Colts’ Easy Victory Has a Nice Ring to It

Watch out Colt fans, they’re at it again.

They charm you. They thrill you. They make you love them.

But until they give you that ring--that Super Bowl ring--don’t give them your heart.

Monday night, the Indianapolis Colts certainly looked like a Super Bowl contender.

Led by quarterback Peyton Manning, who had a career-high four touchdown passes and a franchise-record 440 yards passing, the Colts demolished the Jacksonville Jaguars, 43-14, in front of a sellout RCA Dome crowd of 56,816 and the national Monday Night Football audience.

This wasn’t just the Colts’ Big Three--Manning, running back Edgerrin James and receiver Marvin Harrison--outplaying the Jaguars’ 53-man roster.

“You don’t beat teams like Jacksonville with just three players,” said Indianapolis Coach Jim Mora.

No, this was truly a team effort.

Manning spread the ball around, hitting six different receivers, led not by Harrison but by Terrence Wilkins, who caught nine passes for 148 yards and a touchdown.

Manning opened the scoring by hitting Harrison on a 76-yard touchdown pass. He also found Wilkins (27 yards), Jerome Pathon (16) and tight end Ken Dilger (four) on scoring passes.

James got his rushing yardage, picking up 89, including 14 on a touchdown run.

Mike Vanderjagt got his foot into the scoring splurge, kicking field goals of 41 and 22 yards.

And then there was the defense, the much-maligned defense.

It is the defense that has had to live in the shadow of the troika-powered offense.

It is the defense that was blamed, and rightfully so, for the Colts’ collapse two weeks ago when the Oakland Raiders erased a 21-point deficit, coming back with 31 second-half points to hand the Colts (2-1) their only loss.

“The defense has been taking some abuse from me and the media,” Mora said. “These guys have got a lot of pride.”

Monday night the Colts took that abuse out on the Jaguars (2-2). They made them look like the Cincinnati Bengals.

They chased and hounded quarterback Mark Brunell. They buried him in the end zone for a safety. They sacked him five times.

They ruined the season debut of running back Fred Taylor, who had only 57 yards in his return from knee surgery.

They shut out the Jaguars in the second half, holding Jacksonville to 52 yards for the final 30 minutes.

Brunell managed to find enough daylight to complete 21 of 36 passes for 229 yards and two touchdowns. Both those scoring passes went to his favorite target, Jimmy Smith, on plays of nine and 26 yards.

Even on this bleakest of nights for the Jaguars, Smith managed to catch nine passes for 132 yards.

But it was Manning who seemingly could do no wrong on a night when he connected on 23 of 36 pass attempts.

On his touchdown pass to Wilkins in the second quarter, it seemed as if Manning was aiming for tight end Marcus Pollard, but threw behind him, only to have Wilkins come out of nowhere to grab the ball and carry it into the end zone.

“Let’s set the record straight,” Manning said afterward with a huge smile on his face. “I was throwing to Terrence.”

But then it happened again on the next series. Manning lofted a ball down the left sideline, seemingly intended for Pollard, only to have Wilkins make a somersault catch.

“I was not aiming for Terrence on that one,” Manning admitted.

To repeat, Manning could do no wrong.

But Colt fans, you’ve seen this act before. You saw your team roll through its regular-season schedule a year ago, winning 13 of 16 and the loyalty of every fan in this town, only to flop against the Tennessee Titans in the AFC playoffs.

You saw your team start out this year with a victory opening day against the Kansas City Chiefs, only to get caught from behind by the Raiders a week later.

Now the Colts seem to be better than ever, a multidimensional team without apparent weakness.

Don’t be fooled.

Hold out for that ring.

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