INDIANAPOLIS — A year ago, Reggie Wayne allowed, the Indianapolis Colts

probably would have played for overtime.



But much has changed around this franchise in the past 365 days, and the

end of Sunday’s 23-20 victory against the Minnesota Vikings at Lucas Oil

Stadium was just the most recent example.



The Colts took possession at their own 20-yard line with 31 seconds

remaining in the game after Christian Ponder’s 6-yard touchdown pass to

Kyle Rudolph had tied the score. Rookie quarterback Andrew Luck, who had

taken an ugly sack to end the previous drive, calmly drove Indianapolis 45

yards in 23 seconds to get into field-goal range.



Veteran Adam Vinatieri, a likely future Hall of Famer, then closed it out

with a 53-yard field goal -- the longest game-winner of his storied

17-year career.



“I think we’ve got some coaches that like to let it ride, man,” Wayne said

of the Colts’ decision to go for the winning points at the end of

regulation. “That was a big gamble, and whenever they call that you want

to come through for them.”



The gutsy drive was the capper to a wild and highly unpredictable home opener.



The Colts seemingly were in command after Luck threw for 146 yards and two

touchdowns in the first half and the team sprinted to a 17-6 lead.



But injuries began to take their toll along the offensive line late in the

second quarter. Winston Justice, who suffered a concussion last week at

Chicago, was a late scratch and was replaced at right tackle by Jeff

Linkenbach. Seth Olsen already was starting at left guard in place of Joe

Reitz, who missed his second straight game with a knee injury, and center

Samson Satele left the game shortly before halftime with a knee injury of

his own.



Right guard Mike McGlynn shifted to Satele’s spot at center, and Olsen

moved from the left side over to the right. Trai Essex, who played the

past seven years with the Pittsburgh Steelers and was signed by the Colts

just four days ago, came in to play left guard.



That meant, for the entire second half, Luck was playing behind an

offensive line with just one player -- left tackle Anthony Castonzo --

competing at his regular starting position.



“I trust all the guys that come in, they do it in practice,” Luck said. “A

guy will go out for a couple of plays, and they get the job done. I hope

they trust me behind center. I don’t worry about that too much. I’m sure

adjustments are made by the coaches, but I guess they don’t enlighten me

on those during the game for a good reason.”



A mixture of poor field position and the shuffling along the line made for

a more conservative offense for much of the second half.



The third quarter started with a 53-yard drive that ate 7:54 off the clock

and ended with Vinatieri’s 45-yard field goal to give Indianapolis a 20-6

lead. But, on their next four possessions, the Colts ran 15 plays and

gained just four yards.



The drives started at their own 2-, 30-, 20- and 19-yard lines, and

offensive coordinator Bruce Arians called nine runs and six passes during

the stretch. The crowd let its displeasure be known when the third drive

started with a run for no gain at the 20.



And the Vikings eventually took advantage.



Ponder led a 10-play, 54-yard drive that ended on a circus play from

Indianapolis’ 7-yard line with 5:03 remaining in the game.



The second-year quarterback targeted Rudolph on a fourth-down pass, but

the tight end couldn’t handle it and instead tipped the ball into the air.

It was tipped again by at least one Colts defender before somehow landing

in the arms of Stephen Burton in the end zone for an unlikely touchdown.



After Luck took a 22-yard loss on a sack on third-and-5 to end the Colts’

ensuing drive, Minnesota took over again at the Colts’ 48-yard line.

Ponder needed seven plays to bring up first-and-goal at the 6.



He missed on his first throw into the end zone, sailing a ball over the

head of former Colt Devin Aromashodu. But he found Rudolph open over the

middle moments later for the game-tying score.



“You want to score, and the defense has to go out and hold in that

situation,” Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier said, when asked if he felt

his team left too much time on the clock even though just 31 seconds

remained. “That’s our league. In that situation where we were, we needed

to get the ball in the end zone, and we got to go out and play defense.”



Luck took over at his own 20, and immediately rolled to his left and fired

a 20-yard pass to Donnie Avery, who finished with a team-high nine catches

for 111 yards. He avoided the Vikings’ pass rush on the play, as he did

almost the entire afternoon.



“We needed to get him off the mark and keep him out of the pocket and

couldn’t,” Minnesota defensive end Jared Allen said. “He was able to

escape. With most quarterbacks, we have six, seven sacks today.”



Instead, the Vikings got two. And none when it mattered most.



With a first down at the 40, Luck laced another 20-yard strike to Wayne,

who finished with six catches for 71 yards.



Then things got strange. Luck completed a 7-yard pass to Avery at the 33,

but Minnesota was called for jumping offsides on the play. Colts head

coach Chuck Pagano, believing the clock would wind when the ball was set,

accepted the penalty and told Luck to spike the next snap.



The clock didn’t wind, and Luck spiked the ball with 12 seconds remaining

instead of the Colts’ target of four.



“Some folks were under the assumption that the clock was going to run

right when the official starts his motion, but it did not,” Luck said. “So

I realized we probably look a little foolish killing the ball when the

clock was stopped, but, oh, well.”



Luck could laugh off the gaffe because Vinatieri drilled the game-winning

kick moments later.



It was a nice bounce-back performance from Luck who threw three

interceptions and lost a fumble in last week’s loss at Chicago. He

finished 20-of-31 for 224 yards with two touchdowns and no turnovers Sunday.



And he further earned the respect of at least one teammate.



Wayne kept the ball after his 30-yard touchdown catch in the second

quarter, but he said he gave it to Luck after the game, hoping it will be

the first of many.



He might not have expected the game-winning drive to start with so little

time left on the clock, but Wayne wasn’t surprised by its ultimate success.



“The kid’s got poise, man,” he said, referencing his rookie quarterback.

“He’s got winning blood in his veins.”