Triplets on the rampage as Colts remain only unbeaten NFL side
Not to mention still perfect.
For the second straight week, Peyton Manning threw three touchdowns and Marvin Harrison and Edgerrin James each topped 100 yards, helping the Colts retain their title as the NFL's only unbeaten team with Sunday's 31-17 victory over Houston.
As if the Texans (1-8) weren't already over-matched, playing the league's hottest team with a makeshift offensive line and missing their top running back.
Manning carved up the Texans secondary, completing 26 of 35 passes for 297 yards and three TDs.
Harrison caught seven passes for 108 yards, including a 30-yard TD pass that made Manning and Harrison the first duo in NFL history to account for 10,000 yards.
The tandem now has 755 completions for 10,034 yards and 90 touchdowns all NFL records.
James, too, had a milestone day. He carried 26 times for 122 yards his 47th career 100-yard game, tying him with Pittsburgh's Franco Harris for the eighth most in league history while topping 1,000 yards for the fifth time in his career.
It also marked the 21st time James and Harrison accounted for 100 yards in the same game, breaking the NFL record of 20.
The record previously belong to Dallas' Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin. And the trio made Houston look bad all day.
"They have so many weapons, you just can't let up," linebacker Antwan Peek said of Manning. "But it's tough to stop them all."
This victory, though, didn't follow the usual script for the Colts (9-0). Coach Tony Dungy worried all week about his team's response to an emotional Monday night victory at New England, and at times, Indianapolis had problems. Twice they muffed short punts when the ball hit blockers running downfield. Houston turned those miscues into 10 points, keeping it closer than most people expected.
However, Manning & Co answered every challenge as Houston dropped to 0-8 all-time against Indy.
"I thought our guys played well," Dungy said. "We had a few glitches on the punts, but there's not really anything you could do about that."
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