The Colts opened on their own 10-yard line, thanks to a holding penalty on the opening kick-off return. That was a not a problem for Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning, who immediately dialed up a 14-yard pass to Reggie Wayne.

After Rams safety Craig Dahl put the Colts in a second-and-15 situation – dumping running back Joseph Addai in the backfield – Manning fired a 19-yard completion to tight end Gijon Robinson.

Adversity? What adversity?

Manning fired a 25-yard completion to Wayne to move the Colts into scoring range. On third-and-6, Manning gunned a 16-yard pass to Wayne to put the Colts on the Rams 6.

Then Manning finished the drive with a six-yard TD pass to, you guessed, Reggie White.

The Rams offered token resistance here and there on this drive, but Manning basically got what he wanted when he needed it.

Did you expect anything different?

On the Rams’ first drive, a quick pass to Danny Amendola earned a first down, as Amendola used his wheels to make something out of not much.

Then the Rams actually THREW THE BALL DOWN THE FIELD! Marc Bulger handed the ball to Steven Jackson, who turned and threw it back to the quarterback.

This trickery worked. Donnie Avery streaked downfield uncovered. Bulger hit him for a 50-yard gain.

But the drive stalled there, with with the help of Tim Carter’s dropped pass on what would have been a chain-moving play.

Josh Brown’s field goal cut the Indianapolis lead to 7-3.

Indianapolis responded with a quick three-play, 78-yard scoring drive. Donald Brown got around left tackle for 45 yards, then Manning finished off the “drive” by lofting a perfectly thrown TD pass to well-covered tight end Dallas Clark.

Just like that, the Colts led 14-3.

The Rams offered a feeble response to that score. Fullback Mike Karney dropped an easy pass that would have earned a nice chunk. Left guard Jacob Bell was flagged for holding. On third down, running back Kenneth Darby dropped a pass that would have left him well short of the first down.

This is why the Rams have lost 33 of 38 games.