Little accomplished despite 10-0 start, Indianapolis Colts Head Coach Jim Caldwell says

Indianapolis Colts K Matt Stover (Gail Burton/AP Photo)

Indianapolis Colts Head Coach Jim Caldwell figures he has a legitimate reason for not talking much about unbeaten records, particularly 10 games into an NFL season.

Unbeaten records may look great, Caldwell said. And on the surface, they may seem impressive.

It's just that they don't mean much.

At least not in November.

“It’s kind of amazing when you think about it, 10-0, but then you say, ‘Okay, what have we accomplished?’'' Caldwell said Monday, a day after the Colts (10-0) rallied from a one-point fourth-quarter deficit for a 17-15 victory over the Baltimore Ravens (5-5) at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Md., on Sunday. “Obviously, it’s a great record, but when you really look at it, you don’t have your division locked up, you’re not in the playoffs. None of those things have been decided.

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“Here’s the other thing, I think most coaches in this league look at Thanksgiving as kind of a line of demarcation. They feel that if you’re .500 at Thanksgiving, you have a shot to be a real factor in the playoffs and beyond. There are a number of teams that are .500 or above, and we just happen to be one of those.

“We still have our work cut out for us, because I think everybody is looking at it as if they still have a chance, which is indeed true.”

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With the victory, the Colts not only moved to 10-0 for a second time in five seasons, they extended their franchise-record regular-season winning streak to 19 games. Indianapolis had been tied with New England (2003-2004) for second all-time on the list.

The 2006-2008 Patriots hold the record at 21.

The Colts on Sunday won despite committing three turnovers, and despite not playing their best game of the season offensively.

Matt Stover, who played for Baltimore from 1996-2008, kicked a 25-yard field goal with 7:02 remaining to give the Colts the lead, after which they forced turnovers on the final two Ravens possessions. Middle linebacker Gary Brackett intercepted Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco at the Colts 13 with 2:42 remaining, and with 11 seconds remaining, Colts linebacker Freddy Keiaho recovered a fumbled lateral on a punt return by Ravens safety Ed Reed.

Peyton Manning, the Colts' nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback, completed 22 of 31 passes for 299 yards and a touchdown with two first-half interceptions. Running back Joseph Addai rushed for a season-high 74 yards on 19 carries, and wide receiver Reggie Wayne caught seven passes for 89 yards.

Defensive ends Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis, who entered the game with 9.5 and 8.5 sacks, respectively, did not record a sack. It was the first time that had happened this season.

The Colts, who rallied from fourth-quarter deficits against San Francisco, Houston and New England their previous three games, become the first team in NFL history to come from behind in the fourth quarter to win four consecutive games.

They also became the first team in NFL history to win four consecutive games by a total of 10 points or less. They beat San Francisco 18-14, Houston 20-17 and New England 35-34.

“Any time your team is finding ways to win, especially when things haven't gone perfectly, you find some satisfaction there,” Caldwell said. “You can attribute that to good team morale, strong character and a great spirit to win as well. You can also look at it as maybe there are some situations that occurred early in the game that could have put you in a little bit better position. . . .

“We certainly feel we've developed a pretty solid mental toughness. The unique thing is we get challenged every week in that area. Hopefully, it's going to serve us down the road and we just continue to get better and now it's just a part of our game that now we've had some significant work on the last four week. Hopefully, we can benefit from it.”

With the victory, the Colts maintained a four-game lead in the AFC South over Jacksonville (6-4), which beat Buffalo, 18-15, Sunday. Houston (5-4) and Tennessee (3-6) play Monday.

“The fact of the matter is typically in this league that's what the games boil down to,” Caldwell said Monday, a day after the Colts rallied from a 15-14 fourth-quarter deficit in Baltimore for their seventh consecutive victory over the Ravens.

“The ones that we've been going through are probably more typical of what we see from week to week as opposed to the anomaly we might see – two-touchdown leads at the end of the game, and things of that nature.”

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