Indianapolis Colts' RB, Donald Brown, carried the ball 16 times for 161 yards and a touchdown in a 27-13 victory over the Tennessee Titans. Join CBS Sports' Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts for a recap of Indianapolis' first win of the season.

Posted by Ryan Wilson

Added bonus: Colts running back Donald Brown rips off an 80-yard run to seal the game.

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Follow all the Week 15 action live: Inactives | Scoreboard

1 p.m. ET games: MIA-BUF | SEA-CHI | CAR-HOU | TEN-IND | GB-KC | NO-MIN | WAS-NYG | CIN-STL
4 p.m. ET games: DET-OAK | CLE-ARI | NE-DEN | NYJ-PHI

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There is a God: Indy finally gets a win. (US PRESSWIRE)

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Follow all the Week 15 action live: Inactives | Scoreboard

1 p.m. ET games: MIA-BUF | SEA-CHI | CAR-HOU | TEN-IND | GB-KC | NO-MIN | WAS-NYG | CIN-STL
4 p.m. ET games: DET-OAK | CLE-ARI | NE-DEN | NYJ-PHI

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By Ryan Wilson

The Colts' 2011 nightmare is over. For the Titans, it's just begun.

Indianapolis was a perfect 0-13 heading into Week 15 with no real chance at avoiding a repeat performance of what the Lions accomplished in 2008: 0-16.

Instead, to everyone's surprise, Indy took it to division rival Tennessee Sunday, 27-13, intercepting quarterback Matt Hasselbeck twice (Jacob Lacey returned for a touchdown -- it was the first interception by a Colts' cornerback all year).

While Indy gets their first real victory of 2011 (they've had several moral victories), the loss is a disaster for Tennessee's playoff hopes.

The Titans came into Sunday one game behind the Jets for the final wild-card spot. The matchup with the Colts was supposed to be a formality; Tennessee would get to 8-6 with Jacksonville and Houston left on the schedule. Instead, the Titans now need the Jets to lose two of three and pray they can find a way to win out.

Other notable storylines: Dan Orlovosky, originally drafted by the Lions in 2005, earns his first NFL victory. He went 0-7 with the '08 Lions and was 0-2 with the Colts this season prior to the Titans' unwittingly spreading holiday cheer.

As for that '08 Lions team, they can break out the champagne '72 Dolphins style, since it appears their record will be safe for at least another season.

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By Josh Katzowitz

Peyton Manning, despite the barriers in his way, continues to want to play this season. And by god, he’s serious.

Manning's comeback?

Polian: Colts rookie QB would struggle in ‘12 If Colts go 0-16, Caldwell likely fired No scenario where Manning is traded Manning slowly getting healthier

According to Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer on Fox NFL Sunday, Manning worked out with Colts running backs and wide receivers while wearing pads this week.

To be clear, Manning didn’t practice with the team. He just worked out with some players AFTER Indianapolis finished its practice.

While it seems unlikely that the Colts would actually let Manning out on the playing field this year, he apparently is making every effort to do exactly that.

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Hardly shocking, we know, but 0-16 could mean curtains for Jim Caldwell in Indy. (US PRESSWIRE)

By Ryan Wilson

In the immortal words of Joe Theismann, you don't have to be Norman Einstein to know that Colts head coach Jim Caldwell isn't long for Indianapolis. Never mind that he was hand-picked by Tony Dungy, he's 24-8 in his previous two seasons, including a Super Bowl appearance in 2009.

The reality is this: Indianapolis is 0-13 and there's a reasonable expectation that by the time it's over, they'll be 0-16. Not having Peyton Manning has almost everything to do with the Colts' predicament. And that only makes things worse for Caldwell; if Indy's success hinges on Manning's health -- not Caldwell's ability to coach without one of his best players -- why keep him around?

Which is why, barring a miracle only Tim Tebow could deliver, Caldwell will be looking for work on or about January 1.

During his weekly Monday night radio show, team president Bill Polian admitted that, "I bear a lot of responsibility for what happened here and it weights heavily on me. It breaks my heart that there are good players and good coaches who are going through an awful time because we didn't build a strong enough football team."

But he also hinted that, ultimately, Caldwell could be held responsible.

"My fervent hope is that Jim's job is not in jeopardy because my fervent hope is that we don't go 0-16," he said, according to CBSSports.com Rapid Reporter Tom James. "And we're doing everything we can to try and avoid that."

On Wednesday, NFL Network's Jason La Canfora pretty much confirmed through sources what Polian intimated Monday. "…Unequivocally, an 0-16 finish by the Colts will cost Caldwell his job."

The possible follow-up question from some Colts fans: "Hey, Bill, what about you and (your son, Colts general manager) Chris?"

After all, a series of poor personnel decisions played a non-trivial role in Indy's current plight. (Forget Polian's recent admission that "we were getting ready to draft" T.J. Yates -- just take a look at the team's first-round picks from '05 to '10.)

A month ago, back when Indy was just 0-8, owner Jim Irsay said this about the Polian's future.

“I’m committed. In [the Polian's] defense, it’s pretty radical after the successes we’ve had to start even talking about the question, in my opinion. If this is five or six years or losing; you’re talking about eight weeks. The great things we’ve done, there has been a tilted sort of perception when you win so much that it’s disappointing."

Irsay was less certain about Caldwell.

“When it comes to changes and Jim’s status and that sort of thing, it’s something that eight games going forward, more will be revealed," the Colts owner said on November 4, according to the Indianapolis Star. "This situation is always changing. But it’s really going to be always what’s best to give us a chance to win. I don’t have any predictions or any votes of confidence or anything like that. I don’t have any non-votes of confidence. At this point, continuity is a good thing if it makes sense in terms of winning.”

Let's see: the Colts are 0-13 and their starting quarterback is Dan Orlovsky, the guy who was 0-7 as a starter with the Lions in 2008 (that team went 0-16), and is currently 0-2 in that role in Indy. Pretty sure continuity would be a bad thing. And who knows, when the Colts draft Andrew Luck, that thinking could extend to Manning, too.

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By Will Brinson

T.J. Yates didn't save the Texans season, but Sunday's come-from-behind win made it pretty clear that they've got a better chance at making a Super Bowl run with him under center than a lot of other players.

Like, say, Dan Orlovsky or Curtis Painter, the two guys currently swapping starts for the Colts because, according to Bill Polian by way of our Colts Rapid Reporter Tom James, Indy just missed on drafting Yates in the fifth round.

"We were getting ready to draft him in the very same round,” Polian said on his Monday radio show. "Houston picked before us if Im not mistaken.

"Should we have taken him a round earlier? Yes, without question."

One problem: the Colts didn't have a pick in the fifth round, so it's fairly unlikely they were about to take Yates at that spot. In fact, they traded their fifth-round pick to the Redskins who later traded the pick to ... the Texans.

Yes, that's right -- Yates was taken 152nd overall, which was originally the Colts fifth-round choice. Indy dealt the pick away along with the 53rd overall pick (their second-rounder) in order to move up four spots and grab Villanova tackle Ben Ijalana with the 49th overall pick. Ijalana hasn't played since Week 4.


Polian's second piece of logic remains the same, though: if the Colts thought highly of Yates, then they should have taken him late in the fourth round. Of course, hindsight and draft opinions are almost always through the gaze of 20/20 vision.

Polian essentially admitted as much by pointing out, via Brad Wells of Blue Stampede, that the Colts would have used a first-round pick on a quarterback in 2010 if they'd known that Peyton Manning would miss the entire season prior to the draft.

Polian didn't say which quarterback, but it's widely believed that he was interested in selecting Andy Dalton, now with the Bengals. Traveling back in a time machine and drafting Dalton or Yates probably wouldn't matter much for Indy; without Manning, they're pretty clearly doomed to mediocrity. (Polian also said, per Wells, that he made "poor judgment" on believing Curtis Painter was a capable backup.)

The only thing that matters is whether or not Polian and the Colts front office are smart enough to recognize their predicament now and address it the next time they have an opportunity to take a quarterback in the draft. Or as you might know it, with Andrew Luck and the first selection in 2012.

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By Will Brinson

It's widely believed that the Colts will land the No. 1 pick in the 2012 NFL Draft and use that selection to grab Stanford's Andrew Luck, who's all but said he's leaving school.

The bigger question is what the Colts will do with incumbent franchise quarterback Peyton Manning, who's likely done for the year, but due $28 million in early March.

CBS Sports Charley Casserly reported on Sunday that Manning's rehab is progressing, the Colts could potentially seek an extension on the deadline for that expensive option, and that he "doesn't see a scenario" where the Colts deal Manning elsewhere.

"This past week he was jogging on a treadmill and doing some light throwing," Casserly said on The NFL Today. "The Colts have not lost hope that they can get him back on the practice field before the season but there's no guarantee of that.

"If he's healthy in March, I expect them to pay him the $28 million they owe him and extend his contract by four years. If he's not healthy, I think what the Colts will look to do is ask for an extension of that deadline to pay the bonus with the hope that he will be more healthy later on to do it.

"Finally, I don't see any scenario where Peyton Manning is traded."


If Manning's willing to renegotiate the deadline for the payment based on his health, the Colts could end up with the best of both worlds, as they'd be able to properly evaluate Manning's health closer to the point at which they'd need to draft Luck.

Additionally, the Colts would have the option of exploring draft-day trade possibilities with other teams that might want to pay the hefty bounty required to obtain that top pick.

Regardless of how things play out, "the Manning decision" is a monumental, franchise-changing one, but the Colts ability to make a call will be greatly improved by their ability to further evaluate Manning's health without committing substantial financial resources to keeping him on the roster.

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By Will Brinson

Robert Griffin, III, who won the Heisman on Saturday night, led Baylor to a 9-3 season that was filled with some incredible highlights, five straight wins to close the season and a rare second-straight bowl. And all along, "RG3" has seen his NFL stock rise, to the point that he's now considered the No. 11 overall player on Rob Rang's big board (and wearing Superman socks to the Heisman presentation).

And according to ESPN, Griffin's stock has gotten so cranked up that he's "preferred over Andrew Luck" by at least one NFL general manager. Adam Schefter reported that news Sunday, along with a few other quotes from general managers that include "sure-fire first-round pick" and "top-15 pick."

The latter two quotes aren't particularly news-y so to speak, as Griffin's been considered a lock for the first round for several months if he entered the draft, what with teams like the Colts, Dolphins, Redskins and Seahawks potentially drafting a quarterback in the first round.

Griffin has, as Rang noted recently, some "red flags," including injury, offensive system and his size.

"That said, Griffin is a better athlete than either Luck or [USC QB Matt] Barkley and is a better deep ball passer, too," Rang wrote this past week. "Those physical attributes, along with the poise he's demonstrated this season, could result in a top 10 pick should Griffin, a redshirt junior, choose to leave school early."

Who would you draft? Vote now on our Facebook page!

And it's entirely possible that Griffin could be a better NFL quarterback than Luck.

While the Baylor quarterback's stock has risen all season long, Luck's seen his value drop substantially (at least relative to the hype he was getting two months ago).

If Luck goes to the Colts with the No. 1 overall pick and they still keep Peyton Manning, there's a really good chance that people will believe Griffin was a better selection, because he'll get playing time first.

Much of it simply depends on where Griffin ends up. Judging by the opinions of most folks, wherever it is will be a team with a high pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.

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We've seen this cartoon before: player smiles, signs for big bucks, then underperforms, hates life. (CBSSports.com illustration)

By Ryan Wilson

Peyton Manning is due a $28 million option bonus this spring. Given that he's 35, hasn't played a down this season (and likely won't), and that the Colts are perfectly positioned to draft Andrew Luck with the first overall pick, there's a chance that Manning won't be in Indianapolis in 2012.

We discussed it on Friday's Pick-6 Podcast:


With a month left in the regular season, there's plenty of speculation about future landing spots for Peyton should his career with the Colts come to an abrupt, inglorious end. 

In the last week, no fewer than five national media types weighed in on where Manning could end up next season, and no fewer than five national media types mentioned the same team: the Washington Redskins.

Shocking, we know.

Here's the rundown (transcription and links via the Sports Bog's Dan Steinberg):

Michael Lombardi, NFL Network: [The Redskins have] a lot of money, a lot of availability, and oh, by the way, they really need a quarterback badly. They need a signature face on their franchise, and I think ultimately, that would be a great landing spot.

But the interesting factor here is Peyton Manning’s only played in three offenses: high school, at Tennessee, and when you look at Indianapolis. There’ve been three offenses, that’s it. If he goes somewhere, I would not be surprised if Tom Moore didn’t join him.

Chris Mortensen, ESPN: Ok, remember, we said that there’s still a big question mark of health. That’s something that nobody can speak to at this point. But if there’s a reasonable assurance that Peyton’s gonna be healthy, then who’s not gonna line up? The Washington Redskins are one obvious team. That’s unquestioned.

Adam Schefter, ESPN (appearing on Vinny Cerrato's Baltimore radio show): All you have to do is take a look around the league and say, who has a quarterback question? Who has a quarterback question? (“Washington,” Cerrato answers.)

Does Washington? Yes, Washington has a quarterback question. Does Miami have a quarterback question? Yes. Does Kansas City have a quarterback question? I think so. Does Cleveland have a quarterback question? Yes. I think Peyton Manning also is gonna dictate how this ends up and where he goes....I could see Washington involved, I could see Miami involved, I could see Cleveland involved. I could see maybe even — this is gonna sound ludicrous — but if Mark Sanchez flames out down the stretch, the Jets involved.

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And here's syndicated radio host Dan Patrick from his show earlier in the week: “Looking at the scenarios [on where Peyton could end up], I’m not looking at sort of the obvious places, except for Washington, I understand that…"

But Patrick's guest, Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com, offered a very good reason for why Peyton-to-DC won't work:

“I think Peyton’s gonna want a team that pays him a ton of money and that has the pieces in place for him to be successful. And I don’t know that he’d want to go to Washington, because look at what’s in place there with Mike Shanahan and Kyle Shanahan," he said. "Kyle wants to run that offense like a little kid with a joystick on the sideline. He wants the quarterback to just do whatever Kyle Shanahan wants. I think Kyle Shanahan’s younger than Peyton Manning, so I don’t think that’s gonna go over well if Peyton and Kyle Shanahan are trying to co-exist.”

Just last week, Archie Manning told CBSSports.com's Will Brinson that he thought his son and Andrew Luck could work together. (Archie later stated that he didn't "think [having Luck and Peyton on the same roster] would necessarily be a great fit for either one," before clarifying those remarks by reiterating his original take. "I'm sure they could [work together]," he finally said.)


Of course, there's always the chance the Colts win out, get to 4-12, and in all likelihood, take themselves out of the running for Luck. A quick glance at the schedule suggests that won't happen: they face the Ravens Sunday, then the Titans, Texans and Jaguars.

So, yes, expect to be hearing more about this in the coming weeks and months. And who knows, maybe Peyton just retires and takes the Ole Miss job.

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