INDIANAPOLIS -- Adam Vinatieri still has it. Donald Brown does, too. When both delivered throwback performances Sunday, it lifted the Indianapolis Colts closer to the playoffs. Vinatieri, the oldest player in the league tied a career-high with five field goals and matched an NFL record with four 40-plus yard field goals in one game. Brown, the Colts forgotten 2009 first-round pick, scored on a 4-yard TD run with 1:56 left to give Indianapolis a 22-14 victory over Tennessee. "Those are by no means chip shots," Andrew Luck said after another troubling offensive showing with only 264 total yards. "To have a guy like that (Vinatieri), it, well, it really makes a difference." Indy (8-4) has a three-game lead over the Titans (5-7) with four left and a sweep of the season series. The Colts can wrap up their eighth AFC South title in 11 seasons with one more win, one more Titans loss or a tie by either team. It hasnt been easy reaching this point, especially after losing five offensive starters with season-ending injuries, and with Trent Richardson struggling. So coach Chuck Pagano shook up things after two blowout losses in the last three weeks. He surprised many by moving Brown into the starting lineup ahead of Richardson, the No. 3 overall pick in 2012 by Cleveland who Indy traded for in September. Pagano replaced Mike McGlynn at right guard with Jeff Linkenbach and also started cornerback Darius Butler ahead of Cassius Vaughn. Vaughn picked off two of Ryan Fitzpatricks passes, and Brown continued to beat up on the Titans despite rushing for only 8 yards in the first 52 minutes. He had 46 yards on the final drive and gave Indy its only touchdown. "I guess it was time to put something together and with the division hanging in the balance, the guys manned up," Pagano said, explaining that Brown earned a rare start and the two backs would both continue rotate. "Just like the first game down there, we were able to run the ball, chew up the clock." They needed Vinatieri even more than Brown. The soon-to-be 41-year-old resembled his much younger self, tying a career high with four field goals in the first half and matching his full-game career high when he hit a perfect 49-yarder for a 15-14 lead late in the third quarter. His fifth field goal also equaled Jason Elams NFL record with a 16th 100-point season, and he joined Morten Andersen as the only players to score 800 points with two teams. Hes the 10th player in league history to make four 40-yard field goals in a game. To Vinatieri, it was just another work day. "You never know how its going to go, and you dont know how youre going to be needed and used," he said. "Today was one of those days that I was needed and used a bunch." Without him, the Colts might be lamenting their first back-to-back losses since December 2011. Luck was just 17 of 32 for 200 yards with no TDs and one interception. Fitzpatrick wasnt much better. Though he scored on a 1-yard plunge in the first half and gave the Titans a 14-12 lead in the third quarter on an ugly 1-yard TD pass to Chris Johnson, Fitzpatrick was 21 of 37 for 201 yards with one TD. Johnson managed only 69 yards on 18 carries. "I didnt play well. We had a shot at the end there," Fitzpatrick said. "I didnt get the job done, and it hurts. For me to come out and not play well hurts." The miscues proved costly. Tennessee gave away three points just before halftime when Moise Fokous personal foul extended the half by one play. Vinatieri cashed in with a 37-yarder. Then, after taking the 14-12 lead, Fitzpatrick had the Titans in scoring position again until NFL sacks leader Robert Mathis stripped him of the ball. Jerrell Freeman scooped it up and ran it to the Titans 32. Four plays later, Vinatieri hit the 49-yarder to give Indy the lead for good. "It puts us in a spot now where weve got to win four games in a row," coach Mike Munchak said. "We have no control of what that may or may not mean." Fitzpatrick was picked off two more times before Brown sealed it with his strong run up the middle. "Pros grind it out," Brown said. "They take it one week at a time and just keep rolling along." NOTES: The Titans lost two more tight ends Sunday. Delanie Walker left with a concussion in the first quarter and Collin Mooney was taken by golf cart into the locker room with what appeared to be a left leg injury in the second half. ... Indy defensive tackle Ricky Jean Francois (sprained foot) and running back Daniel "Boom" Herron (strained pectoral) should have MRIs on Sunday night, Pagano said. ... Kicker Rob Bironas joined Al Del Greco as the only Titans in the NFLs 1,000-point club. . But watching Leafs goalie James Reimer go down Thursday night after taking a blow to the head brought back painful memories of something more serious. [url=http://www.patriotssuperbowlxlixshop.com/Patriots-Steve-Grogan-Super-Bow-Je... Grogan Jersey .Y. -- Sabres forward Patrick Kaleta was released from the hospital Wednesday, after absorbing a hard hit late in the first period of Buffalos 4-3 loss to the Maple Leafs Tuesday in Toronto. .Y. -- The Hamilton Bulldogs scored three unanswered goals to down the Utica Comets 3-2 in American Hockey League play Saturday. [url=http://www.patriotssuperbowlxlixshop.com/Patriots-Tedy-Bruschi-Super-Bow-Je... Bruschi Super Bowl Authentic Jersey . The Vishnevsky hospital said 26-year-old Alexander Galimov died of the severe burns that covered about 90 per cent of his body, despite the best efforts of doctors in its burn unit, considered one of the best in Russia. FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The New England Patriots dont know yet who theyll face in their playoff opener. But they do have firsthand knowledge about all three potential opponents. The Patriots, after all, have already played every one of them. They routed the Indianapolis Colts 59-24 and the Houston Texans 42-14 and lost to the Baltimore Ravens 31-30 on a last-play field goal. So until the he finds out, coach Bill Belichick is playing it safe. The Patriots will focus on themselves, first and foremost. And as for the opponents? Well ... "Well work on everybody," the coach said Wednesday. New England (12-4) will be home for the divisional round on Jan. 13 against the Texans if they beat the Cincinnati Bengals in Saturdays AFC wild-card game. If Houston loses, New England will host the winner of Sundays game between Baltimore and Indianapolis. "After the Houston game, well either be full-speed ahead on Houston," Belichick said, "or well put that in the drawer and wait and see what happens in the next game." Either way, New England will be an interested viewer from afar this weekend. And none of the options will be easy, so any extended look the Patriots can get could prove valuable. Rookie defensive end Chandler Jones doesnt know if hell be trying to sack Houstons Matt Schaub, Baltimores Joe Flacco or Indianapolis Andrew Luck. So, like his teammates, hell watch film and concentrate on self-improvement this week. Hell also review his own handwritten notes from previous games. "I have a big stack of notes, actually, that I keep," Jones said, "So its good to have those things to look at certain tendencies. I cant really talk so much about the Colts because I didnt really play. I was injured (in the first quarter), but, definitely, you can go back through those notes." All three possible foes have changed since facing the Patriots. The Ravens, in fact, have had alterations on the coaching staff and lost four of their last five games. "Theres a lot more information since the time we played them," Belichick said. "That definitely needs to be analyzed." The Patriots were leading 30-20 before Flacco threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Torrey Smith with 4:01 left. Justin Tuckers 27-yard kick won the game two plays after a 27-yard pass interference penalty against Devin McCourty gave Baltimore the ball at the New England 7-yard line. The loss dropped the Patriots to 1-2, their first sub-.500 record since they lost the 2003 opener. But by the time the Colts visited on Nov. 18, tthe Patriots were 6-3 and on a roll.dddddddddddd New England quarterback Tom Brady outplayed Luck and the Patriots received a huge boost from the defence and special teams. Aqib Talib, in his first game since being traded from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and rookie Alfonzo Dennard returned interceptions for touchdowns. And Julian Edelman brought back a punt for another. "As a defensive back, we have short-term memories," Talib said, "so I dont remember too much about the game. Im kind of worried about getting ready this week." The Patriots win streak had reached six games when the Texans came to town with the NFLs best record and second most points. They left with a beating. Brady threw four touchdown passes, all before six minutes were gone in the third quarter and the home team cruised to victory. "We cant predict the score but we know we can dominate games," McCourty, who had a first-quarter interception, said after the game. The Patriots did lose to the San Francisco 49ers the next week 41-34, then struggled to beat the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars 23-16. But they rebounded with their first shutout since Oct. 18, 2009, a 28-0 romp over the Miami Dolphins in the regular-season finale last Sunday. New England also had a bye after its eighth game, a 45-7 win over the St. Louis Rams in London. Afterward, the Patriots won five straight games, starting with a 37-31 victory over the Buffalo Bills. But this break is much different. "After the St. Louis game, we knew we were playing Buffalo so there was a certain element of preparation that we could start on with them, even the next couple games after that," Belichick said. "Now its just a one-game season. We dont know who our opponent is. Were doing things that we think will help our football team." Like giving them three days off after Thursdays practice. Sort of. "You cant take a week off," guard Donald Thomas said. "You have to just keep working, keep preparing, just try to get better each day and put the work in. So, next week, when we know who were playing, we can really focus on them." Some players will be glued to their televisions for the wild-card games. "Ill watch every game this weekend closely," safety Steve Gregory said. Others wont ... or so they say. "Ill be hunting," said running back Stevan Ridley, a native of Mississippi. "Im going down South." All of them will be back by Monday, though, when the identity of their opponent is no longer a mystery. cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '