Colts Weather Storm, Jets for 21-7 Victory

It was scary. It was perilous. But it wasn’t enough to sidetrack the Indianapolis Colts.

Not even a rare delay caused by lightning and swirling rain could stop the Colts from maintaining their mastery of the New York Jets on Sunday.

Led by Ken Dilger’s team record for tight ends of 156 yards receiving and one touchdown, the Colts defeated the Jets, 21-7. It was the seventh victory in the last eight meetings at Giants Stadium and the 15th in 19 overall for the Colts against New York in the last decade.

“They did the right thing,” Dilger said of the 32-minute delay.

“It was eerie, weird,” added quarterback Jim Harbaugh, who completed 15 of 20 passes for 242 yards, threw for one score and ran for another. “I thought it was a good call. It was getting dangerous.”

Indianapolis led, 21-7, with 11:10 to go when a severe thunderstorm caused the suspension. With lightning flashing and rain pelting the stadium, referee Bob McElwee halted action. He announced that for the safety of everyone in the stadium, the game was being delayed.

When play resumed, a 57-yard pass from Neil O’Donnell to Webster Slaughter got the Jets close to a touchdown. Then tight end Kyle Brady, who has had problems holding the ball, fumbled at the two-yard line.

Indianapolis had no such woes with its tight end. Dilger, a 259-pound second-year player, had a 51-yard reception and a 22-yard touchdown among his seven catches. His yardage broke the Colts mark set by Hall of Famer John Mackey.

“I heard he was one of the best tight ends in the league, had a great career and is in the Hall of Fame,” Dilger said.

Rookie Marvin Harrison sparked Indianapolis’ offense with punt returns of 27, 29 and 31 yards.

“The punts were low and I had 15 yards to run when I got the ball,” he said. “When you can get your team to the 50, you should put points on the scoreboard.”

After his 31-yard runback was offset when Marshall Faulk fumbled, Harrison made a 29-yard return on New York’s next punt. The Colts moved 54 yards in eight plays, and Faulk muscled into the end zone from one yard for a 7-0 lead.

Late in the half--after the Jets wasted a rare offensive highlight, a 44-yard pass play to Wayne Chrebet--Faulk was overthrown on a third-down deep pattern. But safety Lonnie Young leveled Faulk late, drawing a 15-yard penalty.

Two plays later, Harbaugh connected with Dilger on a fly pattern, of all things. That gained 51 yards, setting up Dilger’s touchdown catch on another perfect throw from Harbaugh.

“We knew he was good, but we didn’t expect him to make the big plays,” Jet cornerback Aaron Glenn said of Dilger, the fourth tight end taken in the ’95 draft. “He just took us by surprise.”

New York (0-2) scored with 31 seconds left in the half as O’Donnell connected on five passes in a 56-yard drive. USC graduate Keyshawn Johnson scored his first pro touchdown on an 11-yard pass.