By the Associated Press
11/9/2008
This time, the Indianapolis Colts completed the comeback against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Peyton Manning took advantage of Ben Roethlisberger's second costly interception to find Dominic Rhodes out of the backfield on a 17-yard touchdown pass with 3:04 remaining for Indianapolis' only lead, and the Colts came back in a virtual must-win game to beat the Steelers 24-20 on Sunday.
Manning also hit Reggie Wayne on a 65-yard touchdown pass play on a tipped ball and Dallas Clark on a 2-yard scoring pass seconds before halftime following an unnecessary interception by Roethlisberger to end the Colts' 40-year losing streak in Pittsburgh.
The Colts (5-4) had dropped their last 12 there, counting the postseason, dating to a 41-7 win in 1968 when the Steelers played at now-demolished Pitt Stadium.
Pittsburgh had a chance to win it at the end, but Roethlisberger's pass into the end zone on the final play - with Nate Washington open briefly - was intercepted by Melvin Bullitt. It was Roethlisberger's third interception of the game.
The first matchup between the AFC teams since Pittsburgh's stunning 21-18 win over the top-seeded Colts in the AFC divisional playoffs in January 2006 - Indianapolis was a big favorite at the time to win the Super Bowl - followed the pattern of that game.
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