
The Sheriff Manning’s 21-Point Comeback 2003
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The Colts’ stunning 38-35 overtime victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on October 6, 2003, is one of the most memorable games in NFL history for its unprecedented fourth-quarter collapse and comeback.
Hosting the game on Monday Night Football, the defending Super Bowl champion Buccaneers, who boasted the league’s top-ranked defense, dominated the first three-and-a-half quarters. When Bucs cornerback Ronde Barber returned an interception for a touchdown with just over five minutes left in regulation, Tampa Bay led 35-14, seemingly putting the game out of reach.
However, in a miraculous display of execution and luck, Peyton Manning led the Colts on a historic comeback. Indianapolis scored three touchdowns in the final four minutes of the fourth quarter, highlighted by a kickoff return setting up one score, a successful onside kick leading to the next, and a no-huddle masterclass by Manning to force overtime. Crucial penalties and the heroics of Manning and receiver Marvin Harrison picked apart the vaunted Tampa Bay defense.
The Colts completed the 21-point rally, the largest with less than five minutes left in NFL history, when kicker Mike Vanderjagt—after being given a second chance by a rare defensive leaping penalty—hit the game-winning field goal in overtime. The combination of an elite defense surrendering such a massive lead in an impossible timeframe makes this game a legendary, never-say-die spectacle.
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