5:51 P.M. EDT: The half opens with the Colts turning to Joseph Addai, who moves the Colts to the Denver 44 via a 17-yard run to the right side.

5:52 P.M. EDT: No sign of Marvin Harrison for the Colts, but they keep on moving; they get 12 more yards and are at the Denver 44.

5:53 P.M. EDT: Bryan Fletcher with a 21-yard catch across the middle … Addai then goes for 12 more up the middle. Colts are having a field day in the heart of Denver’s coverage on this drive.

5:54 P.M. EDT: Denver had Addai in its sights for a 3-yard loss in the backfield, but Crowder can’t finish the tackle, leaving Addai room to get to the 1-yard-line … Indy scores one play later, capping a ruthlessly smooth drive that extends their lead to eight points.

5:57 P.M. EDT: Hixon brought down in the open field … Broncos will start at their 15. The field-of-position disparity on drive starts continues to widen.

5:58 P.M. EDT: Jay Cutler looks left for Brandon Marshall and is intercepted by Marlin Jackson. Indianapolis is at the Denver 24 and the Broncos are in some serious trouble with 10:58 left in the third quarter.

6:00 P.M. EDT: Marshall and Head Coach Mike Shanahan are conversing on the Denver sideline.

6:01 P.M. EDT: Nate Webster flagged in the end zone … Colts at the Denver 19 with an automatic first down.

6:04 P.M. EDT: Third-and-goal … touchdown. Indianapolis now 4-of-4 in the red zone this afternoon after Manning and Clark collaborate on a second touchdown of the day.

6:08 P.M. EDT: Broncos need a big drive now … and it does not begin well for them as Cutler fires wide of Tony Scheffler under pressure.

6:09 P.M. EDT: Cutler hands to Travis Henry, who promptly gains 11 yards up the left side for a first down.

6:10 P.M. EDT: Are the Broncos in four-down territory so early? They have third-and-1 at their 41 … but we won’t find out about the four-down thing now, because Cutler rolls left and finds a wide-open Cecil Sapp off the playfake for 10 yards and a first down at the Colts 49.

6:11 P.M. EDT: Cutler starting to look a little more comfortable on this drive, particularly on rollouts.

6:12 P.M. EDT: Travis Henry is down and being treated on the field.

6:14 P.M. EDT: Henry rises and leaves under his own power, but walked very slowly as he departed the field.

6:15 P.M. EDT: Cutler relying on Daniel Graham on this drive; he makes the catch to keep the drive alive. Selvin Young now in at running back.

6:18 P.M. EDT: Young gets going and now has the Broncos at the Indianapolis 2-yard-line, as he slams his way through the Indy defense.

6:19 P.M. EDT: Flags aplenty as the Broncos run a second-and-1 play from the Indy 2-yard-line … No wonder, the Colts had too many men on the field, leaving the Broncos in second-and-a-microscopic-yard, about 40 inches from the end zone.

6:20 P.M. EDT: The Broncos basically had a potential seven plays to score … and they only needed one as Cutler slams forward for the touchdown to cap a 14-play, 79-yard drive.

6:21 P.M. EDT: Henry is listed as questionable to return with a right ankle sprain, but the way he looked as he left the field, I’d be shocked if he returned.

6:23 P.M. EDT: Steve Cargile makes an outstanding tackle on the kickoff return, finally forcing the Colts to start from somewhat dubious field position, at their 17-yard-line.

4:49 P.M. EDT: Peyton Manning finds a wide-open Reggie Wayne as the Colts move to the Denver 14 .. Manning taking the fairways-and-greens approach as the flashbulbs pop around the dome.

4:50 P.M. EDT: Joseph Addai slices through the heart of Denver’s defense, bouncing off tacklers for the score. Denver’s lead is now 10-7.

4:51 P.M. EDT: Colts celebrate the touchdown with Bang the Drum All Day by Todd Rundgren. I feel like I’m at a Packers game.

4:53 P.M. EDT: Hixon gets hit at the 16, loses his balance and falls to the ground at the 20 after a 21-yard return.

4:55 P.M. EDT: I utterly despise the post-kickoff return timeout. Nothing demolishes the flow of a game in quite the same way. It’s like going to a basketball game where the two TV timeouts come within 30 seconds because there were no appropriate stoppages immediately after the 16:00 mark of the first half.

4:57 P.M. EDT: Broncos now at their 39 as they take timeout … lots of creative work by Denver … taking the Brandons — Marshall and Stokley — out of the huddle and replacing them with a timeouts just before a play.

4:59 P.M. EDT: I’ve seen ads for Hardee’s on the matrix boards and mullets on fans both here at the game and in downtown Indianapolis. I feel like I’m back home.

5 P.M. EDT: Twenty-four yards as Cutler throws across his body for Nate Jackson and moves the Broncos to the Indy 37. Jim Fassel is sitting down now. “Duff Gardens — hurrah.”

5:01 P.M. EDT: Broncos now with third-and-3 at the Indy 29 … Crowd at its loudest so far today … Graham at fullback, makes a block for Henry, and the tailback follows his escort for four yards and the first down.

5:02 P.M. EDT: Henry scoots right into a thicket of pads and helmets for 2 yards.

5:03 P.M. EDT: On the next play Cutler finds Brandon Stokley, who gains 12 yards and gets booed. Here’s the problem … you don’t boo a guy who did not leave of his own volition. The Colts didn’t want him back. Boo the Colts for letting him go, yes, but don’t boo the man. He loved the Colts. He loved Colts fans. Give No. 14 a little respect and love, okay?

5:04 P.M. EDT: Broncos now in third-and-8 from the 10 after Cutler had no chance to throw on second down, just barely getting rid of the football under pressure … crowd now at its noise apex so far today.

5:05 P.M. EDT: Bob Sanders stops Selvin Young two yards short of the necessary yardage … Denver opts for the field goal. It’s a long two yards … might even be closer to three, frankly … Elam drills the 22-yarder and the Broncos’ lead is 13-7.

5:07 P.M. EDT: Statistical guru Patrick Smyth informs me that Elam is now the fastest player to 1,700 points, making the milestone in just 224 games. Elam now has 29 points so far this season, leaving him on pace to pad his bulbous tally of consecutive 100-point seasons to open his career, which is now at 14.

5:08 P.M. EDT: I guess blocking-in-the-back isn’t what it used to be; looks like the guys in black-and-white stripes missed that one on T.J. Rushing’s 34-yard kickoff return.

5:11 P.M. EDT: Colts beginning to exert some will on the ground … while continuing to accelerate the game’s pace. Indy is three yards past midfield, and now at the Denver 40 after Addai runs into D.J. Williams following a 7-yard run.

5:12 P.M. EDT: Addai bounced off Williams as though it were a video game and not a real football contest … Indy now at the 36.

5:14 P.M. EDT: Two missed tackles as Reggie Wayne works his way upfield … one by Dre’ Bly; the other by Nate Webster. Indy now at the Denver 13.

5:15 P.M. EDT: Elvis Dumervil and Jarvis Moss get into the backfield on first-and-10 from the Denver 13; Dumervil gets a fingertip on the pass.

5:16 P.M. EDT: Third-and-6 from the Denver 9. This is the play that could illuminate the difference in this game … and it is, as Manning finds Dallas Clark in the back of the end zone. Indy is two-for-two in the red zone; Denver is one-for-three. That’s why the Broncos will be behind by one point assuming Adam Vinatieri makes the extra point.

5:18 P.M. EDT: And he does. The players often speak of getting better in the red zone … right now, the Broncos are just seeing red, down 14-13.

5:20 P.M. EDT: Broncos at the 20 after the touchback … The crowd seems to be growing louder with each Broncos possession … Broncos now have second-and-5 at their 25.

5:21 P.M. EDT: Gargantuan third-and-2 forthcoming … Broncos in the jumbo package, with three tight ends … Henry goes right and slams into Freddie Keihao … Broncos will punt on fourth-and-1 from the 29.

5:26 P.M. EDT: Colts now at their 26 to begin the drive … hold your breath, fasten your seatbelts, pull up your stockings … whatever.

5:27 P.M. EDT: Anthony Gonzalez makes Jeff Shoate miss; that turns a 4-yard-play into a 19-yard gain. Colts at their 45 with 1:23 left.

5:28 P.M. EDT: Manning for Gonzalez on third-and-5 from midfield is incomplete … but there’s offsetting penalties. Denver’s is an offsides against Elvis Dumervil. Can’t give No. 18 another chance like that.

5:29 P.M. EDT: Ian Gold, however, forces an incompletion with a timely hit … The Colts will punt with 58 seconds left before halftime … and Denver will start at its 8-yard-line after an illegal-use-of-the-hands infraction during the punt, which was fair-caught by Domenik Hixon. The Colts still have three timeouts, so Denver cannot simply run a couple of carries off-tackle and call it a half.

5:31 P.M. EDT: Travis Henry is over 100 yards (101) after gaining six yards on first-and-10 … The game stops as Colts linebacker Rob Morris is treated for injury on the field.

5:35 P.M. EDT: As the crowd rises to a standing ovation, a cart takes Morris from the field …. Back in the game, Henry goes five yards for a first down on the next play, and the Colts make no attempt to stop the clock. The teams will head to intermission with the Broncos down, 14-13.

3:56 P.M. EDT: Regarding sitting John Lynch and Javon Walker …

As I just told my mom, who is set to watch from Florida, you have to think big picture. Better to sacrifice one or two games now to ensure full health for the balance of the season rather than play hurt, aggravate the injury and turn a one-, two- or three-week problem into a season-ending game. It makes life tough for the Broncos today, but as everyone in the locker room likes to say, “it’s a 16-round fight.” This is Round 4, and when did you ever see Rocky Balboa not go the distance? (At least when he wasn’t facing Clubber Lang?)

3:57 P.M. EDT:“Twelfth man, are you ready?” asks the overcaffeinated public-address announcer as we are now 19 minutes from kickoff. With those words, the music starts … and I know that nothing gets a crowd more pumped for a game than Girlfriend by Avril Lavigne … unless they’re going to follow this with Church of the Poison Mind by Culture Club.

3:58 P.M. EDT: I’m always disappointed in how there is such scant evidence of this franchise’s Baltimore seasons in here. Only the years “1975-79″ next to Ted Marchibroda’s name on the facade of the upper deck in the end zone provide any clue that this club had a history before the Mayflower vans steamed through the snow out of Owings Mills, Md. some 23 years ago.

4:01 P.M. EDT: I’ve never seen so many people in a crowd wearing jerseys. It looks like everyone’s wearing the same thing. I feel like I’m at a Sun Myung Moon rally or something.

4:07 P.M. EDT: You really can’t go wrong with having your team enter to The Who. Well done, Colts.

4:12 P.M. EDT: Jay Cutler calls tails … and the Broncos win the coin toss and will receive. Jason Elam is again the special-teams captain.

4:13 P.M. EDT: Domenik Hixon is back deep to field the kickoff … Tim Crowder is on the kickoff team as a blocker, making his NFL debut.

4:15 P.M. EDT: I’m not sure how much of this game I’m going to see. Jim Fassel, doing a national radio broadcast, is in front of me and WILL … NOT … SIT … DOWN.

4:15 P.M. EDT: Hixon gets his biggest kickoff return of the year so far … 35 yards to the Denver 36.

4:16 P.M. EDT: Brandon Stokley gets the start at wide receiver with Javon Walker out … Travis Henry scoots 10 yards on the game’s opening play and then gashes the Colts for 5 yards one play later to move Denver past midfield.

4:17 P.M. EDT: Travis Henry makes Marlin Jackson miss in the backfield and uses that boost to sprint 14 yards to the Indy 35 … then goes right for the first time on this drive and sprints 15 yards to the Indy 20.

4:18 P.M. EDT: Rob Morris finally puts a halt to the Henry charge, slamming into him with a crunching hit at the Indy 17. One play later, Jay Cutler misfires on his first pro pass in his home state, overshooting an open Brandon Marshall in the left flat.

4:19 P.M. EDT: Third-and-7 … Glenn Martinez in … Cutler with his receivers covered, makes a rather optimistic pass in Marshall’s direction, which goes out of bounds.

4:20 P.M. EDT: Elam drills it from 35 yards away … 3-0, Broncos.

4:22 P.M. EDT: Colts at their 30 after the kickoff … Jarvis Moss (!) and Tim Crowder start at the tackles, with Moss playing from a stand-up alignment … Simeon Rice at right end, Elvis Dumervil at left end … Domonique Foxworth at free safety in place of Lynch … Colts quickly get 16 yards and are on the move.

4:24 P.M. EDT: Great open-field tackle by Nick Ferguson forces the Colts into third-and-2 at the Denver 45 … Moss gets into the backfield from the stand-up slot … Joseph Addai gains two yards for the first down, in spite of the best, most stubborn efforts of Ian Gold and D.J. Williams … or maybe he didn’t get the first down; a measurement is forthcoming.

4:25 P.M. EDT: Addai got the first down … Next play sees Moss, still working from the stand-up, moving outside of Dumervil on the left side.

4:27 P.M. EDT: Sam Adams is standing in front of the defensive coaches as they make the signals on the sideline … Jarvis Moss nearly jumped on the play, but came back before the snap … Manning’s pass is low and incomplete on third-and-6.

4:28 P.M. EDT: Denver takes possession at its 13 after Hixon’s fair catch of Hunter Smith’s 25-yard punt … Somebody tell the press-box P.A. guy that it’s “Domenik” Hixon, not “Dominique.”

4:31 P.M. EDT: What makes Marshall work … he doesn’t go down at the first contact and he makes people miss. Thirteen yards for No. 15, and the Broncos are on the move … and now at the Denver 39 after Henry goes for 13 to the right side.

4:32 P.M. EDT: Henry is just lacerating the Colts defense so far today … Now Selvin Young ets a shot … Denver already has 74 yards, and it becomes 79 after Young goes for six more.

4:34 P.M. EDT: Cutler and Stokley not on the same page on second-and-4 … Third down; Young, Martinez and Nate Jackson ehcek in … and Young gets the football, coming around from the right side to left end on the end-around for 32 … Cutler, Matt Lepsis, Daniel Graham, Glenn Martinez and Chris Myers with the key blocks … Denver has first-and-goal at the 9.

4:36 P.M. EDT: Drive breaking down in the red zone … Now with third-and-goal at the 7 after Henry has the ball stripped by Dwight Freeney.

4:37 P.M. EDT: Cutler finds Marshall on the short pass … five guys running into the secondary, and Marshall catches it even though he’s in tight coverage … Broncos lead 10-0, and this crowd seems a tad stunned.

4:39 P.M. EDT: How to make a bad play worse … hit the kick returner after he’s well out of bounds. Now the Colts begin their possession at the Denver 47.

4:42 P.M. EDT: John Engelberger in at left end; Marcus Thomas at tackle … Broncos generate some pressure, but Manning still gets the completion for 6 yards … now it’ll be third-and-1 after Addai goes right for three yards.

4:43 P.M. EDT: Marvin Harrison is down and holding his knee …

4:44 P.M. EDT: He is now up and is walking to the sidelines under his own power, albeit somewhat gingerly in spots.

4:46 P.M. EDT: Broncos with a five-man front … it does not keep Addai from getting the one yard he needed, plus two more. Colts now at the Broncos 35, and the crowd is getting back into it.

4:47 P.M. EDT: Harrison now back in, and he makes an 8-yard reception with a defender draped over him … Addai runs up to the Denver 22 as the quarter concludes.

Notes, thoughts and anecdotes from the fourth quarter of the Broncos’ clash with the Indianapolis Colts:

4:21 P.M. MST: Actual attendance: 76,067. A rousing, organic chant of “Here We Go Broncos” rises from the stands, rocks the stadium and rouses the fans, who are now spending the post-kickoff stoppage working themselves into a noisy lather.

4:25 P.M. MST: A huge third-and-3 from the Denver 44 went in the Colts favor, as Peyton Manning snagged a 17-yard grab after getting past Sam Brandon to move the Colts into Denver territory for the third time in as many second-half possessions.