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The Indianapolis Colts offered the Detroit Lions arguably the best opportunity to get into the win column as their defense was rather tired and short-handed, as well. Yet for whatever unexplainable reason, they allowed the Colts to do what they’ve become very proficient at doing as of late – go down the field and get clutch scores. In Sunday’s game, Peyton Manning led a pair of scoring drives, which allowed Indianapolis to beat Detroit 31-21 at Lucas Oil Stadium.

The first quarter scoring commenced as Colts running back Dominic Rhodes ran in for a 1-yard touchdown while Detroit’s Jason Hanson nailed a 51-yard field goal, taking both teams inot the seocnd quarter with the Colts holding onto a 7-3 lead. Indianapolis would add to their lead with a 2-yard TD run by Chad Simpson with 5:29 left in the first half; the Lions would respond with a score of their own as QB Dan Orlovsky connected on a 33-yard touchdown pass to Calvin Williams which narrowed the gap to 14-10; however, Manning would throw a TD pass to Dallas Clark, extending the Colts’ lead to 21-10 going into halftime.

The third quarter was rather uneneventful as the only score was courtesy of a Hanson FG with 10 minutes left in the period, which narrowed the Colts’ lead to 21-13; early in the fourth quarter, Detroit would tie the game at 21-all on a 1-yard TD run by Kevin Smith and a successful 2-point conversion. But the Lions’ defense just wasn’t up to the task as Manning took the Colts on a pair of scoring drives – the first resulting in another TD run by Rhodes while the second resulted in a 31-yard FG by Adam Vinatieri with 39 ticks left on the game clock.

Manning had a decent effort, going 28-of-37 for 318 yards and a TD while Orlovsky wasn’t too shabby himself as he went 23-of-34 for 233 yards and a score. Rhodes led all Colts rushers with 86 yards with a pair of TD’s while catching 4 passes for 30 yards; Smith led the Detroit running attack with 88 yards on 20 carries and a TD while catching 6 passes for 31 yards.

Clark set a Colts tight end single-game reception record while also setting a team record for receptions and season-high yardage; Clark caught 12 passes for 142 yards and a score while Reggie Wayne caught 7 passes for 104 yards. Detroit’s leading receiver was Johnson with 9 receptions for 110 yards and a score. Indianapolis (10-4) has a short week as they travel to Jacksonville to face the Jaguars on Thursday while Detroit (0-14) returns home for their last hosted game as they welcome the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.