Reggie Wayne, Marvin Harrison, and company got the last laugh on Broncos safety John Lynch and the rest of Denver’s defense by racking up 35 first-half points on their way to a 49-24 blowout. Wayne had a huge game with 10 catches for 221 yards and two touchdowns as the Colts shot out of the gate and quickly made a laugher of the contest.
Quarterback Peyton Manning put together a typically outstanding performance, going 27-of-33 for 457 yards and four touchdowns, and he added another TD with a one-yard plunge in the second quarter that put the Colts up 28-3 and pretty much sealed the outcome of the game.
The Colts (13-4) will face the defending champion New England Patriots on Jan. 16 in a rematch of the 2003 AFC title game.
In Sunday’s NFC match-up, it seemed a week of controversy pulled the struggling Minnesota Vikings team together to help produce a 31-17 upset over the division rival Green Bay Packers in Lambeau Field.
The Vikings came out firing on their very first possession. Running back Michael Bennet gained one yard on the game’s first play from scrimmage, and a seven-yard slant to Randy Moss put Minnesota in a third-and-two situation before quarterback Daunte Culpepper hit Moe Williams in the flat, and the nine–year veteran running back took the ball 68 yards for the quick score.
Just over three minutes later, Culpepper hooked up with Moss again, this time for twenty yards and a touchdown. And shortly after Packers QB Brett Favre tossed his first of four interceptions on the first play of Green Bay’s next series, the Vikings tacked on a 35-yard field goal by Morten Anderson giving themselves a 17-0 lead with more than half the first quarter remaining.
Much to their credit, the Packers battled back, but each time they drew within a touchdown, the Vikings answered with a score of their own.
The game was not without controversy, either, as Randy Moss, the focus of last weeks turmoil, pretended to drop his pants and “moon” the crowd after scoring on a 34–yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter.
The game could also mark the end of a Hall-of-Fame career for Brett Favre, who could seriously consider retiring during the offseason.
The Vikings will travel to Philadelphia to face the Eagles next Sunday in the Divisional Playoffs.
