Colts defeat Texans 38-15

On a day when he set franchise positional records for receiving, Colts tight end Dallas Clark’s most memorable play came with his feet as the Indianapolis Colts defeated the Houston Texans 38-15 Sunday at the RCA Dome.\nFacing a fourth down and two yards to gain on Houston’s 31-yard line, the Colts lined up in a power running formation, looking to muscle its way to a first down. Instead of running inside, Colts quarterback Peyton Manning handed the ball off to Clark on a reverse, catching the aggressive Texans defense off guard. Clark gained 15 yards on the play, keeping alive a drive that resulted in a touchdown.\n“We are not a team that does trick plays,” Clark said. “This was a good opportunity and it was exactly like it was drawn up. It was just great execution by everyone.”\nThough his lone run will make the highlight reels, for Clark, Sunday’s game will be remembered as a record-setting outing for the fifth year veteran from Iowa. With his six receptions and two touchdowns against the Texans, Clark broke Colts franchise records for receptions and touchdowns by a tight end, an honor previously held by Hall-of-Famer John Mackey.\nClark, who won the John Mackey award in college as the nation’s top tight end, said he felt privileged to set the records.\n“To be in that category with him is a true honor,” Clark said.\nClark was just one of many players with solid outings as the Colts extended their home winning streak against the AFC south to 10 games.\nColts coach Tony Dungy said he was proud of his team’s performance since he wants players to keep improving as the playoffs approach.\n“We talked a lot this week about what we wanted to accomplish,” Dungy said. “Winning the game was number one; we also wanted to do some things a little bit better and I thought we did.”\nThe Texans took the opening kickoff and drove 76 yards to take an early 7-0 lead. The Colts responded the next drive with a field goal and a defensive stop on the Texans’ next possession.\nTrailing 7-3, the Colts put together back-to-back 92-yard touchdown drives to gain a 17-3 lead. The game was never close from that point on.\n“We really didn’t have good field position,” Manning said. “Anytime you can go the whole distance there, it can be pretty deflating for the defense. We hardly had any third and longs. Anytime you can stay in that kind of mode, it means you are doing good things on first and second down.”\nManning, 28-35 for 311 yards and three touchdowns, eclipsed the 30 passing touchdown mark for the fourth time in his career Sunday. \nEntering the game, the Colts had already clinched the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs and a first-round bye. Although the game was meaningless for seeding purposes, Clark said the team wanted to keep momentum heading into the postseason.\n“I think it shows you the mindset of this team and the maturity of it,” Clark said. “Guys could have easily gone through the motions, but we went out there and had a lot to prove to ourselves and to get better.”\nStarting running back Joseph Addai and starting wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez both left the game with injuries. Dungy said after the game that both could have come back in, but he decided to err on the side of rest.\nDungy said he will evaluate the team before making any decisions for next week’s game against Tennessee.\n“We’ll take a look at it,” Dungy said. “We still have some things we want to do better. There will be some guys we hold out next week. Especially after we get the medical report.”