It was an emotional day in Indianapolis with the return of coach Chuck Pagano, and the Colts gave him one of their best efforts of the season.

Andrew Luck played turnover-free football, and hit the biggest pass play of his career, which just so happened to come on a critical 3rd and 23 in the fourth quarter. That’s the story of the season for the Colts. Big plays in crunch time.

Despite all of Houston’s success and J.J. Watt’s dominance in Week 15, the Colts overcame the most aggressive opposing defense of the season to have one of their best offensive performances. In addition to scoring 21 points on nine drives (2.33 points per drive), the Colts held the ball for the final 9:46 to end the game, and closed out their 11th victory of the season.

Bring on the playoffs, but first let’s review how the Colts and Luck pulled this latest win off.

Drive No. 1

Drive Stats: 15:00 left (1st quarter), tied 0-0. 13 plays, 75 yards (1-yard TD pass to Coby Fleener).

Breaking the recent trend of starting with a three and out, the Colts may have had their best opening drive of the season. It had an ominous beginning though, as J.J. Watt was there in the backfield to tackle Vick Ballard for a loss of a yard.

Houston brought the blitz, but Luck stepped up and pitched to Reggie Wayne for 17 yards after a good run. Ballard picked up nine on a rare swing pass to the flat. Luck was off on a pass to Donnie Avery, then completed a bubble screen to T.Y. Hilton for 12 yards. Two plays later Luck used the hard count to draw Houston offsides.

On 3rd and 3, Luck found Dwayne Allen, who bobbled but caught the ball, and it was first and goal at the HOU 4. Ballard ran for three yards to the HOU 1. Luck went to Wayne in the right corner of the end zone twice, and the second play drew the flag for pass interference.

After Ballard carried for no gain, the Colts used play action and Coby Fleener was wide open for the 1-yard touchdown in the back of the end zone. The Colts had a lead, which they never had in Houston two weeks ago.

Sunday's 28-16 win over the Houston Texans was the perfect end to a great season from a Colts fan perspective. This was the game where the Colts truly put it all together - a consistent product on offense, defense and special teams resulted in a convincing win over our main rivals, putting a severe dent in their playoff hopes while imbuing our own with a fresh dose of Chuckstrong.

Even the Colts' reticence to pick the ball off disappeared on Sunday, with Vontae Davis picking up two interceptions thanks to some good positioning and smooth ball skills. To me, this was a tale of two quarterbacks headed in two different directions. Andrew Luck again showed how fantastic he really can be with an adequate supporting cast, while Matt Schaub was the primary reason Houston failed to muster any sort of challenge on the day. His physical limitations (arm strength, speed, agility) really limit the Houston offense considerably, and if I may continue banging the drum, Houston won't go to the next level until he is gone.

Concentrating strictly on the defensive performance, Arian Foster again had his fair share of success with 16 carries for 96 yards, with a long of 39 yards. Take that one run out of the equation and it's 15 carries for 57 yards - so props to the run defenders and the front 7 for stepping up when they had to.

The major performance worthy of praise on D was of course Vontae Davis, who has continued his recent improvement. Perhaps it's coincidence, but I can't help but consider the return of Chuck Pagano as a potential reason why - a DB coach by trade, he knows how to coach these guys up. Having Coach Pagano back at the helm will help in a multitude of ways, the foremost of which I'm hoping will be a patch-up job on the defensive backfield in time for the playoffs.

In any case, I digress.. Let's get to the good stuff:

Heads up to all Colts fans, everyone is invited to join the Injury Expert Will Carroll, myself (Nate Dunlevy) and other Colts fans for a tweet up for the Colts-Ravens playoff game this Sunday.

We'll be meeting at the Oaken Barrel in Greenwood at 12:30. Come by, have a brew and talk some football.

2012 was a roller coaster for Colts fans. Ending the 2011 season with a 2-14 record, having the entire management fired, and seeing a large portion of the team released, it seemed like Colts fans were in for a miserable 12 months. But the pain would eventually give way to an unbelievable journey, made even more enjoyable by the people - our fellow Colts fans - who experienced it with us.

As we move into this New Year, the Colts Authority Family wants to wish you and your family a happy, healthy 2013. The journey is just beginning for us, and we look forward to experiencing it with each of you.

Thank you.

For your clicks (page hits!!!), your comments, your support, thank you. I hope you find everything you're looking for in this New Year.

In the tradition of New Years, some of the Colts Authority staff gave their football-related New Year's Resoutions. Check ours out, and then share yours in the comments.

Happy 2013, and GO COLTS!

There's something magical happening in Indianapolis. The latest chapter in this remarkable tale had finished playing out when the roar of the crowd had died, the final tear had fallen, the dogs had been ridden and the last step had been danced. The Indianapolis Colts had defeated the Houston Texans 28-16 to complete their 2012 regular season with an 11-5 record. On paper, the game meant nothing to the Colts, but to the men in the locker room, and the men and women who call the Colts their team, it meant everything.

It was the return of their coach, their leader. He had fought his leukemia, won, and was back to lead the team and the city into the playoffs. In response, the team, with their most complete 60-minutes of football all year, and the fans, with their  loudest, most emotional performance in quite some time, said, "Welcome back, Chuck," with as much love and respect as they would for someone in their own family. Truth be told, when he took the podium for the first time as the Colts' Head Coach on January 26th 2012, he did become part of our family.

(AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

This Monday's Colts Notebook, while still true to its newspaper-like style, will be a bit different than the usual entry.  Today, we’ll discuss the playoffs, Baltimorean animosity, and a short breakdown of the Luck to Fleener touchdown.  And, since the Colts are playing the Ravens, we'll talk about eminent domain – the rarely mentioned factor that not only finalized Robert Irsay’s decision to come to Indianapolis, but also possibly affected the odd timing of the move. 

Going “Back” to Baltimore for the Playoffs

Indianapolis’s wild card playoff opponent resides in a city that loves Chuck Pagano but doesn’t feel quite so warmly toward the Colts, the team they attempted to seize through eminent domain, sadly sealing their fate in the struggle to keep the team from heading off to Phoenix, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, or Indianapolis.  All those cities had entered the conversation for the Colts’ new home beginning in the late 1970s.  (Take a moment to imagine a Jacksonville Colts team, playing at the Gator Bowl, which was part of the city’s plan in 1979)

As talks broke down in the spring of 1984, Maryland state legislature went ahead and approved the eminent domain bill a couple days before the team left, sparking the midnight move.  By the time then-Maryland Governor Harry Hughes signed the bill on March 29, 1984, the Colts were already in the Circle City.  (Source: The Baltimore Sun: Anatomy of a Move.  There is also an interesting, more in-depth look at Examiner.com)

Indianapolis Colts' Deji Karim, left, runs back a kickoff 101-yards for a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Houston Texans Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

Welcome back Chuck.

Today, the Colts won in their first game with Chuck Pagano back at the helm after three rounds of chemotherapy.  They also prevented J.J. Watt, who looked unblockable against them three weeks ago, from breaking the single season sack record (22.5), from which he was only two away.  Houston is now 0-11 in Indianapolis, and the Colts, who many expected to be cellar dwellers this season, are 11-5. 

They had some savvy plays from Andrew Luck, and harassed Schaub in the pocket all day.  They made just enough plays, plus a few incredible special teams plays to come away with another victory. 

Andrew Luck had a good first half, and despite completing only 50% of his passes, had an impressive day overall against Houston’s suffocating defense, mixing in some nice check downs and intermediate passes to keep the Texans’ defense guessing.  He also had what some called a gift  when a sack-fumble was overturned by the tuck rule that would have given Houston the ball at the Colts 18-yard line    Luck’s first half quarterback rating was 96.1 before the final drive (1/4, 9 yds), finishing the half with a respectable 80.9 rating and a 14-6 lead. 

The most impressive thing about the rookie quarterback in this game was how he looked like a veteran before the snap.  He varied his cadence, he had silent counts, he and even quick-snapped it a couple times, drawing penalties on the Texans and keeping their pass rushers tentative.

The Colts beat the Texans 28-16 to move to 11-5 to finish out the 2012 regular season. Join us at 4:30pm ET as we discuss the game and the NFL post season!

Indianapolis Colts' T.Y. Hilton (13) reacts following a 70-yard touchdown reception during the second half of an NFL football game against the Houston Texans, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

This is a quick synopsis.  We will have a full recap coming later this afternoon. 

Just like old times.  The Houston Texans have never won a game in Indianapolis (0-11), and they now hold the record for the most losses in a city without a victory, passing the Minnesota Vikings, who are 0-10 in...Indianapolis.

Today, in front of their home crowd, and celebrating the triumphant return of Head Coach Chuck Pagano from three months of leukemia treatment, there was no question the Colts would be buoyed by emotion. 

However, beating the Texans would still be a tall order for a young team ravaged by injuries.  The Colts would not be denied, and rode more than just emotion to a surprisingly convincing victory. 

Quick thoughts:

T.Y. Hilton was phenomenal, and he helped make up for what was kind of a tough outing for Reggie Wayne (4 catches on 12 targets). 

The defense came to play.   At one point, they were able to put together back-to-back stops around a three and out by the offense.  Very impressive. 

Vontae Davis.  Wow. 

Andrew Luck looked like a veteran against a very good defense, constantly changing his count and drawing the Texans offside. 

Overall, it was a great day to be a Colts fan.  Experts everywhere will say there is something wrong with the Texans, but the fact is, the Colts just beat a very good team. 

Stay tuned for a full recap, coming later today. 

Here's your open thread for the Colts and Texans.

Remember to follow all your favorite Colts Authority writers and "honored alumni" on Twitter as well:

Nate Dunlevy, Greg Cowan, Todd Smith, Kyle Rodriguez, Scott Kacsmar, Luke Dunlevy, Laura Calloway, Brent Fatig, Lou Pin, Josh Boeke, and Marcus Dugan

Here's the Colts Gameday Follow list.

We'll have post-game coverage here on CA, but also check out Todd, Kyle and me at Bleacher Report today as well.

Also, catch me on 1070 the Fan at 8 pm with Jersey Johnny after the game.