Colts strike late to remain unbeaten

Jacksonville, Fla. -- The Indianapolis Colts have surged into unfamiliar territory -- but took a well-worn path to get there.

The Colts improved to 14-0 on Thursday for the first time in franchise history, and did so with yet another come-from-behind effort in the fourth quarter.

Peyton Manning threw four touchdown passes -- the clincher a 65-yarder to Reggie Wayne with 5:23 to play -- to lift the Colts to a 35-31 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

In a game that had nine lead changes, Indianapolis overcame a deficit in the fourth quarter to win for the seventh time this season, the most by any team since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger.

“I think it says that we’re screwing up enough early in the game to have to come back,” Manning said with a half-smile. “But there’s no panic, I will say that. It’s focused. ‘Hey, guys, here’s what we have to do. Let’s go do it.’ ”

It wasn’t only their high-octane offense that powered the Colts. They got a 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Chad Simpson, and rookie cornerback Jacob Lacey sealed the win with an interception on Jacksonville’s final possession.

The can-do Colts are two victories away from joining the 2007 New England Patriots, the only team to finish the regular season 16-0.

And Indianapolis is not alone in that pursuit. New Orleans, which Saturday plays host to Dallas, is also undefeated at 13-0.

But while the Saints have hinted strongly they plan to keep their foot on the accelerator -- and they have incentive because they have yet to lock up NFC home-field advantage -- the Colts are ostensibly torn about chasing history or resting players for the postseason.

The Colts’ final two games are at home against the New York Jets, then at Buffalo. Manning said he wants to play but defers to Coach Jim Caldwell to make that call.

“I certainly don’t think we have one guy in that locker room who’s going to tell you, ‘No, I don’t want to play,’ ” the quarterback said. “That tells you we’ve got the right kind of competitive guys on the team. So whatever direction Coach Caldwell leads us, that’s where we’ll follow.”

Caldwell said he won’t make that decision until next week, when he can get a read on the health of his players. He did keep defensive ends Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney on a “pitch count,” limiting them to roughly 15 snaps each.

Only one team in the modern era won every game in a season: the 1972 Miami Dolphins. The Patriots made it to the doorstep of history, winning their first 18 games, before they were turned back by the upstart New York Giants in the Super Bowl.

What would a perfect season mean to Manning? That’s not a topic he’s ready to discuss.

“I always think it’s kind of disrespectful to the next team you’re playing to be talking about anything beyond this upcoming game. . . ,” he said. “The main goal is to be playing hopefully our best football in this last month.”

The Colts are already starting to accumulate their historic haul. They extended their NFL-record winning streak to 23 regular-season games, matched the club record for victories in a season, and Caldwell joined San Francisco’s George Seifert as the only rookie coaches to win 14 games.

Thursday’s shootout -- the first time the Jaguars have averted a TV blackout this season -- proved to be a rare national showcase for former UCLA running back Maurice Jones-Drew. He led all rushers with 110 yards in 27 carries and scored a pair of touchdowns for the Jaguars, one rushing and another receiving.

“We saw some good things,” he said, “but there are no moral victories.”

There were incentives aplenty for the Jaguars (7-7), who could have controlled their destiny by winning their final three games. Now, they’re in a logjam of AFC teams vying for the two wild-card spots.

“That obviously put a major blemish or blow on our chances, but we’re still alive,” Jaguars Coach Jack Del Rio said. “We still have hope.”

sam.farmer@latimes.com

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