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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- No rest on the sideline this time for Peyton
Manning.
Back on the field the entire game after being relieved for the
first time in his two-year career, Manning passed for 198 yards and
one touchdown as the streaking Indianapolis Colts survived three
turnovers and beat the New York Jets 13-6 Sunday.
|  | | Colts rookie Edgerrin James breaks a tackle attempt by Jets linebacker Roman Phifer. |
"We made it closer than it should have been," said Manning,
who was intercepted twice. "It's nice to win and still have a lot
of room for improvment. We just need to make the corrections and
stop the costly mistakes. We played hard, but didn't quite play
smart enough.
"We moved the ball well and had plenty of time to score a lot
of touchdowns, but we just made too many mistakes."
It was the seventh straight victory for the Colts (9-2), the
longest winning streak for the franchise since the Baltimore Colts
won nine in a row in 1975. It put them a game ahead of the Dolphins
going into an AFC East showdown next week at Miami.
"It's a nice feeling, but you want to be in first place at the
end of the season, at the end of the playoffs," Manning said.
"But obviously you have to put yourself in a position to be in
first place, and we are. They don't get any bigger than next week
at Miami."
Manning, who as a rookie in 1998 was the only NFL quarterback on
the field for all of his team's offensive plays, had his streak
ended after 1,590 snaps when he was relieved by Steve Walsh with a
44-3 third-quarter lead at Philadelphia last week.
But the Jets (4-7), who lost to Indianapolis 16-13 last month,
didn't give Manning and Co. the luxury of a big lead. Manning had a
2-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Pollard in the first quarter, and a
pair of field goals by Mike Vanderjagt were the only other points
the Colts could manage.
Indianapolis has scored no fewer than 25 points against any
other team but got just 29 in sweeping the Jets, who had won three
in a row. The Colts came in as the NFL's top offensive team at 378
yards a game, but were held to a season-low 287.
"I knew this was going to be a difficult game," Colts coach
Jim Mora said. "They're better than they were the first game, and
we certainly didnt help ourselves. We made it tougher than we
should have. We made some critical errors.
"Defensively, we played better than we did against them a few
weeks ago. The defense didn't give up any big plays, and we played
solid, consistent defense throughout the game."
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GAME NOTES |
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Curtis Martin, the conference's second-leading rusher
behind James, had 83 yards and became only the fourth NFL player to
start his career with five 1,000-yard rushing seasons.
Rookie Hunter Smith had a season-best 60-yard punt for Indianapolis.
The Jets recorded the ninth and 10th sacks of Peyton Manning this season. No other team had allowed fewer than 13 going into Sunday's games.
Marvin Harrison has caught at least one pass for the Colts in 55 straight games.
Steve Muhammad played for the Colts after missing three games following the Nov. 7 death of his wife from childbirth complications. Muhammad is facing charges of domestic battery.
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New York moved to the Indianapolis 17 with a chance to tie in
the closing minutes, but a holding penalty on Kerry Jenkins set the
Jets back to the 27. Two long passes by Lucas were broken up in the
end zone by Billy Austin, giving the Colts the ball on downs for
the final 1:39.
"That was a play we practiced a thousand times, and I certainly
expected to make that catch," the Jets' Wayne Chrebet said of the
last pass. "It was just a dropped ball. Anytime you can get your
hands on a ball and you don't bring it in, it is definitely a
drop."
Edgerrin James, the NFL leader in total yards from scrimmage
after a career-high 152 yards rushing against the Eagles, had 74
yards rushing and 53 yards in receptions. Manning's touchdown pass
to Pollard gave him at least one scoring completion in 24 straight
games, matching the sixth-longest streak in NFL history.
"This is horrible. We gave this game away," Lucas said.
"Offensively, we just didn't get it done, and as the leader of the
offense, I take that upon me. We had all the opportunities in the
world."
Lucas was 12-for-22 for 102 yards, the fewest yards passing the
Colts have allowed all season.
"When you hold this team to 13 points you should win," Jets
coach Bill Parcells said. "This is the worst loss of the season.
It should have been better for us."
The Jets' only points came on first-quarter field goals by John
Hall. Vanderjagt kicked a 22-yard field goal with one second to go
in the half, his club-record 14th in a row, and he made it 15
straight field goals with a 37-yarder for the final points with
nine minutes left in the final period.
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ALSO SEE
NFL Scoreboard
NY Jets Clubhouse
Indianapolis Clubhouse
Week 12 wrap-ups
Week 12 infirmary report
TJ's Take: Jags back on offensive
PrimeTime Players
Week 12 stats leaders
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