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INDIANAPOLIS (Oct. 20, 1998) -- Top draft pick Peyton Manning, coming off the best game of his brief NFL career, likes the timing of the bye week for his Indianapolis Colts. "An off week almost in the middle of the season is always the right time to have it," said Manning, who completed 18 of 30 passes for 231 yards and three touchdowns in a 34-31 loss to San Francisco on Sunday. "I think we'll use it (the bye) to our advantage," he said. Manning got through a game without an interception for the first time at San Francisco as the Colts (1-6) jumped ahead 21-0 and took a 31-17 lead into the fourth quarter. The upset bid failed on a last-minute field goal by the 49ers after a series of controversial calls against the Colts in the first half. "It's disappointing that we lost, but from that film we can definitely take a lot of positives," Manning said. "Sure, it leaves a bitter taste in your mouth. I think that will help in a lot of ways. The guys will come back more determined." Manning raised his quarterback rating to 63.5 with Sunday's effort. In seven games he's completed 131 of 240 passes for 1,595 yards and nine TDs, while being picked off a league-high 14 times. His passing yardage is the fourth highest by a rookie with the Colts and he's rapidly closing in on the franchise rookie mark of 2,225 set by Jack Trudeau in 1986. "I've learned a lot this season, when I learn a lot, I never really get tired," he said. "Hopefully, I can use what I've learned in this first half of the season and carry it over to the second half." Coach Jim Mora called Sunday's game the best so far since he began coaching the Colts. He called practices for Wednesday and Thursday before giving players the rest of the week off. "When somebody scores 34 points on you, you usually can't say that about the defense," Mora said. "But I really believe our defense played its best game, playing on the road and considering who we were playing. ... Peyton played his best game. Our offensive line played its best game." The lack of a turnover was one big reason Mora was pleased with Manning's effort. "His game management and execution was very good. ... He hit two critical passes on third down plays to keep our final drive alive," Mora said. "He made excellent decisions, although it was not a perfect game by any means." Mora, who was openly critical of the officials after the game, said he had heard nothing from the league office about possible fines for his remarks. |