Colts falter in AFC South divisional battle

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indianapolis Colts could have taken a strong hold on the AFC South divisional lead Sunday when they faced the second-place Jacksonville Jaguars. Instead, Jacksonville (5-2) now finds itself with a half-game lead following its 27-24 win against the Colts at the RCA Dome.\nThe Jaguars' Byron Leftwich again used late-game heroics to seal the win. The second-year quarterback led Jacksonville on a 3:14 drive, capped off by the go-ahead, 53-yard field goal by Josh Scobee to put Jacksonville up by three with 0:38 to play.\n"We were on the outer edge of what we felt comfortable kicking from," said Jacksonville Coach Jack Del Rio. "Certainly, he's capable of making that, but we didn't want to take a high-risk kick and possibly give them the ball if we got too far out of range. We were being aggressive and going after it -- knowing that if we got within his range he could make it."\nComing off the bye week, Indianapolis (4-2) did not look sharp. The team committed two turnovers and had a season-high 12 penalties. The Colts had won four straight since their opening week loss to the Patriots.\n"The mark of a really good team is to play well week in and week out, and that was our goal today, to continue on with that momentum we had," said Indianapolis Coach Tony Dungy. "But we really didn't get that done. We played a very good team, and they outplayed us."\nThe Colts held a 14-10 halftime lead, but it was in the third quarter where Jacksonville gained its energy. The Jaguars held onto the ball for 12:06 and limited the Colts to just seven offensive plays. Jacksonville only got three points in the quarter, but added another field goal 13 seconds into the fourth to make the score 16-14.\nPeyton Manning and Marvin Harrison appeared to hook up on a touchdown pass to take the lead, but Del Rio challenged and the play was overturned. Harrison was ruled out-of-bounds, and the Colts kicked a field goal.\n"The challenge, taking away those four points and having to settle for three there ended up being pretty costly," Manning said. "Jacksonville is an excellent team, and they played well. But I thought we made too many mistakes that really hurt."\nFacing a 17-16 deficit, the Jaguars retook the lead in the fourth quarter on a Leftwich touchdown pass to Jimmy Smith and then added on a two-point conversion to make the score 24-17. Leftwich finished the day 23 of 30 for 300 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. \nManning pulled the Colts even at 24 with 3:52 remaining when he threw a strike to Harrison. Manning had three touchdowns to go along with 368 yards passing, and Harrison had two scores.\nIt was then that Leftwich and the Jaguars marched down the field for the game-winning score.\n"We wished we could have a lot played better." said Colts' defensive back Jason David. "They came out here, had a great game plan and had a great offensive scheme today. You can't always get the ones you want. So we just have to prepare for next weekend and do a better job."\nThe two teams split the regular season match-up, each winning on the road. A win for the Colts would have put them in good position to win the division but now it looks like a tougher battle down the road. Manning said the team was aware of the scenario, and that was disappointing.\n"The key is, something we have done a good job of, is responding and bouncing back. We're going on the road to Kansas City. We know it's tough to play there," Manning said. "This one is disappointing, but it is over with. It can't linger."\n-- Contact staff writer Tyler V. Hoeppner at thoeppne@indiana.edu.