Colts hand Jags first defeat
The Jacksonville Jaguars thought they could contain Indianapolis’ high-scoring offense by playing keepaway.
Good idea, but it didn’t matter much to Peyton Manning and the Colts.
Jacksonville held Manning to one touchdown pass, but Indianapolis found other ways to score – on Terrence Wilkins’ punt return and a rare rushing TD by the Colts quarterback – to maintain their dominance in the AFC South with a 21-14 victory Sunday in Indianapolis.
The three-time defending division champs won their second straight home game over a division foe. Indy has won 10 straight division games and beat the Jags for the fourth time in five tries.
Jacksonville had a chance to make a statement in the title chase, and the defense did its part by keeping Manning off the field, out of sync or off balance most of the day.
The other part of the equation was a strong ground game that churned out 191 yards.
But the Colts had other answers.
While Manning, the two-time MVP, was 14 of 31 for 219 yards with one TD, the 249th of his career, he scored his first rushing touchdown since 2002 on a beautiful fake to seal the victory midway through the fourth quarter.
Panthers 26, Buccaneers 24: At Tampa, Fla., Keyshawn Johnson scored two touchdowns and Jake Delhomme led a last-minute drive that produced John Kasay’s fourth long field goal of the day with 2 seconds remaining, giving the Panthers a 26-24 victory over the winless Bucs.
Johnson finished with seven receptions for 97 yards. Steve Smith returned after missing Carolina’s first two games with a sore hamstring and had seven catches for 112 yards.
Packers 31, Lions 24: At Detroit, Brett Favre completed 25 of 36 passes for 340 yards with three TDs and no interceptions as Green Bay got past Detroit. Greg Jennings contributed as well with three receptions for 101 yards and a TD.
Jets 28, Bills 20: At Orchard Park, N.Y., quarterback Chad Pennington and an opportunistic defense made up for New York’s lack of a running game. Pennington capped three drives of 58 yards or more with touchdowns, and linebacker Victor Hobson’s 32-yard fumble return for a score clinched New York’s victory over Buffalo.
Redskins 31, Texans 15: At Houston, Mark Brunell completed his first 22 throws and Clinton Portis scored two touchdowns in his first start of the season as Washington beat Houston. Washington had scored just one touchdown in its 0-2 start to the season, unable to get its offense going, but turned things around against Houston, gaining 495 total yards.
Dolphins 13, Titans 10: At Miami, sacks, poor passes and blocking breakdowns kept the score close, and two winless teams looked the part – until Miami’s offense showed a little life midway through the fourth quarter. A 50-yard drive set up a 39-yard field goal by Olindo Mare with 3:39 left to help sputtering Miami beat hapless Tennessee.
Rams 16, Cardinals 14: At Glendale, Ariz., in a game filled with turnovers, the last one went to St. Louis. So did the victory. Kurt Warner, who threw three interceptions, fumbled a snap at the Rams 18 with 1:46 to play and Will Witherspoon recovered to allow St. Louis to hold on and beat Arizona.
Eagles 38, 49ers 24: At San Francisco, Brian Westbrook rushed for 117 yards and two touchdowns, also catching a scoring pass from Donovan McNabb, and Mike Patterson had a 98-yard fumble return for a TD in the Philadelphia victory over San Francisco. McNabb passed for 296 yards and Reggie Brown caught five passes for 106 yards as Philadelphia shook off last week’s embarrassing collapse against the Giants, emphatically protecting a huge lead this time with 416 yards of sharp offense.
Ravens 15, Browns 14: At Cleveland, Matt Stover kicked the Ravens to their first 3-0 start since the franchise moved to Baltimore. Stover booted a 52-yard field goal with 20 seconds left to keep Baltimore unbeaten. Stover’s 12th career game-winning kick came after Ravens cornerback Chris McAlister intercepted a pass by Cleveland’s Charlie Frye in the end zone with 3:21 remaining as the Browns were driving.
Broncos 17, Patriots 7: At Foxborough, Mass., Jake Plummer threw touchdown passes of 83 and 32 yards to Javon Walker as Denver beat New England. They were his first two TD passes of the season and just the second and third touchdowns Denver has scored all year. Tatum Bell rushed for 123 yards on 27 carries for Denver, which has beat New England five out of the last six times the teams have played.