Colts' Reggie Wayne's latest catch now greatest

ReggieWayne
INDIANAPOLIS - Enough people have gushed about Reggie Wayne's game-winning catch against the Houston Texans, he's willing to rank it No.1 in his career.

It'd be hard to find a more important one. If Wayne didn't catch it, the Colts would be 1-3 today and gasping for air in the AFC South race. At 2-2, they still have a climb to catch 5-0 Tennessee.

“That (catch) was just me working,” Wayne said Wednesday at the Colts practice complex. “My number was called and I had to try to find a way to make something happen. We made a nice little surge, so why not be the guy that gets the winning touchdown?”

Wayne's catch - a falling one-hander that required an officials' review - gave the Colts a 31-27 win over the Texans and completed a climb back from a 17-point deficit.

The Colts will try to build on that momentum when they play the Baltimore Ravens (2-2) at 1 p.m. Sunday in Lucas Oil Stadium.

Much has been made about the timing of the Colts' passing game, and the fact it hasn't looked as consistently sharp as usual. Part of that can be attributed to the high standards set by quarterback Peyton Manning and friends, and the fact Manning missed training camp.

But, with the game in the balance, Manning put the game-winning pass where only Wayne could reach it, and Wayne pulled out a catch that shows why he's a Pro Bowl receiver and in the argument for best receiver in the NFL.

Wayne was asked if he ranked his best catches and where Sunday's fell in the ranking.

“The way everybody's talking about it, it's kind of hard not to put it at the top,” Wayne said. “I do have some catches in my career that a lot of y'all haven't seen. I made some good catches in high school, but the way everybody's talking about it, it's pushing toward the top.”

Wayne sold the catch with his body language afterward as the official signaled touchdown, but he says he wasn't quite as sure as it looked.

“I was a little shaky, a little bit,” he said. “I knew I had the ball, but I wasn't sure about my feet. At the same time, it's never good to leave it in the referees' hands. I was praying like everybody else. Then, once I saw the replay, I knew it was good.”

Wayne said Colts receivers practice one-handed catches near the sideline or in the end zone every day in practice.

Colts coach Tony Dungy knew the catch looked familiar.

“I hate to say ‘routine,' but it's what we see a lot in practice,” Dungy said. “Our guys do that. They have very, very good concentration. Catching the ball, getting it secured with one hand and getting his feet down - it was a very, very athletic play, but it's one we see a lot.”
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