Quarterback: It was a typical Peyton Manning game. He spread the ball to all of his receivers, with four catching at least four passes. He was active at the line of scrimmage, appearing to audible out of a play before throwing his first touchdown pass to Austin Collie. He consistently fit the ball in tight spots against the Ravens press coverage. He ducked out of the way on what could have been a painful sack from Ngata. And, in an act most typical of Manning, he lobbied hard for one more play with :07 left in the second quarter; the result was a touchdown to Reggie Wayne. We’ll forgive the two bad passes that Ed Reed picked off since, ultimately, neither hurt the Colts. Grade: A
Running Backs: If their only measure of performance was yards gained, they’d fail; Joseph Addai barely averaged two yards per carry. But they did excel, for the most part, in picking up Ravens blitzers. The one exception was notable, as CBS mics picked up Manning screaming, “God D—-, Donald!” when Donald Brown failed to block the blitz on a sack. Grade: D+
Receivers: Best unit of the night. Pierre Garcon broke tackles and made the play of the game on forcing the Reed fumble. Dallas Clark owned the middle of the field, showing no fear even after that Ray Lewis blast in the first quarter. Austin Collie made a great catch on the first touchdown. Reggie Wayne was able to shed blanket coverage to make several plays, including the TD right before halftime. Overall, the Colts receivers weren’t intimidated by the Ravens, which is worthy of high marks by itself. Grade: A+
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