Colts and Jags face off

It is the biggest stage in football. Everybody watches, and everybody who plays knows a national audience is watching and wants to perform to the best of their abilities.\nWith that in mind, it is fitting that some of the NFL's most dynamic players will perform tonight when the Jacksonville Jaguars take on the Indianapolis Colts at 8 p.m. at the RCA Dome on Monday Night Football.\nFor Jacksonville (2-1), quarterback Mark Brunell and wide receiver Jimmy Smith will welcome back the third member of their trio this week. Running back Fred Taylor will see his first action of the season after he injured his knee in training camp.\nThe Colts (1-1) are coming off a disappointing 38-31 loss to the Oakland Raiders Sept. 10. With a by week to get their act back together, quarterback Peyton Manning, wide receiver Marvin Harrison and running back Edgerrin James should be able to bounce back.\nManning has been quick to lead his team in trying to get over the disappointment of the loss to the Raiders. Oakland scored 31 unanswered points in a comeback victory. Manning said his team needs to forget about the past and focus on the present.\n"It's always frustrating when we lose," Manning said. "It's not going to get any easier. Jacksonville is one of the top teams in the league. Monday Night Football; everybody will be excited."\nAs far as the matchup with the three offensive stars from each team trying to outplay each other, Smith says the first priority is to win the ball game. But, beyond that, he will keep an eye on his counterparts' statistics.\n"Our first goal is to win the game, then, after the game, the trio will be looking at the stats to see who out-performed each other," Smith said. \nWith so many quality offensive players on the field, defensive presence will be at a premium. Outside of individual performances, Colts coach Jim Mora is looking for his team to improve defensively. \nIn particular, Mora said he wants to see his cornerbacks have consistent coverage downfield while his defensive line pressures the quarterback. To this point, one of the two isn't happening.\n"When we did have pressure, we had some problems with the coverage," Mora said. "When we had good coverage, we had problems with the pressure."\nMora has been trying everything to alter the success of his defense. The Colts are allowing 26 points per contest. In fact, Mora is so concerned with the pass rush, he has been sending all kinds of blitz packages.\n"We're sending safeties, corners, linebackers," Mora said. "We don't always do it just to rush the passer. We do it to cause problems in the run game, too. A lot of times, had we been in a little bit tighter coverage, we had a guy there to get a sack."\nJaguars coach Tom Coughlin should be thrilled to have Taylor back a knee injury. After putting up big numbers in their first two games, Jacksonville struggled in the rain against Cincinnati in a 13-0 win in their home opener. The lack of a ground game hurt them because their high-wire act was grounded.\nThe two teams have met only one other time, with Indianapolis beating Jacksonville 41-31 in 1995. The good news for the Jaguars is they are undefeated in Monday Night Football games at 5-0. The Colts will make their first appearance on Monday night since 1997.\nEven though it is early in the season, this game has a great deal of importance. A loss would give the Jaguars a second blemish on their record, which would be the same number of losses that they had last season before the playoffs.\nSimilarly, the Colts would suffer their second defeat if they were to lose Monday night. \nWith the game holding so much meaning, Manning hopes his teammates are ready to go to war with all of the Jaguars.\n"We've got a lot of work to do," Manning said.