Healthy Chandler Breaks Colts

Chris Chandler's ankle is just fine.

The Atlanta Falcons quarterback, sidelined last week with a sprained right ankle, ran for one touchdown and threw for two more as the Falcons rallied from 14 points down to win their sixth consecutive game, beating the Indianapolis Colts 28-21 Sunday.

"The last thing I expected was to run," said Chandler, who didn't play the previous week. "They had all the receivers covered pretty well, but fortunately I had room to run."

Chandler shook off five sacks to complete 20-of-28 for 297 yards, his best game in two years with Atlanta. The NFC West-leading Falcons (11-2), who trailed 14-0 and 21-7, went ahead by scoring three touchdowns in just over a three-minute span at the end of the first half and beginning the second.

Jamal Anderson, who rushed for 122 yards on 30 carries, brought the Falcons to within 21-14 on a 1-yard TD run with 1:21 left in the first half. The Colts went three-and-out and Atlanta took advantage with a 66-yard scoring drive in 35 seconds.

Chandler threw a 33-yard pass to Tony Martin, who was taken down by the facemask to give the Falcons another 15 yards on the penalty. Chandler followed with a 16-yard pass to Terance Mathis, but the Falcons appeared set to go for a field goal after an incompletion at the 3 with just five seconds left.

Morten Andersen

Jessie Tuggle and the Atlanta defense tightened the ropes against the Colts after surrendering 21 early points. (AP)

"You're going to look long and hard before you see that," Chandler said with a grin. "The ball off the wall is about all you're going to get."

"That was the difference in the ball game," Indianapolis coach Jim Mora said. "We had a lead on them, and all of a sudden it's no lead at all."

On the first play of the second half, Peyton Manning's pass over the middle was picked off by Ray Buchanan, who returned it 18 yards to the Indianapolis 14. Three players later, Chandler put the Falcons ahead, connecting with Terance Mathis on a 3-yard scoring pass in the back of the end zone.

Martin caught seven passes for 140 yards, including a 40-yard touchdown in the first half, and Anderson also had four receptions for 58 yards.

Manning, playing before several thousand orange-clad Tennessee fans who attended the Southeastern Conference championship game at the Georgia Dome the night before, was 19-of-27 for 159 yards and a touchdown to become the most prolific rookie passer in NFL history. But he also had two interceptions as the Colts lost by seven points or less for the seventh time in their last eight defeats.

"They get tougher and tougher as you play them closer and closer," Manning said. "You feel like you deserve to win."

The Colts (2-11) surprised the Falcons by scoring on their first two possessions, the first touchdown set up by O.J. Santiago's fumble at the Atlanta 36. Manning hooked up with Marshall Faulk on an 11-yard touchdown pass.

Indianapolis made it 14-0 when Manning passed 30 yards to Torrance Small for a touchdown.

The Falcons cut the lead in half with some razzle-dazzle. Anderson took a handoff from Chandler, but flipped the ball back to the quarterback, who threw 40 yards to a wide-open Martin.

Faulk pushed the lead back to two touchdowns with a 3-yard touchdown run with 5:10 left in the first half. He finished with 76 yards on the ground and also was the Colts' top recever with seven catches for 37 yards.

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