Adam Vinatieri celebrated one major milestone Sunday by becoming

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — the NFL’s career field goal leader.He would have preferred doing it by adding to his league record for victories.The 23-year veteran made the record-breaking 566th field goal with 2 seconds left in the first half and No. 567 on a 44-yarder in overtime to give the Indianapolis Colts a 34-31 lead before watching Ka’imi Fairbairn make two more field goals to give Houston a 37-34 victory.“It’s more fun when you get a win that’s for sure. But it’s a good record Pierre Desir Color Rush Jersey , a fun record, just would have been nice on a win,” he said.“I think I’ll probably think about it more when I’m done and gone. I was thinking about it when guys were congratulating me during the game, and it just kind of hit me just like that that’s more than anybody’s ever done.”The previous record of 565 belonged to Hall of Famer Morten Andersen, who played high school football at Indianapolis Ben Davis.Vinatieri tied the record by making three kicks in last week’s wet loss at Philadelphia before breaking the record on a bright, sunny day on his home turf.Had he not gotten the chance Sunday, Vinatieri’s next chance would have come Thursday at New England, where he started his career in 1996.But the 45-year-old kicker, the oldest player in the league, kept that story line off the books by making the medium-range field goal to get the Colts within 21-10. Afterward, Vinatieri’s teammates wanted to celebrate more than the new career leader did.“I heard the crowd a little more than usual. I think every one of my teammates came up to me, we were down at the time and was kind of like, ‘We’re down let’s go win this game,'” he said. “Wish I had one more opportunity https://www.coltsfanshop.com/Kemoko-Turay-Jersey , I guess.”Vinatieri needs to get used to these sorts of days given the charts he’s still climbing.The South Dakota State alum played in his 341st game, breaking a tie with Hall of Famer George Blanda to move into fourth. If he plays in all 12 remaining games, he will pass Jeff Feagles (343) and tie Gary Anderson (353) for second all time.His next field goal attempt will surpass Anderson (672) for No. 2 all time.And Vinatieri has moved within 26 points of breaking Andersen’s career scoring record of 2,544. Vinatieri has said he also hopes to break that record at Lucas Oil Stadium. He is the only player on Indy’s roster who played on opening night of the stadium in 2008.What Vinatieri, dubbed the best clutch kicker in league history, does best is win.He’s participated in a league-record 226 regular-season victories, owns four Super Bowl rings, has played on six AFC championship teams and is the NFL’s career scoring leader in postseason games (234 points).His most memorable kicks do not count in the official league records.He made the decisive field goals in the final minutes to give New England two Super Bowl wins and two field goals in the infamous “Snow Bowl”, or “Tuck Rule Game”, to help the Patriots beat Oakland in overtime and start the run to the franchise’s first Super Bowl crown.But he would have liked to win this one.“It’s weird, you know, you come off a loss and it doesn’t feel quite the same way,” Vinatieri said. “I’m sure I’ll look back at in years to come and it will be pretty special.” The Colts are in the middle of a rebuild, right? That has been the common refrain from fans and analysts alike all season. This is a team that is still a year or two away from really competing. There are just too many holes to truly run with the best teams in the NFL. The problem with that assessment is that no one bothered to tell the Colts. In a season where we were largely hoping to see marked improvement across the board and an Andrew Luck who could show that he was able to return to form after a protracted absence Anthony Castonzo Jersey , we have gotten instead a well-coached team that looks like it could beat anyone in the NFL as the regular season comes to a close. In consecutive weeks the Colts have handled a Texans team that was on a 9-game win streak and a Cowboys team that was on a 5-game win streak. What is more impressive still is that rather than the old blueprint for this Colts team of letting Andrew Luck go to work and hoping that is enough, they’ve won in different ways. Troy Taormina-USA TODAY SportsAgainst the Texans it was a combination of strong defensive play and Luck taking deep shots to T.Y. Hilton. Yesterday against Dallas, it was a smothering defensive performance and a ground and pound game behind the formidable young offensive line that paved the way to a shutout win. Contributions from rookies like Darius Leonard and Tyquan Lewis as well as a young secondary made the Cowboys offense that had been rolling look totally impotent.So how good are they really? 1-5 seems like a distant memory for this team, who since that time have found their stride on defense as health and reps have given way to a very strong group. Since that time we’ve seen Darius Leonard sustaining a rookie season that could very likely end up with him as an All-Pro. As a unit the defensive line has hit their stride down the back stretch of this season, finding ways to repeatedly abuse opposing quarterbacks and making teams pay when they can’t get receivers open quickly. Complementing that effort perfectly has been the emergence of the secondary who are playing their best football of the season and have essentially shut down top receivers over the past two weeks. Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty ImagesWhat’s more, this team has taken on some of the best running backs in the NFL and proven itself up to the task of limiting them. Defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus seems to be hitting his stride in terms of play calling and has really got a feel for his team’s strengths and how best to use them. While there aren’t a plethora of game breakers across the group, this defense is loaded with guys who can make a play and who do their jobs well. That kind of balance can be huge in the playoffs.In all reality though, this isn’t a team that has to have a dominant defense. The reason? Andrew Luck. Luck has had a fantastic return season and has gotten better and his arm stronger as the season has progressed. Despite the loss of Jack Doyle, and no notable receivers to speak of behind T.Y. Hilton, Luck inside of Frank Reich’s scheme has been efficient, smart, and dangerous. The offensive line since the return of Anthony Castonzo has been essentially a brick wall, allowing the second fewest sacks in the league through 15 weeks. They trail only the Saints, who have attempted 140 fewer passes than they have. That is just plain incredible. The job of this line has been ridiculous. With the renewed running game we saw yesterday Ryan Kelly Color Rush Jersey , this offense only stands to get more deadly as the season goes on. Frank Reich has continued to improve, and if he is given a balanced attack that can open up the play action, this offense can be deadly. Despite a relative lack of skill position players on the offense, a combination of Reich’s play calling and Luck’s brilliance has enabled them to get players involved and be very successful. Eric Ebron, the presumed first round bust at tight end who was signed in the offseason, has been incredible, setting the franchise record for most touchdowns by a Colts tight end in a season, and has two games to go yet. Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty ImagesSo the question remains, how good is this team? At their best, as in the way we’ve seen them play the past couple weeks? They are good enough to beat any team in the NFL. Over the past few weeks as we’ve watched the white hot Saints, Rams, and Chiefs cool a bit from their ridiculous levels of the earlier parts of the season, the Colts have been the ones heating up. They got a gut check game against Jacksonville to remind them that there was no room to take a week off. Now they’ll face the next two weeks in “must-win” mode. Games against the Giants and Titans will be critical to getting into the playoffs, and they’ll need either Baltimore or Pittsburgh to drop one game to make that possible. Additionally https://www.coltsfanshop.com/Margus-Hunt-Jersey , if the Texans were to somehow lose out and the Colts win out, they would take the division. Once in, this is a team that no one will want to face. Given their youth, it is certainly possible that they could show up flat and drop a game to anyone. However, they have proven over the past several weeks that they are not a team to be taken lightly, and through solid coaching, sound play, and breakout performances from their young defense, this is a team that can absolutely contend for a Super Bowl this season. Regardless of how this season finishes, it is tough not to be excited about the possibilities for this young team as they grow and move forward. So what do you think? Is this team ready to contend now?