Unbeaten Colts Stay the Course

With most of their goals accomplished, the Indianapolis Colts can turn their attention to history.

But don’t expect them to look too far ahead.

Peyton Manning threw two touchdown passes to Marvin Harrison, Mike Vanderjagt kicked four field goals and the Colts remained unbeaten with a 26-18 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.

Indy became the fourth team in NFL history to start 13-0, locked up a third consecutive division title and secured home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The team has little left to play for over the final three games.

Well, except for matching the mark set by the 1972 Miami Dolphins.

Perfection.

“Going 16-0 would be great, but it’s not the most important thing,” Coach Tony Dungy said. “I like history. I appreciate it. But I just think it’s best to not look too far ahead.”

The Colts joined the 1934 Chicago Bears, 1972 Dolphins and 1998 Denver Broncos as the league’s only teams to start 13-0. But the Dolphins were the lone team to finish the regular season unbeaten and sweep through the playoffs.

Dungy and his players have been fielding questions regarding their pursuit of perfection for weeks. They downplayed it for the most part, but have little else to talk about now.

Dungy must decide whether to rest players and reduce the risk of injury or try to run the table and chase Miami’s mark.

The Colts play host to the San Diego Chargers next week.

“We definitely want to win,” Dungy said. “We’re going to play to win and go from there. We’re going to keep our mantra: one game at a time. We’re going to do everything we can to beat San Diego and we’re not going to look ahead.”

Manning picked apart Jacksonville’s secondary -- something he didn’t do in the teams’ first meeting. He had 122 yards passing in a 10-3 victory over the Jaguars (9-4) in Week 2. He nearly doubled that by halftime Sunday, and finished 24 of 36 for 324 yards. He was sacked a season-high three times.

Harrison caught six passes for a season-high 137 yards.

Manning directed an 89-yard drive on the Colts’ opening possession and capped it with a nine-yard pass to Harrison. They hooked up for another score early in the second quarter, a perfectly thrown 65-yard pass.