INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis' 16th straight regular-season victory will fit neatly into the Colts' record book.

This week's game tapes will show the Colts how imperfect they really are.

With Peyton Manning out of sync and the offense struggling to score touchdowns yesterday, the Colts turned to a former quarterback — Joseph Addai — for a TD pass that gave Indy an 18-14 victory and its own version of a perfect regular season.

"We need these games if we're going to push toward our goal, which is the Super Bowl," receiver Reggie Wayne said. "We're going to need these close games, we're going to need to fight through a little adversity and push forward. We were able to do that today. It was a grinder. We figured out a way to win."

Jim Caldwell became the first rookie coach since the 1970 merger to win his first seven NFL games. Indy extended its franchise record and became the eighth team in league history with 16 straight wins. The Colts (7-0) are now the last undefeated team in the AFC again.

Addai, a fourth-year running back, tossed a 22-yard touchdown pass to Wayne early in the final quarter to give the Colts their only lead, 18-14.

On the play, Wayne lunged toward the end line, and got both feet on the ground. He finished with 12 catches for 147 yards.

"I was just trying to get the ball out there," Addai said. "In practice, I'm just kind of spotting up there, kind of looking, reading my keys."

San Francisco (3-4) got a solid performance from Alex Smith, who made his first NFL start at quarterback in nearly two years. Smith was 19 of 32 for 198 yards with one TD and one interception.