Colts escape with 20-17 win on Houston's late miss

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Dallas Clark couldn't believe the way the

Houston Texans were defending him.

Houston consistently gave the Colts' tight end room to operate

in the middle of the field and he punished them with six catches in

the first eight minutes of Sunday's game.

When the Texans didn't change their coverage, he eventually tied

Marvin Harrison's team record with 14 receptions to help the Colts

improve to 8-0 with a narrow 20-17 win over the Texans.

"I was just trying to take advantage of things that were given

to us," Clark said. "Even with those catches early, they still

didn't adjust, they didn't change what they were doing, so we were

going to just try and keep attacking it."

Clark fell one catch shy of tying Kellen Winslow and Jason

Witten for the NFL record at the position, and his 119 yards

receiving moved him into second place for a Colts tight end behind

John Mackey.

Clark and the Colts jumped to a 13-0 lead before the Texans

rallied. Houston had two chances to win or force overtime. Matt

Schaub, under pressure from Gary Brackett, was intercepted by Clint

Session in Colts territory with 2:13 to go before Kris Brown pushed

a tying field goal attempt wide left as time expired.

Indianapolis became the fourth team in league history with at

least 17 straight regular-season wins. New England won a record 21

straight from 2006-08 and 18 in a row from 2003-04. Chicago won 17

straight from 1933-34.

The Colts hold a 3½-game lead over second-place Houston (5-4) in

the AFC South and are 3-0 against the Texans, Jacksonville and

Tennessee this season. Houston (5-4) dropped to 1-14 against the

Colts, including 0-8 in Indianapolis.

The Colts' offense exploited Texans linebacker Brian Cushing by

lining up with three wide receivers and Clark at tight end. The

Texans rarely moved a safety to cover Clark, often leaving him

one-on-one with Cushing.

That's almost a formal invitation for Peyton Manning, who

completed 34 of 50 passes for 318 yards and a touchdown.

"Dallas, we think, no matter who's guarding him, is tough to

cover," Manning said. "I think Cushing is a good player, but

obviously, Dallas is a good route-runner."

Cushing said the Texans successfully prevented the big plays the

Colts are known for, but Manning still picked them apart.

"He just finds a way to win," Cushing said. "He dinks and

dunks and finds the spots. You have to get the turnovers, find the

ways to get the ball."

Clark did take some hits going across the middle so often.

"It's the give and take of catching a lot of balls," he said.

"You've got to get hit when you catch it. The win definitely makes

it a lot better. These would be hard wounds to heal with a loss."

Except for Clark and Manning, the Colts' offense struggled at

times for the second straight week.

"It would have been a lot better if they (the catches) had

turned into some touchdowns instead of field goals," Clark said.

"Those are things we need to continue to work on."

Clark wasn't the only Colt to set a record Sunday.

Reggie Wayne moved past Hall of Famer Raymond Berry and into

second on the Colts' career reception list behind Harrison.

"That's huge," Wayne said. "It's definitely an honor. He's

still the truth. He started it all. I'm just glad to even be

mentioned with his name."

Manning became the first quarterback to throw for 40,000 yards

in any decade, and he tied Fran Tarkenton for the fourth-most wins

by a starting quarterback with 125.

Schaub completed 32 of 43 passes for 311 yards and a touchdown

and Andre Johnson had 10 catches for 103 yards.

Clark's performance helped offset those big games.

"That's kind of how it happens sometimes," Colts coach Jim

Caldwell said. "I think Dallas had an excellent day. Dallas has

had big days for us. He's been playing well all year. He had some

big catches against tough coverage."

 By CLIFF BRUNT-AP Sports Writer

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)