UPDATE: Talib later spoke about the play. Via The Denver Post—
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Aqib Talib poking Dwayne Allen in the eye. pic.twitter.com/zRA70fah0d
Never count out Aqib Talib to go ahead and ruin a beautiful, perfect thing.
The Denver Broncos strolled into Indianapolis today boasting a 7-0 record, and with the disarray surrounding the Colts organization, a betting man would have taken the Broncos to push that unblemished record up another tick. But the Colts quickly went up 17-0 in the second quarter, and took a 17-7 lead into the half before Denver tied things up in the third quarter.
Up a field goal late in the fourth quarter, the Colts were once again driving, attempting to run out the clock on the Broncos. On 2nd and 9 from the Denver 15, Frank Gore rushed for just two yards, and another stop on a 3rd and seven would have given the Broncos the ball back with about 2 minutes left, needing a touchdown to win. Totally doable with Peyton Manning at the helm, right?
Except that in the ensuing tussle coming out of the tackle pile, notorious hothead Aqib Talib decided to poke Colts tight end Dwayne Allen square in the eye, earning a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty, giving the Colts a first down. Without any timeouts left for the Broncos, that essentially ended the game.
Good on you, Talib. Not only did the Broncos lose their perfect record, but it kept Manning from breaking the all-time passing yards record in the place he made his career. My man only needed three yards.
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[Via @FieldYates]
