DENVER — Quarterback Peyton Manning threw three touchdowns to tight end Julius Thomas, and the Denver Broncos hung on to beat the Indianapolis Colts 31-24 Sunday night.
Outdueling his young heir, quarterback Andrew Luck, Manning completed 22 of 36 passes for 269 yards against Indianapolis, where he starred for 14 years before joining Denver three years ago.
The Broncos led 24-0 late in the second half before the Colts rallied to make a game of both teams’ season opener.
The result snapped the Colts’ six-game, regular-season winning streak against the Broncos, which included last season’s 39-33 victory that spoiled Manning’s Indianapolis homecoming.
Manning, who set single-season NFL records for yards passing (5,477) and touchdown passes (55) last season, also led a fourth-quarter drive ending in running back Montee Ball’s 3-yard touchdown rush.
Luck, playing from behind the entire game, completed 35 of 53 passes for 370 yards. He ran for a score and threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to tight end Dwayne Allen with 7:46 left to play and a 9-yarder to wide receiver Hakeem Nicks with 3:26 remaining that pulled the Colts within seven points.
Denver’s defense, revamped after its collapse in a 43-8 Super Bowl loss to the Seattle Seahawks, complemented the Broncos’ offensive showing, stopping the Colts’ last-ditch drive when cornerback Bradley Roby broke up Luck’s fourth-down pass intended for wide receiver Reggie Wayne in the final moments.
Safety Rahim Moore’s first-quarter interception of Luck led to a Denver touchdown, and the Colts only managed three points out of two third-quarter possessions that went inside the Denver 5-yard line.
Linebacker Brandon Marshall and several other defenders stopped Luck on a fourth-down sneak from the 1. On the Colts’ next chance, they settled for a chip-shot field goal after Broncos linebacker DeMarcus Ware, a free agent acquisition from the Dallas Cowboys, sacked Luck for the second time in the game.
Moore intercepted Luck for the second time late in the fourth quarter, stopping a drive that the Colts began after a successful onside kick.
The Colts didn’t exert much pressure on Manning, and they clearly missed linebacker Robert Mathis, who led the league in sacks last season with a franchise-record 19.5. he began serving a league-imposed, four-game suspension for using a banned substance.
Denver had suspension issues, too. The Broncos were without wide receiver Wes Welker and kicker Matt Prater, also serving four-game suspensions for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy.
The Broncos bolted to a 24-0 lead before the Colts got on the board just before halftime with a 9-yard scramble for a touchdown by Luck. He dived into the end zone as he was being pushed out of bounds but managed to hit the corner pylon with the ball outstretched in his hand for the score. A replay review confirmed the call.
Manning guided the Broncos to the Indianapolis 3-yard line on their opening possession but then threw three consecutive incompletions, and Brandon McManus came on to kick a 21-yard field goal.
It was the Manning and Thomas show from there, with a defensive assist on the first of their three scores.
Cornerback Aqib Talib tipped a Luck pass that was picked off by Moore. That led to Manning’s 3-yard scoring pass to Thomas, who beat linebacker Jerrell Freeman on the play.
Manning and Thomas teamed up again midway through the second quarter. This time, Thomas got behind linebacker D’Qwell Jackson, and Manning hit him in stride for a 35-yard touchdown pass.
When the Broncos got close to the end zone again, Manning turned to Thomas once more. The tight end sidestepped safety LaRon Landry and was wide open when he hauled in Manning’s 5-yard scoring pass with 1:57 remaining in the second quarter.
NOTES: A.Q. Shipley started at center for the Colts in place of Khaled Holmes, who was among the team’s inactives because of an ankle injury. … Broncos QB Peyton Manning threw for a touchdown for the 40th consecutive game, the fourth-longest streak in NFL history. He surpassed 65,000 yards passing for his career in the first half. … Colts LB Cam Johnson sustained an elbow strain in the first half and did not return. … Though they settled for a field goal, the Broncos ended their first drive with a score, something they did in 10 of 16 regular-season games last year. … Broncos special teams standout David Bruton injured a shoulder covering a kick near the end of the first half. He missed the rest of the game… Pro golfer Rory McIlroy was among those attending the game. …The pregame ceremonies included a video tribute to Broncos owner Pat Bowlen, who stepped away from active control of the team because of his battle with Alzheimer’s disease.