Encore Comeback for Colts, With Better Result

The Indianapolis Colts don’t want to do this every week.

The Colts bumbled their way into a 21-point hole, but got out of it and Jim Harbaugh passed them to a 27-24 overtime victory over the New York Jets on Sunday.

Indianapolis, behind backup quarterback Harbaugh’s passing, rallied for the second consecutive week. But last week the Colts lost in overtime to Cincinnati.

This time, they won on Mike Cofer’s 52-yard field goal with 4:27 gone in the extra session.

Harbaugh, whose mobility let him avoid pressure time and again, made another statement for recapturing the starting job given to Craig Erickson. His 24-yard completion to Sean Dawkins on third down in overtime set up the field goal after Cofer earlier missed much shorter kicks.

“That’s certainly the best feeling a kicker can have,” said Cofer, who was out of the NFL last season after seven seasons and two Super Bowl titles with San Francisco.

It was a stunning turnaround for both teams. Until late in the third quarter, the Colts made the big mistakes, setting up nearly all of the Jets’ points. Then the Jets (0-2) began dropping the ball and committing silly penalties--exactly the way so many painful losses have come for this franchise, year after year.

“They wrapped up their Christmas presents too early,” said Colt running back Marshall Faulk, who rushed for 81 yards and had 58 yards on eight receptions.

The killer was Boomer Esiason’s fumble of a snap at the Colts’ 23 with 5 1/2 minutes left and the Jets approaching field-goal range. Harbaugh drove the Colts 75 yards in seven plays to tie the score 24-24.

At the end of an 11-yard scramble by Harbaugh, Donald Evans drew a penalty for a hit out of bounds, sending the ball to the Jets’ 14. Harbaugh connected with a wide-open Marshall Faulk on the next play for the score.

Earlier in the fourth quarter, Dawkins caught a 15-yard touchdown pass, finishing an 80-yard drive.