Raiders lose playoff hopes, then fall to Colts

(12-26) 21:57 PST -- There was a lot of talk going into Sunday's game about destiny.

The Chiefs determined the Raiders' fate when they beat the Titans early in the day and eliminated Oakland from the playoff race. But the Raiders said they wouldn't worry about what the Chiefs did, and would take matters into their own hands when they played the Colts in the afternoon.

Well, the only person who controlled the Raiders' destiny at the Oakland Coliseum was wearing No. 18 for the Colts. Peyton Manning changed plays at the line of scrimmage to help Indianapolis run for 191 yards, threw three touchdown passes and then kept a secret down the stretch that iced the Colts' 31-26 win.

With Indianapolis facing a 3rd-and-2 at the Oakland 31-yard line with 1:39 left, Manning faked a handoff and then ran around the left side for 27 yards before sliding down at the 4. The Colts (9-6) ran out the clock to make the Raiders 7-8.

"The only way to do it is not tell anybody," Manning said. "If you tell people, they don't block the same, knowing that you're not going to run the play, you're not going as hard trying to make the blocks. ... My dad taught me that a long time ago."

The Raiders and 52,567 fans were also surprised that Oakland's backs couldn't run the ball consistently against the Colts, finishing with 80 yards, and Indianapolis' quick defensive line also didn't give them time to throw the ball downfield.

Oakland had only nine first downs in the first three quarters, but managed to keep the game closer than it probably should have been. Jacoby Ford had a 99-yard kickoff return to open the game, the Raiders intercepted Manning twice, and Sebastian Janikowski kicked four field goals - two over 50 yards - to make it a one-score game when Zach Miller caught a 6-yard touchdown pass with 1:51 left.

"Offensively, we were never able to get in rhythm running the football," Raiders coach Tom Cable said. "And then when we did get something going, it seemed like ... we'd have a penalty that really kind of set us back."

The Raiders did finish with 10 penalties for 116 yards, but even holding and getting off to false starts didn't help slow down the Colts' pass rushers. Indianapolis sacked Jason Campbell three times and hit him six other times. Robert Mathis had 1.5 sacks and four quarterback hits against Mario Henderson, subbing for Langston Walker (concussion), and Dwight Freeney had a sack on rookie left tackle Jared Veldheer.

On the other side, Oakland missed defensive tackle Richard Seymour (hamstring) - Manning said learning he was out was a huge boost - and couldn't muster any pass rush. Not only did Oakland not have any sacks, but it also didn't have any hits on Manning.

Manning was 16-of-30 for 179 yards, and took advantage of a 31-yard pass interference call against Stanford Routt to throw a four-yard TD pass to Blair White to put the Colts up 24-16 with 2:55 left in the third quarter. And after Janikowski's fourth field goal, Manning put a 7-yard pass on Pierre Garcon's back shoulder for a touchdown and a 31-19 lead with 7:38 left in the game.

Manning really hurt the Raiders by staring into their defense and changing pass plays to runs whenever Oakland loaded up with an extra safety or cornerback. Ex-Raider Dominic Rhodes hit the creases hard and finished with 98 yards on 17 carries, and Joseph Addai added 45 yards and a six-yard touchdown.

The Raiders led 13-10 late in the first half after Ford's return and two Janikowski field goals, but didn't sniff the red zone until the fourth quarter. With the Colts getting pressure and leaving safeties downfield, Campbell (29-of-42 for 231 yards) never got comfortable. His longest pass before the last drive against a prevent defense was 14 yards.

Darren McFadden only had 11 carries for 45 yards, and the Raiders couldn't turn to the play-action passes that had been so successful this season.

"We didn't have a good flow the entire game," receiver Chaz Schilens said. "It was kind of off and on, and we couldn't stay on the field long enough to help the defense. It's frustrating. We didn't play the best that we could have played."

E-mail Vittorio Tafur at vtafur@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page B - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle