Colts ‘Save’ Peyton Manning Era in Possibly ‘Devastating Victory,’ Says Indianapolis Columnist Bob Kravitz

When is a win not a win? When it can hurt your franchise for the next decade, of course.

That’s what the Colts had on Thursday night, as Dan Orlovsky connected with Reggie Wayne for the game-winning score with just 19 seconds left in the fourth quarter to beat the Texans, 19-16. It was a moment to celebrate, perhaps, but it was more a moment of concern, as the 2-13 Colts hurt their chances to draft Andrew Luck with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 draft.

Whoops.

That’s the bad news, but the good news is that a loss next week in Jacksonville will guarantee the Colts that No. 1 pick. The other good news, at least if your name is Peyton Manning, is that if the Colts don’t end up with the worst record in the NFL, they could avoid a budding quarterback controversy.

Still, Indianapolis Star columnist Bob Kravitz isn’t so sure the victory on Thursday was a good thing for the franchise.

“Is there such a thing as a devastating victory? This changes everything,” Kravitz wrote, adding that the Colts “might have saved the Peyton Manning era.”

Kravitz goes on to say that not only would missing out on Luck affect the quarterback position, but the Manning era continuing could mean veterans like Reggie Wayne, Jeff Saturday and Dallas Clark could stick around as well. So it’s not all bad, but given the uncertainty of Manning’s injured neck, possibly missing out on Luck seems like a farewell to a sure thing.

“This had ramifications,” Kravitz wrote. “Not for this year, which is lost. But for next year and maybe for the next 10 to 15 years, the long-term future of the franchise.”

Photo of the day

Do you think the Colts blew their chance at drafting Andrew Luck?

Quote of the day

“I mean, I’m not a monster, so why would anybody be scared? I don’t know.”
–Darrelle Revis, in response to Giants receivers’ assertions that they’re not scared of the cornerback

Tweet of the day

At this point, you really can’t put this past Floyd Mayweather.

Follow @NESN on Twitter

Video of the day

It’s always kind of awkward when you can see Jesus’ wedgie.