Pulling away

Clayton says the Colts are opening things up

1. Colts creating separation: Before the season, the San Diego Chargers looked like the AFC team with the best chance of clinching a division by Thanksgiving. As it turns out, the Colts are the conference’s best front-runner. At 4-0, they have a two-game lead over the Texans and Jaguars, and — unbelievably — a four-game lead over the Tennessee Titans. What’s remarkable is the Colts got off to this great start despite being almost too young on offense. Marvin Harrison is gone, and Anthony Gonzalez remains sidelined with a knee injury. Peyton Manning is off to his greatest start (four consecutive 300-yard games, 1,336 passing yards and nine touchdowns) using a rookie slot receiver (Austin Collie), an unproven split end from Mount Union (Pierre Garcon) and a rookie No. 2 back (Donald Brown).