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Ratliff, Manning enable Colts to clinch playoff berth

Dec 21, 2008 - 6:57 PM JACKSONVILLE, Florida (Ticker) -- Peyton Manning kept his team in the ballgame, but it was the Indianapolis Colts' defense that provided the game-winner.

Keiwan Ratliff's 35-yard interception return for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter backed an outstanding game from Manning as the Colts clinched a playoff spot with a 31-24 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday.

Manning completed his first 17 passes and finished 29-of-34 for 364 yards and three touchdowns for the Colts (11-4), who won their eighth straight game and will be the fifth seed in the AFC.

"It was a funny game, we were completing some passes but we were down 14-0," Manning said. "The crowd was into it and Jacksonville is always tough here at home.

"It's been a very different season. For us to win eight in a row, it was what we had to do, we had no choice but to do that and have a chance to get into the playoffs. You never take winning for granted. It's hard to win one game and its extremely hard to win eight in a row like we did."

Indianapolis trailed by 10 entering the fourth quarter, but tied the contest with 6:34 left after Manning's 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end Dallas Clark earlier in the session and Adam Vinatieri's 45-yard field goal. The Colts defense forced their first "three-and-out" of the game prior to the possession ending in Vinatieri's field goal.

On the Jaguars' next possession, quarterback David Garrard tried to force a third-down ball into coverage when Ratliff intercepted the pass and followed his blockers down the right sideline. The score gave the Colts a 31-24 lead with 4:58 remaining.

"Our defense made some plays, even though we hadn't played great all day," Colts coach Tony Dungy said. "We got to the fourth quarter and obviously Keiwan's play was a big play. We got a couple of timely sacks when we needed it and we got the job done."

After the both teams punted, Jacksonville (5-10) drove from its own 10 all the way down to Indianapolis' seven-yard line with 19 seconds left.

With no timeouts left, Garrard threw an incompletion on first down and Dwight Freeney raced around the left end and sacked the quarterback on second down. The Jaguars could not get back to the line in time to stop the clock, ending the game.

"You just can't take the sack right there (on the last play)," Garrard said. "That was tough for me. I really didn't see it and have the opportunity to try and elude the guy, but when you get in that situation, you want to at least throw the ball away and give yourself another chance. I thought I had Mike (Williams) coming open in the left corner, but I couldn't do anything. I didn't even have a chance to try and get it to him."

Garrard was 28-of-41 for 329 yards with one touchdown and one interception for Jacksonville. He also rushed for a score.

The Jaguars quarterback hit Dennis Northcutt for a 28-yard touchdown pass 3:55 into the game and his 2-yard touchdown run gave his team a 14-0 lead with 11:43 left in the second quarter. The rushing score ended a 17 play, 93-yard drive that featured a fourth-down conversion and took 9:35 off the clock.

Indianapolis halved the deficit with 8:46 left before the break as Manning bought time and hit Reggie Wayne for a 41-yard touchdown pass down the right side of the field.

"I blew the coverage," Jaguars safety Reggie Nelson said. "I just came up. It was on me. It was nobody else's fault."

Jacksonville held a 17-7 lead at the half but Indianapolis scored on the first possession of the second half when Manning connected with Dominic Rhodes on a 10-yard touchdown with 10:32 left in the third. Manning set a new career high with 17 straight completions before finally misfiring on a pass intended for Anthony Gonzalez.

Jacksonville answered with another long drive, this one 14 plays, 76 yards and was capped after 7:58 with Montell Owens' 2-yard touchdown run to give the home team a 24-14 lead.

Wayne and Clark each had over 100 yards receiving for the Colts, while Northcutt had eight catches for 101 yards for the Jaguars.

"I have to give their team a lot of credit for playing a game like this when they are not in the playoff race, but they wanted to knock us out for sure," Dungy said. "They played well, but I'm proud of our guys for fighting. We said at half time that we are just going to have to play longer and harder than they did and we made some plays right there at the end to win it."