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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts
made all the plays early. And that turned out to be enough to
withstand the New York Jets' customary comeback at the end.
The Jets, who had rallied four times in the final four minutes
this season, failed to complete another remarkable finish Sunday
night as the Colts hung on for a 23-15 victory.
|  | | Hunter Smith's fake field goal attempt fooled the Jets in the second quarter, and the Colts punter ran for a first down to set up Mike Vanderjagt's field goal. |
"We knew it would be a tough game, a close game, a hard fought
game," Colts coach Jim Mora said. "And it turned out to be that
way. It went down to the final play."
As it always seems to for the Jets (6-4).
Only on this night, the Jets simply dug themselves too big a
hole -- for the third week in a row.
"We keep saying you can't let it slip away, you can't let it
slip away. Then before you know it, it has slipped away," said
running back Curtis Martin, who carried 21 times for 93 yards.
The Jets let this one slide during the first three quarters.
The Colts (7-3) emptied the playbook, opening the game with a
flee-flicker, succeeding on a fake field goal in the second quarter
and employing an end around in the third quarter.
"It was very important to try and get points on them early
because we knew the Jets were a good second-half team," Manning
said. "We wanted to jump on them early."
The Colts did exactly that.
They strung together their most time-consuming touchdown drive
of the season, 6:35, and took a 7-0 lead when Manning hooked up
with Marvin Harrison on a 6-yard scoring strike.
Then Jeff Burris picked off a pass by Vinny Testaverde at the
Colts 6, and Indianapolis proceeded to march 83 yards, capped by
Edgerrin James' 2-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter.
James finished with 131 yards on 31 carries and became the
fastest Colts player to reach 1,000 yards -- in 220 carries, one
fewer than Eric Dickerson in 1987 and 1988.
"I'm playing hard and this is what I expect. Any time I go out
and prepare, I want good things to happen," James said. "The day
I stop preparing, I would expect not to get yards. As long as I
keep preparing and play hard, this is what I expect."
But after the Colts built a 17-0 halftime lead and made it 20-0
midway through the third quarter, courtesy of two Mike Vanderjagt
field goals, the Jets started another improbable comeback.
Dedric Ward caught a 16-yard touchdown pass from Testaverde with
five seconds left in the third quarter. That got the Jets within
20-7.
Indianapolis countered with a 35-yard field goal 4:03 into the
fourth quarter, and the Jets answered that with a 9-yard touchdown
run from Martin. Then Testaverde connected with Marcus Coleman on a
2-point conversion pass that cut the lead to 23-15 with 5:11
remaining.
"It was a slugfest out there," Mora said. "These were two
good football teams going back and forth. It was a battle. They
punched us and we punched them and you just hope you get the final
punch in."
After punting to the Jets with 2:23 left, Testaverde did his
best to rally the Jets.
He moved the Jets to the Colts 28, then missed on four straight
passes -- and left with a third straight loss.
"After the first few weeks, we felt we were using up these
fourth-quarter comebacks. The last three weeks have proven that,"
said Testaverde, who was 28 of 30 for 271 yards and one touchdown
and two interceptions.
"It's certainly a tough position to be in. We don't like it
much, but we have no one to blame but ourselves for putting us in
that position. It takes a lot out of a team to do this every
week," he said.
Game notes
Wayne Chrebet finished with eight receptions for 140 yards
for the Jets. Those were his highest totals since Oct. 13, 1996,
against Jacksonville. ... By the time the Jets had their second
possession, Indianapolis had run 25 plays. ... The Colts' two
interceptions matched a single-game season high. ... Playing in his
140th NFL game, Jets linebacker Bryan Cox raised his career total
for tackles to 1,000 with his first one. ... Vanderjagt has made 15
consecutive field goals and 43 of his last 44. ... The victory was
Manning's 23rd as a starter, the third-highest total in franchise
history. Johnny Unitas leads with 116, followed by Bert Jones with
46. ... This was the first time since Super Bowl III that the teams
met with winning records. ... Manning moved past Jeff George into
third place in club history for attempts.
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ALSO SEE
NY Jets Clubhouse
Indianapolis Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Peyton Manning talks with ESPN's Solomon Wilcots after the Colts' Sunday night win over the Jets.
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