Doyel: Aggressive, fun Colts take game from Green Bay

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The best part of the game wasn’t the squirrel, and that’s saying something. You saw the squirrel, right? Cute little thing, walking the Green Bay sideline, ignoring the outstretched hand of Packers linebacker Clay Matthews before bolting into the end zone – causing fans at Lambeau Field to scream and officials to blow their whistles and the Indianapolis Colts defense to start giggling.

The squirrel was adorable, and for hours Sunday night the internet was in love, but the cute varmint wasn’t quite as charismatic as a Colts team that on Sunday became everything its fan base had wanted – had expected – to see this season. For 60 minutes the Colts were swaggering, attacking, playing with guts and moxie. The Colts didn’t come here, waiting for the Packers to give.

The Colts came here, ready to take.

“It was a foot-on-the-gas game,” said Colts receiver Donte Moncrief. “No more letting up. Just put your foot on the gas and keep it there.”

Jordan Todman returned the opening kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown, and the Colts were off and running. They never trailed and they didn’t pull back until the final seconds, when quarterback Andrew Luck was kneeling and Lambeau Field was emptying and the scoreboard at this football cathedral was showing a final result that looked blasphemous, it was so preposterous. The scoreboard showed the Colts beating the Packers 31-26.

This was the game where the Colts, who have played so scared for so long, decided to turn on the lights and dance like nobody was watching. Defensive coordinator Ted Monachino was combatting future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers of the Packers with five defensive backs, then six, then seven. Monachino put safety Clayton Geathers at inside linebacker, he put cornerback Darius Butler at safety, and he put someone named Lavar Edwards at outside linebacker – and Edwards, picked up off waivers two weeks ago, sacked Rodgers for a 7-yard loss.

Offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski was calling plays that had Luck throwing it short, throwing it deep, option-pitching it wide for Frank Gore’s first touchdown and going into motion from the shotgun to set up Gore’s second. That last one happened on first-and-goal from the Green Bay 9, leaving Gore in the wildcat formation to take the snap and barrel forward 5 yards. Gore scored on the next play to give the Colts a 31-13 lead with 9:35 left.

“Those are plays we have up every week,” Luck was saying of the occasionally oddball attack. “This was the week we busted them out.”

This was the week the Colts, who tentatively gave away victories against Detroit and Houston, saw an opponent’s vulnerable neck and finally decided to step on it.

Leading 24-13 early in the fourth quarter, the Colts had clock to burn. Rather than running into the Green Bay brick wall – the Packers came into the game ranked second in the NFL in rushing yards allowed – Chudzinski decided to throw over it. Luck found Moncrief 39 yards downfield, putting the ball at the Green Bay 32. He called passes on three of the next four plays as well, moving Indianapolis to the Packers 9, where he sent Luck into motion and made a quarterback of sorts of Frank Gore.

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“We wanted to be very aggressive,” said coach Chuck Pagano.

They were, in every phase. Todman returned the opening kick for a touchdown, and he wanted more. Next time he went back to return a kick, the Packers wanted no part of him and kicked it deep into the end zone for the obvious touchback.

Todman wanted no part of that.

“I was bringing it out,” he said. “No matter what.”

But you were 6 yards deep in the end zone, I told him. Aren’t you supposed to take the touchback when you get it that deep?

“Not today,” he told me.

Todman returned that one 61 yards, giving the Colts a short field that led to Adam Vinatieri’s NFL-record 44th consecutive field goal.

Even as the Packers were driving for touchdowns on their final two possessions, the Colts were going for it. Pagano and Monachino didn’t duplicate their defeatism in late collapses against Detroit and Houston, dropping back into a prevent defense that served only to prevent them from winning. No, they kept after Rodgers and made him make plays to beat them. He almost did, but then, he’s going to the Hall of Fame someday. Guys like Rodgers, they’re going to get theirs.

So here’s what the Colts did, after seeing their 31-13 lead shrink to 31-19 with 7:40 left, and then to 31-26 with 3:29 left:

They got even more aggressive.

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It was not textbook football, but Pagano and his staff have coached from the textbook most of the season – and it led them to a 3-5 record entering Sunday. So with 3:29 left in the game, Chudzinski threw the textbook in the trash and went for it. Needing to burn clock, knowing the Packers were down to two timeouts, Chudzinski called for Luck to throw it. And throw it and throw it. Four times on six plays Chudzinski called for a pass, and Luck completed three of them.

The final pass came on third-and-2 from the Green Bay 47. There was 2:21 left. The Packers were out of timeouts. Circumstances called for a running play, and Chudzinski called for a tight formation with Gore and Jack Doyle flanking Luck in the backfield – and sent Hilton deep down the sideline. Luck found Hilton for 27 yards, and on the sideline Pagano was taking off his headset. There were still two minutes left, but his job was done. Luck took a knee three times and the game was over.

“Chud wanted to win that thing right here,” Colts left tackle Anthony Castonzo said of the long pass on third-and-2. “When I heard that call, I was thinking: ‘This game is over.’ ”

Makes you wonder where this swaggering Colts team has been all season. And how many more times it'll show itself.

Find IndyStar columnist Gregg Doyel on Twitter at@GreggDoyelStar or atfacebook.com/gregg.doyel.