Perfect Ponies Pounce

The low profile Indianapolis Colts put their high profile perfect record on the line in Jacksonville for Thursday night football. The Jaguars hosted the undefeated Colts with their own hopes of earning a wildcard berth. The Colts eclipsed the Jaguars 35-31 for their 14th win, and 23rd in a row. Jacksonville fell to 7-7 as their push for the playoffs took a hit. The Colts captured home field advantage throughout the playoffs last week. Only the Jets and Bills stand in the way of an unblemished Indianapolis season and pro football immortality.
Quarterback Peyton Manning threw for 308 yards and four touchdowns in the four point Colts victory in Florida last night. Manning’s final fling was good for a 65 yard Reggie Wayne touchdown to put Indianapolis up for good in the fourth quarter. Jacksonville had a chance to pull off the upset in the final minutes. The home team drove to the Colts’ 33 yard line with 1:13 ticks on the clock. Jaguar signal caller, David Garrard, overthrew Mike Thomas on a third and long play following two incompletions. Rookie cornerback, Jacob Lacey, intercepted the pass and the Colts ran out the clock to secure the road defeat. It was Lacey’s second interception of the year. Garrard matched Manning with accurate passes and played fairly well until the final drive. He did misread a few crucial routes during the second half that could have been big plays for the Jaguars. The 31 year old passer threw three touchdowns and was 23 of 40 in completions. Garrard tossed 223 yards and was aided by a nifty ground game from Maurice Jones-Drew. The talented back was productive in carrying the ball 27 times for 110 yard and a score.
Manning was top notch behind center as expected. The MVP completed his first 13 passes and finished 23 of 30. After the Jaguars went up 3-0 on Josh Scobee’s 50 yard field goal in the first quarter, Manning’s six yard touchdown pass to Dallas Clark gave the Colts the edge. Jacksonville made it a 10-7 affair less than three minutes later. Jones-Drew skipped into the end zone the recipient of a 9 yard pass from Gerrard with 5:14 remaining in the half. He broke free from the pack and snuck behind linebacker, Clint Session, to hang on to the pass. The 5’7” Jaguars’ running back ran 14 times for 73 yards in the first half. Jones-Drew punched in his second score during the second quarter to give him 16 rushing this season. His three yard scramble came after a 93 yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Colts’ return-man, Chad Simpson. The game continued its back-and-forth momentum after the Colts swung the advantage their way on Austin Collie’s touchdown. The late second quarter 23 yard grab sent Indianapolis into the locker room with a 21-17 lead. Interestingly, there were no first half punts. The first punt of the game didn’t occur until the final quarter.
Garrard threw a 16 yard strike to Mike Sims-Walker to open the second half scoring. Sims-Walker’s 3rd-and 11 reception put the Jags on top by three. The nine play Jaguars drive shaved just 3:45 off the clock and came following a Manning interception to Daryl Smith. The pass was bobbled by Clark at the Indy 32 yard line on their first possession of the third quarter. Manning drove the Colts 80 yards on the next possession. He found an open Wayne for 21 yards to convert a third down before the efficient quarterback connected for a second time with Clark for a quick seven. Clark bounced off safety, Reggie Nelson, a slipped into the end zone as the Colts recaptured the lead. The home team wasn’t done finding the end zone. The third quarter shootout didn’t end until Mike Thomas hauled in Gerrard’s third touchdown pass on another nine play Jacksonville drive. The rookie receiver from Arizona returned the kickoff 43 yards to give the Jaguars exceptional field position before catching the first touchdown of his career.
Thursday’s clash featured nine lead changes. It was the final change that ultimately spelled disaster for the Jaguars. Manning made no scruple of seizing the slight advantage and jawing Jacksonville. He entertained accordingly in the final quarter to send the home team away with a loss. The Jags dropped their seventh game out of the last nine, but still cling to the hope of making the AFC wildcard. Indianapolis outlasted an untiring opponent with a last quarter score. Wayne’s solo touchdown was good for 65 of the receiver’s 132 yards. Clark had seven catches for 95 yards and two of the game’s seven touchdowns.

Parting Points: Nick Johnson a Yankee? I am all for the DH/1B having a second stint in New York.
One week until Christmas. Happy Friday!