By George, Look Who Finally Wins : AFC: Colts prove to be good mudders, beating Jets in rain and wind, 28-27, behind their quarterback.

It figured that in the rain and wind and overall gloom Sunday, the Indianapolis Colts would discover the winning touch.

“I thought maybe a new environment, with the rain and being outside in the cold might help us,” quarterback Jeff George said after throwing for three touchdowns as the Colts became the last NFL team to win this season.

Their previously dormant offense, which had scored 24 points--all on field goals--in five previous games, came alive on George’s arm, the hands of former Raider Jessie Hester and the legs of Clarence Verdin for a 28-27 victory over the New York Jets.

“This just shows what a bunch of players pulling together can do,” George said.

The Colts had done almost nothing offensively since Sept. 22. They had no touchdowns in four losses since Rick Venturi replaced the fired Ron Meyer as coach. They were without Eric Dickerson, suspended by Venturi on Thursday for four games for detrimental conduct.

“You have to come together as a team,” George said, “and when you lose a star player like Eric, we realized we must play harder and come together more.”

The elements didn’t make that any easier.

“You couldn’t get worse weather than this,” said Verdin, who returned the second-half kickoff 88 yards to tie the score, 14-14. “We were slipping and sliding all over the place.”

Still, they ended their nine-game losing streak and dealt a serious blow to the Jets’ playoff chances. The Jets (5-5) play four of their last six games on the road.

The Jets’ Pat Leahy, who moved into third place in NFL scoring with 1,445 points, missed two field goals, including a 22-yard try.

The Colts, trailing 14-0, scored their first touchdown in 21 quarters and 57 possessions when George, who completed 16 of 26 passes for 239 yards with two interceptions, avoided heavy pressure and connected with Hester for a 49-yard score with 1:07 left in the half. The same players were involved in the Colts’ last touchdown.

Indianapolis tied it on Verdin’s runback. It was his first kickoff return touchdown and the Colts’ first since 1984.

Back came the Jets on a 74-yard drive keyed by Al Toon’s three catches for 46 yards. Brad Baxter scored from the one.

But the Colts went 75 yards to tie the score, 21-21, on George’s seven-yard pass to Hester, who finished with 100 yards receiving.

Terance Mathis fumbled the kickoff and Brian Lattimore recovered. The Colts took their first lead since Game 6 when Billy Brooks caught a seven-yard pass on the last play of the third quarter.

The Jets, who outgained the Colts, 436-232, managed only two field goals in the fourth quarter. A 39-yard flea-flicker to Mathis set up the first one, and a fumbled kickoff by the Colts’ Sammy Martin set up the second.