Unser Chat » PHILADELPHIA — Adam Vinatieri started his career as a young

kicker in awe of the stats of a Hall of Famer such as Morten Andersen.As a rookie in New England Indianapolis Colts Customized Jerseys , the lofty numbers seemed as out of reach as a 70-yard field goal.“I remember playing against him early in the league going, so many points, no one’s even going to come close,” Vinatieri said.Come close?Vinatieri is on the brink of passing Andersen in career field goals and total points and putting the final bows on a career that has him destined for Canton, Ohio.The 45-year-old Vinatieri kicked field goals of 35, 31 and 28 yards on Sunday to match Andersen for most field goals in NFL history with 565.Vinatieri added an extra point to finish with 10 points in the game, putting him 33 shy of matching Andersen (2,544) for the most points scored in NFL history.“That’s the one,” Vinatieri said. “Nobody every pays attention to who has the most field goals. It’s who’s got the most points. They almost run hand-in-hand. It’d be fun if it happens.”The scoring mark could fall in a few weeks.But on a soggy Sunday in Philadelphia, Vinatieri at least snagged a share of Andersen’s field-goal record. The Colts couldn’t take advantage in a 20-16 loss to the Super Bowl champion Eagles, setting the stage for Vinatieri to set the field goal record next week at home against the Houston Texans.“It’s obviously special,” Vinatieri said, “but gosh dang it Indianapolis Colts T-Shirts , when you do it on a close game and you lose, it just doesn’t feel quite the same. It’s a record that’s been a long time coming. I just appreciate the opportunities I have.”Andersen needed 709 attempts to set the record; Vinatieri just 670 in 23 seasons to tie.“We put him in situations to give us three and he delivers every time,” Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton said.Vinatieri was already the NFL’s postseason record holder for scoring (234) and field goals (56); and he hit two Super Bowl winners in the final minute. He’s won four Super Bowls and was the only unanimous selection on the Super Bowl 50 Golden Team.He made 263 field goals in 10 years with the New England Patriots and has 302 with the Colts.Few fans will forget the two kicks he made in the Snow Bowl, or “Tuck Rule” game, to help New England beat Oakland in a divisional-round playoff game following the 2001 season. It helped the Patriots capture their first Super Bowl.100<button class="view-gallery">View Gallery</button> Gallery:View from the sidelines: NFL cheerleaders 2018Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports | Raj MehtaLast year, the oldest player in the league made a seemingly impossible extra point to force overtime in a December blizzard in Buffalo and helped keep the Colts within striking distance just 13 days later in monsoon-like weather in Baltimore.Last year, with a new long snapper and a new holder, Vinatieri made 85.3 percent of his field goals.“I like to step out there and kick field goals,” he said, “but it’s better kicking extra points, that’s for sure.”Vinatieri remembers talking to Andersen, one of only two full-time kickers in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, about the secrets to enjoying a long https://www.coltsfanshop.com/hats , successful career.Staying healthy, for sure.And the other?“Stubbornness, probably,” Vinatieri said, smiling. “There’s a lot of great young guys around and I think my joy of being around these young guys and trying to compete against guys half my age … I’d contribute that to it a little bit.” INDIANAPOLIS 鈥?Andrew Luck might be playing the best football of his career. But he’ll still need help reaching the playoffs with mounting injuries threatening to derail the Indianapolis Colts‘ late postseason push.One week after starting center Ryan Kelly went down with a left knee injury and one day after coach Frank Reich announced tight end Jack Doyle would miss the rest of the season with an injured kidney, Luck and his teammates started preparing for the closing five-game stretch that will determine whether they end a three-year playoff drought.“We’ve done it before,” tight end Eric Ebron said Tuesday when asked about the adjustments. “Everybody has to take on a heavier workload.”Doyle was injured late in the third quarter or early in the fourth, returned for two plays before leaving for good and then wound up in the hospital Sunday night for what Reich called a “procedure.”The team provided no immediate update during Tuesday’s availability on whether Doyle had been released from the hospital.The adaptations start with Ebron, the lone remaining healthy tight end among the five listed on last week’s depth chart. He’s already caught 11 touchdown passes this season, matching his previous four-year total and tying Dallas Clark’s single-season franchise record by a tight end, and has played the way Detroit envisioned when it made Ebron a first-round draft pick in 2014.It’s unclear whether Mo Alie-Cox, Ryan Hewitt or Erik Swoope could return from injuries this week. All three were inactive last weekend, and Reich’s offense has benefited from creating mismatches among the tight ends.“We are hopeful and optimistic that some of those guys 鈥?one or two or all three of those guys 鈥?will be ready Indianapolis Colts Hoodie ,” Reich said Monday. “They have been making good progress.”But the hits have come hard and fast for Indy (6-5), which has won five straight to jump back into the playoff conversation.Kelly missed last week’s game with a sprained medial collateral ligament and without him, the Colts allowed their first sack in six games. Luck went 249 consecutive drop-backs without being sacked, the longest streak of his pro career.Kelly’s status for this week is still to be determined, though he said Tuesday he felt much better and was running on the treadmill.“It’s been progressing pretty well,” said Kelly, who was replaced in the lineup by midseason signee Evan Boehm. “The brace has helped.”Not enough?Running back Marlon Mack entered the concussion protocol during the fourth quarter Sunday, did not return and now his status also is in doubt this weekend.If he can’t go, the Colts will be down to their two rookies 鈥?Nyheim Hines and Jordan Wilkins 鈥?and possibly Jonathan Williams, presuming nobody else is signed. Williams hasn’t played since Indy signed him to the practice squad Oct. 2. He was promoted to the active roster last week.One saving grace for Indy: Rookie linebacker Darius Leonard escaped a serious knee injury that briefly knocked him out of Sunday’s game after the first offensive play. Leonard returned and finished the game and continues to lead the NFL with 114 tackles despite missing one game in October.But losing Doyle might be most damaging for Indy.He followed his first Pro Bowl selection with 26 receptions for 245 yards and two touchdowns in six games. The Colts went 1-4 when he missed five games earlier this season with a bad hip, and they had won all four since his Week 8 return against Oakland.Doyle’s absence leaves a big hole on the field 鈥?and in the locker room.“It hurts,” Ebron said. “I’m more hurt because of the type of player he is and what he means to the team and to me. But we’ve done it before. We just have to adjust a few things.”100View Gallery Gallery:View from the sidelines: NFL cheerleaders 2018Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports | Raj Mehta