Week 5 - Late 4th Quarter Comeback
Week 5 - Late 4th Quarter Comeback
2003 - Colts vs. Buccaneers

Week 5 - Late 4th Quarter Comeback

"This is where the legend of Peyton Manning started." - Derrick Brooks
Tony Dungy
by Tony Dungy

As comeback victories go, this fourth quarter rally on the warm evening of October 6, 2003 was about as improbable as it gets. The 4-0 Colts were facing Tampa Bay on the road on Monday Night Football, and for most of the way, things looked bleak for Indianapolis. The Bucs surged to a 21-0 lead in the second quarter and they held a 28-7 advantage heading into the fourth quarter. After a 29-yard Tampa Bay interception return for a touchdown with just over five minutes left, which gave the Bucs a 21-point edge, the game appeared over. But Peyton Manning wasn’t quitting: with under four minutes left, he led the Colts to three quick touchdowns to knot the score at 28. In overtime, Manning led the Colts on a 76-yard drive to set up a game-winning field goal. With 3:57 left, Mike Vanderjagt missed, but a Tampa Bay penalty allowed him another chance – and the kick was good despite hitting the right upright. Manning finished the night with 386 passing yards; the late-game turnaround was one of the biggest in NFL history.

Tony Dungy
Tony
Dungy
Tony Dungy, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, won over two-thirds of his regular season games as the head coach of Tampa Bay and Indianapolis from 1996 through 2008. In February 2007, Dungy – whose teams won 10 or more games in 10 of his 13 seasons – became the first African-American coach to win a Super Bowl after his Colts defeated the Bears in Super Bowl XLI. A former NFL defensive back and defensive assistant with the Steelers, Chiefs, and Vikings, Dungy has been an analyst for NBC’s “Football Night in America” since 2009.
Profession:
reporter
Preferred Team:
Indianapolis Colts