CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- Mike Vanderjagt and Peyton Manning were able to bury the hatchet in the offseason. On Sunday, Vanderjagt buried the Cleveland Browns.
The veteran kicker made three field goals, including a 45-yarder with one second left, as the Indianapolis Colts posted a season-opening 9-6 victory over the Browns.
After the Colts' 41-0 playoff loss to the New York Jets, Vanderjagt said he did not have a great deal of confidence in Manning's ability as a leader, saying that the quarterback did not show enough emotion on the field. At the Pro Bowl, Manning called the Colts' kicker an "idiot".
The two patched up their differences and Vanderjagt again showed how valuable he is to the Colts. He also converted a 22-yarder in the second quarter and a 46-yarder in the third quarter.
"We did that on purpose today," joked Manning, who got Vanderjagt in position by driving the Colts from their 8-yard line in the final 2 1/2 minutes. "We wanted to have a game-winning field goal to let everyone know that things are fine between Mike and me in Coltsville."
"We have had closure on this thing for months and months now," Vanderjagt said. "We hang out and talk as if nothing has ever happened. It has gotten so old that I really do not pay attention to it."
Manning completed 27-of-43 passes for 211 yards but could not get the Colts in the end zone. Edgerrin James rushed for 67 yards on 15 carries.
"Not too many people would have imagined this game would have no touchdowns," Indianapolis coach Tony Dungy said. "That's just the way it is sometimes. You get two teams that are very familiar with each other and understand what the other is tying to do, and then there were a lot of mistakes today. That's probably the most disppointing thing."
The Browns managed just two scoring drives under quarterback Kelly Holcomb, who was awarded the starting job by coach Butch Davis in the preseason, but both resulted in only field goals by Phil Dawson.
"I'm disappointed and a little bit angry," Browns coach Butch Davis said. "We had chances to win the ballgame today. I was very proud of the way the defense played. If you had said before the ballgame, you're going to hold the Indianapolis offense to nine points, you'd really feel good about that performance."
Holcomb was on target for most of the afternoon, completing 20-of-29 passes for 182 yards. But the Browns could not convert on their two trips inside the red zone, settling for short field goals each time.
"That is what caused us to lose the football game," said Holcomb, who also threw two interceptions, both picked off by cornerback Nick Harper. "When you get down there twice after all the plays we made, we have to get one of those in."
The Browns held the ball for more than eight minutes on their opening possession, but William Green was stopped for no gain on 3rd-and-goal from the 1. Cleveland settled for Dawson's 19-yard field goal.
"The stops are huge," Dungy said. "We let them possess the ball a little too much, but we did keep them out of the end zone and that is something that we preach."
With the Browns trying to convert a third down late in the first half, Harper returned an interception 39 yards, setting up Vanderjagt's 22-yard field goal with three seconds left in the half.
Indianapolis marched 52 yards on 11 plays on its first possession of the second half to take a 6-3 lead on Vandejagt's 46-yard field goal.
The Browns held the ball for nearly 10 minutes on their first drive of the fourth quarter, but again could not push it as Holcomb's pass to Green on 3rd-and-goal from the 2 was incomplete. Dawson's 22-yard boot pulled the Browns even.
After an exchange of punts, the Colts took over inside their 10 with 2:39 left and Manning went to work.
"He is just a hell of a player," Browns linebacker Brant Boyer said. "He checks off and reads so well that it gets you into coverages. If you are in another coverage, he will check to a pass. He is definitely one of the top two or three quarterbacks in the league."
Manning completed 8-of-10 passes on the final drive, including a 15-yarder to Reggie Wayne on 3rd-and-10 from the Colts 34.
"It came down to a game of few possessions because they would have a long drive and we would have a long drive," Manning said. "We knew that every possession counted. If we did not convert on that 3rd-and-10 on our last possession, they were probably kicking the game-winning field goal."
Manning found Troy Walters for completions of nine and eight yards, then got Vanderjagt in position with a five-yarder to Marvin Harrison.
