Colts ride Wayne’s big day to win

INDIANAPOLIS – Two quarterbacks put on a clinic at the RCA Dome on Sunday, and it was the likely future Hall-of-Famer who came out on top. \nPeyton Manning and David Garrard went a combined 44-of-58 for 545 yards and six touchdowns in the Colts’ 28-25 victory over the visiting Jaguars. Manning had four of the touchdowns and 288 yards while marshalling his team to victory in a key late-season matchup that pitted the No. 1 and 2 teams in the AFC South against one another. \nThe Colts held a slender one-game lead over the Jags in the division coming into Sunday, and a win would double that advantage with only four games left to play. Colts coach Tony Dungy said after the game that Sunday’s win was important, not just to the division race but to the playoff picture as well. \n“It will help us in a lot of ways,” Dungy said. “We’ve got to stay ahead of Pittsburgh, that is our goal right now, and to continue to win and get this division locked up.”\nThe game started anything but smoothly, with a first quarter that saw three different challenges – two of them from Dungy – and spanned nearly an hour. Both of Dungy’s challenges went the Colts’ way and helped the home team jump out to a 14-0 lead. \nColts tight end Dallas Clark said he thought the quick start benefited Indianapolis. \n“I think us getting out early really helped us, and really kind of put them in a bind,” Clark said.\nColts wide receiver Reggie Wayne said after the game that the stoppages in play didn’t disrupt his team’s offensive rhythm.\nWayne himself had a big game, grabbing eight passes for 158 yards and a key 48-yard touchdown on a third-and-16 play. The score was Wayne’s first against Jacksonville. \n“That’s my first one against the Jags? Have to make sure I keep that football,” Wayne joked after the game, which was his 21st career 100-yard performance. \nThe Colts were again without the services of prolific wide receiver Marvin Harrison, who is still out with a knee injury. Wayne and Clark – who grabbed seven passes for 60 yards and two scores – helped pick up the slack. \nWayne said Indianapolis expected a tough game from the Jaguars on Sunday\n“They never quit,” Wayne said. “This division is getting better and better each year, so whenever we play these guys, we have to put our best foot forward.”\nThe Jaguars certainly did not go away quietly. \nAfter falling behind 14-0 and seeing kicker Josh Scobee miss a field goal, Jacksonville traded touchdowns with Indianapolis and went into the locker room down two scores. \nThe visitors then added another touchdown in the third quarter, riding Garrard’s accuracy and the combined rushing of Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew. \nA Scobee field goal brought the game within four before Manning dropped a short pass to running back Luke Lawton, just signed this week, for what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown. \nPerhaps the key play of the game came midway through the fourth quarter, when Garrard – who had not thrown an interception all year – slung a pass across the middle that was tipped by Colts linebacker Gary Brackett and picked off in the end zone by cornerback Antoine Bethea. \nGarrard would throw another touchdown pass late in the game to Dennis Northcutt and scramble for a two-point conversion, but the Colts were able to move the ball well enough to run out the clock and end the game.