Without Edgerrin James, the Colts had to rely on the air attack and Peyton Manning showcased what he can do with a franchise record 6 TD passes. The Indianapolis Star reports,

Manning became the first NFL quarterback since Washington’s Mark Rypien in 1991 to throw six touchdown passes, one off the league record shared by five players. Manning completed 20-of-25 passes for 314 yards as the Colts splattered the New Orleans Saints 55-21.

The Colts’ point total was their largest since a 55-23 Halloween slaughter of Denver in 1988. It was the most points the Colts have scored in a road game.

“One of our goals was to come out and try to get something going early to get the crowd out of it, if we could,” said Manning, who did not play during the fourth quarter, ending his string of consecutive snaps under center at 1,633.

“Once we got the momentum,” Colts coach Tony Dungy offered, “it was like a shark in the water.”

The crowd of 70,020, the Saints’ 24th consecutive sellout, booed enthusiastically through much of the first half, but went eerily silent during the third quarter. Empty seats don’t make much noise.

The Colts acquitted themselves well on national television, as they moved to 4-0 on the season.

Cross-posted on Sportsblog.

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