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Colts sink Jaguars, improve to 6-0

Oct 23, 2007 - 6:06 AM JACKSONVILLE, Florida (Ticker) -- The Indianapolis Colts sent an emphatic message to the Jacksonville Jaguars that there will be no shift of power in the AFC South.

Peyton Manning threw a touchdown and ran for one as the Colts eased to a 29-7 victory over the Jaguars on Monday night to remain perfect on the season.

Indianapolis became just the third team in NFL history to start 6-0 for three straight seasons, matching the St. Louis Rams (1999-2001) and Green Bay Packers (1929-1931).

The Colts also avenged a humiliating 44-17 loss to the Jaguars last season in which they yielded a staggering 375 yards rushing. It was also the last time Manning failed to throw a TD pass in a regular-season game.

"It was really a nice team win," Colts coach Tony Dungy said. "We watched the tape of last year. We watched it after the game we played last year. We made some corrections. We got some different guys playing."

Manning's stats were ordinary by his standards (23-of-37 for 259 yards with one TD and an interception), but he continually moved the chains as the Colts improved to 3-0 against their division rivals - with each win coming on the road.

"For us to get our first three AFC South road games and have victories and to play a team that was hot as they were and come down here and win, that was huge," Dungy said.

Indy's defense bottled up the running game and took advantage of an injury to quarterback David Garrard in snapping a four-game winning streak by Jacksonville (4-2), which entered the contest trailing the Colts by a game in the AFC South.

"They certainly answered the challenge," said Manning of his team's defense. "I was proud of the way they played."

"I think we're a little more physical and a lot faster," said safety Bob Sanders, who had a key interception and tackle on a fourth-down gamble by the Jaguars.

Garrard suffered a sprained left ankle when he was sacked by Eddie Johnson with 11:42 to play in the second quarter. He returned briefly but was replaced by Quinn Gray to start the second half.

"We were doing well, but we just weren't converting on third down," Garrard said. "Whenever you can't do that, it's going to be a long night for you. Still it was early in the ballgame and we had a lot of time left. But after the injury, I couldn't be as effective as I wanted.

"I hated to do this to the team. The guys on offense, I know they were counting on me to be out there."

Jacksonville coach Jack Del Rio said he expects Garrard to miss some time due to the severity of the sprain and may look to bring in a veteran quarterback.

The Jags, who had allowed just 58 points in their first five games, could not slow down Manning and the potent Colts' offense. Reggie Wayne, in particular, had his way against Jacksonville's secondary with nine catches for 131 yards.

"We just do what we do," Wayne said. "We don't try to do anything extra. We just go out and play football and take what the defense gives us. I thought our defense did a great job, controlling the run, getting us the ball back, and the offense did a great job as well."

Indianapolis dominated the first half, building a 17-0 lead on three scoring drives of 11 plays each.

The Colts twice turned back the Jaguars on fourth-down gambles sandwiched around an interception by Sanders and scored after each stop.

"We made far to many mistakes to win that ballgame," Del Rio said. "Let 'em out of some holes in 3rd-and-long, turned the ball over three times."

With the Jaguars facing a 4th-and-2 at Indy's 34 with 5:33 left in the first quarter, Garrard threw high on a short pass to tight end George Wrightster.

Manning took over and drove the Colts 66 yards in 11 plays for the opening score, a 3-yard TD run by former CFL star Kenton Keith with 27 seconds left in the period.

The key play, however, was a 23-yard run by Joseph Addai (85 yards, 16 carries) on 4th-and-1 that brought the ball to the Jaguars' 12.

After Sanders intercepted Gray, the Colts marched 11 plays in 76 yards, helped by a 31-yard pass from Manning to Wayne. Manning finished it off with a 1-yard sneak to make it 14-0 with 5:25 left in the half.

With Garrard back in the game and trailing by two touchdowns, Jacksonville went for it again on 4th-and-1 from their own 49, but Sanders tackled Maurice Jones-Drew for a one-yard loss.

"We were going to need to make plays to win this game and we had a good plan coming in and thought we could take advantage of that situation and make a big play, and it didn't come off like we had hoped, obviously," Del Rio said.

The Colts converted again as Adam Vinatieri booted a 36-yard field goal for the 17-0 cushion with 29 seconds left in the half.

The Jaguars scored their only touchdown on a 1-yard plunge by Jones-Drew on their opening drive of the second half to pull within 17-7. Jones-Drew had a 65-yard kickoff return to set up the score.

In the waning minutes of the game, Jones-Drew limped off the field with what Del Rio termed a "little sprain on his knee. But nowhere like David (Garrard). He's going to be a little tender but we will know more tomorrow."

The Colts responded with a safety when defensive end Dwight Freeney sacked Gray in the end zone for a 19-7 lead with 4:35 left in the third quarter.

After receiving the ensuing kickoff, Indy drove to the Jaguars 1-yard line before settling for Vinatieri's 20-yard field goal and a 22-7 lead with 13:34 to play.

Manning capped the scoring with a 35-yard scoring pass to tight end Dallas Clark with 4:05 to play.

Garrard finished 8-of-12 for 72 yards while Gray was 9-of-24 for just 56 yards and two interceptions - the first picks by a Jacksonville quarterback this season.

"It'll be a challenge for us to get turned around and get down to Tampa and play our next opponent and that'll be where our focus is," Del Rio said.