SCOTT JACOBS

It was a good game at a rather subdued Jacksonville Municipal Stadium.  One would argue that the Jaguars thought their might be more on the line going into this one, but with just a 4-10 record and having already been eliminated from the playoffs, there was no AFC South title at stake.  There was no playoff spot.  Not for the Jags at least.

But look on the other side and therein lies the red hot Indianapolis Colts.  They’ve won eight in a row after a very surprising 3-4 start.  The Colts have had a topsy turvy season by their standards, and some of their wins have been games they may not have deserved, so it was fitting that to beat the Jaguars they had to overcome an early 14-0 deficit as well as a 17-7 deficit, en route to a 31-24 win.

And it was the Colts defense, not their offense, that helped finish off the Jags.  Tied at 24 in the fourth David Garrard was picked off by Keiwan Ratliff who took it 35 yards to the house.  And just like that, the Colts were in the lead.  But holding on would not be easy, as Jacksonville drove the ball all the way to the Colts eight, after starting at their own 10.  But poor clock management, and a poor overthrow by David Garrard left the Jags with just 12 seconds, down by a score.

The Jags had no timeouts, and wouldn’t you know it, David Garrard (like Jacksonville’s Super Bowl dreams coming into this season) was sacked by Dwight Freeney and the Jaguars were unable to get off another play.  And with the win, the Colts become just the second team in NFL history to win 11+ games six consecutive seasons.  That is impressive!

So now, the Colts are in.  They join the Titans and the Steelers as the three teams who’ve already clinched an AFC playoff spot.

And boy is Peyton Manning something.  Tonight he went 29-34, for 364 yards and three touchdowns, and he just did it methodically.  He is one of those guys that you never expect to watch lose.  Because when he is on, he is in a league of his own.  And the MVP love is starting to come his way, which I think is deserved.  It had been a while since the Colts had such a difficult year (which is comical considering they now have 11 wins again), but if you look at the way they’ve struggled in certain situations and blotches of the season, it is very impressive to see the Colts back in the playoffs.

As for the Jaguars?

Well, I think one comment on an article I did earlier in the year summed it up best:

“San Diego is in a heated battle with the Jacksonville Jaguars for the NFL’s biggest disappointment of the season.”

The only difference right now?  The Chargers still are in contention for a division title and they have six wins.  The Jags, a year after winning 11, still have just four. It’s cliche I know: but what a difference a year makes.

CLAUDIO CABRERA, Yoonewverse

Four minutes and 4 seconds left in the game. I thought it was over. I really did. Not only the game, but our season. If we were losing to the Texans, I knew any Colts fan’s hope was dimming – damn near diminished. It doesn’t get lower than the Texans. Wait…It doesn’t get lower than Sage Rosenfels behind center for the Texans and defeating you.

After watching him pick our “old” defense apart, I began replaying our NFL title in 06. Man those were good memories. Then, I came back to reality – Texans leading 27-10.

I was ready to throw my Manning jersey at the tube. We were about to be three games down to undefeated and “overrated,” Tennessee. It made me sick. Then, it happened. I was about to turn off the game, when I saw a drive reminiscent of Peyton two seasons ago. He drove us all the way to the Houston 7 yard-line and threw a strike to Santi down the middle for a touchdown. 27-17. Four minutes left. No onside kick. Dungy is much smarter than that. I think deep down inside he knew he could force Sage into some mistakes and that we did.

For some unknown reason, Sage still thought we were in August and the Olympics were on when he began attempting flips in the middle of the field, when he got popped, fumbled, and Gary Brackett danced his way into the Texans end-zone with a 68 yard return. Touchdown. 27-24.

You can just see the look on the Texans face – Priceless. This reminded me of their classic let-down against Frank Reich and Buffalo 16 years ago when they were steamrolling the Bills with Moon, until the 2nd half was totally different. But could this have been worse if we completed it? I mean, we came down from 17 in 4 minutes. They had 30 minutes to come back from 34. Do the math.

So the Texans have 2 minutes to drive us into the ground and run out the clock. Rosenfels snaps, scrambles, and Mathis slaps him on the arm, causes him to fumble and Hallelujah, we recovered.

The sideline is going crazy. My family is telling me to keep it down. Manning drives and drives. He then throws a fade into the corner endzone where one of the best receivers in football, Reggie Wayne, has a corner on him like glue and still catches the ball with 1 hand for a TD. It goes to review and you couldn’t see this replay enough. It was absolutely beautiful and one of the top catches of the year. 31-27 our lead. Houston…we have a problem.

The Texans have one last chance and we collect a game-ending interception from Rosenfels who threw the ball nowhere near a Texans receiver.

A clutch win by a veteran team and one that could be looked upon later this year as the turning point in our season. This week, we have Baltimore at home who’s been struggling and expect our first home victory in Lucas Oil. That will take us to 3-2 and with Tennessee on the horizon in 2 weeks, we can easily be back amongst the AFC’s elite where we belong.