Two plays separated the Indianapolis Colts and the Houston Texans in yet another weird and wonderful win for the Colts.

First, Colts running back Joseph Addai bobbles and catches a short Peyton Manning pass and is blasted by the Texans' Dunte Robinson. Addai holds onto the ball when he has no business doing so.

Seconds later, while fans are still looking for a video-screen replay, Manning dials up a 31-yard pass to Austin Collie and renders Robinson's highlight hit irrelevant. Even watching the game on television, I sense a collective “uh oh” in Reliant Stadium. Six plays later, the Colts have the lead and the Texans wilt.

Those two plays capture why the Colts are never dead when the clock's still running. They capture why the Colts can come back for a 35-27 win at Houston on Sunday after trailing 17-0. The unwavering concentration of both plays illustrates why - with the Colts now 11-0 and the AFC South clinched - a perfect regular season remains possible.

Houston thought that hit on Addai meant something. Manning knew it did.

“I felt like they were excited, maybe celebrating a little bit that play, so we quick-snapped them and went deep on them right away,” Manning told reporters after the game. “That's the thing. You've got to play every play. We know that.”

I started to call the Colts' win at Houston an improbable one, and then changed my mind.

If these kinds of weird turnarounds happen every week, they're not so improbable now, are they? Amazing, yes. Awe-inspiring, certainly. Unprecedented, no question. We're at an NFL-record five straight games where the Colts have won after trailing in the fourth quarter. Colts comebacks are probable now.

Think about Manning's comment.

“You've got to play every play.”

That's the bottom line. Every play matters to the Colts. Yet no play lingers. They possess an inner strength that prevents them from dwelling on the bad plays while forever searching for the good ones. Most teams, after being manhandled into a 17-0 hole early in the second quarter, would have fussed, pointed fingers and rehashed what went wrong.

The Colts look at adversity as a puzzle to be solved. They know such deficits can't be erased immediately. They chip away. Manning finds Pierre Garcon over the middle. Garcon spies a too-high, too-long pass. He tips the football to himself. The Colts get on the board. It's 17-7.

They chip away. Trailing 20-7 to open the third quarter, a break comes: a questionable pass interference call on Houston. The Texans wail about the call. The Colts pounce while the Texans wail. A few plays later, Manning hits Reggie Wayne on a classic fade route. It's 20-14.

Next, Colts safety Antoine Bethea picks off a deep Matt Schaub pass. It brings renewed confidence for the Colts' battered defense and a familiar rising doubt for the Texans.

Even when the Texans stop the Colts early in the fourth quarter, force a field goal and celebrate as Matt Stover's kick veers wide right, the Colts' composure remains.

The defense forces a punt. The Colts are pinned back to their own 11. That's when Manning hits Addai with a pass, and Robinson hits Addai with ferocity, and the Colts seize the moment, driving 89 yards for a Manning-to-Dallas Clark scoring pass and a 21-20 lead.

Sixteen seconds later, Clint Session picks off a Schaub pass, scores and the Colts lead 28-20. The next Texans possession, Robert Mathis strips Schaub of the ball inside Houston's 40, and the Colts offense thanks Mathis with a Chad Simpson touchdown run to make it 35-20. The Colts defense seemed lost at first with Dwight Freeney out with an injury. They regrouped. They forced turnovers. They maintained concentration.

A final example of “You've got to play every play”: Houston cuts it to a one-possession game, 35-27, with a few seconds left. Onside kick. One play. One chance. The Colts' Jacob Tamme goes for the bounding ball, bats it out of bounds. It's his only significant play this season. For the second straight season, the Colts have overcome a 17-point deficit to win at Houston.

The Colts' win, coupled with Jacksonville's loss to San Francisco, clinched the AFC South title. The win was also the Colts' 20th straight regular-season win, one short of tying the record set by the New England Patriots from 2006 to 2008.

Next up: The Colts return home to face Tennessee this week. The Titans are red-hot. The Titans have a tremendous running back in Chris Johnson and a strong defense that knows the Colts well. The Titans have momentum and incentive, everything necessary.

Look for the Titans to jump out to a lead, maybe even a big one.

You already know how the story ends.