in turmoil.

Just five days after firing offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton and giving the play-calling duties to Rob Chudzinski and four days after Luck wound up on the injury report again Manning’s successor played like the best young quarterback in football. The Colts followed his lead:

They started fast and finished strong.

They had no turnovers.

They committed only four penalties, and the 17-0 lead they took in the first half was their largest of the season. They even ended Denver’s first-quarter scoreless streak at seven games when Frank Gore scored on a 7-yard run.

That’s exactly what Indianapolis needed, and precisely what coach Chuck Pagano had spent weeks preaching.

“We really feel we’ve competed with the best football teams in the league Denver, New England, Carolina,” team owner Jim Irsay said. “We still feel we can go the places we dream of going.”

Carolina 37, Green Bay 29: Cam Newton threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score Sunday, and the Carolina Panthers took an important step toward securing home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs with a 37-29 win over the Green Bay Packers.

Newton completed 15 of 30 passes for 297 yards and ran for 57 yards on nine carries in one of the better games of his five-year NFL career.

New England 27, Washington 10: Julian Edelman and LeGarrette Blount scored touchdowns before the Redskins ran their second play and that stood for a 27-10 win by New England over Washington.

Tom Brady completed 26 of 39 passes for 299 yards and two touchdowns, including an 8-yarder to Edelman on the opening drive. New England (8-0) then pulled off a surprise onside kick, but that drive stalled when Edelman fumbled.

Minnesota 21, St. Louis 18, OT: Adrian Peterson rushed for 125 yards on 29 carries, helping set up Blair Walsh’s 40-yard field goal in overtime after Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater left with a concussion early in the fourth quarter.

Buffalo 33, Miami 11: Sammy Watkins had a career-best 168 yards receiving and a touchdown, and rookie running back Karlos Williams scored twice in leading the Buffalo Bills to a 33-11 win over the Miami Dolphins.

N.Y. Jets 28, Jacksonville 23: Ryan Fitzpatrick threw two touchdown passes while playing with a torn ligament in his left thumb, Chris Ivory ran for two scores and the New York Jets took advantage of late mistakes by the Jacksonville Jaguars and hung on to win 28-23.

N.Y. Giants 32, Tampa Bay 18: Eli Manning threw for 213 yards and two touchdowns, helping the first-place New York Giants rebound from last week’s road debacle at New Orleans with a 32-18 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

San Francisco 17, Atlanta 16: Blaine Gabbert threw a pair of second-quarter touchdown passes to Garrett Celek and the undermanned San Francisco 49ers held on to beat the Atlanta Falcons 17-16.

Tennessee 34, New Orleans 28: Rookie Marcus Mariota passed for 371 yards and four touchdowns, including the winning 5-yard scoring pass to Anthony Fasano in overtime, and the Tennessee Titans snapped a six-game skid with a 34-28 victory over the New Orleans Saints.