Jaguars get last-minute victory over Colts
INDIANAPOLIS -- Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blaine Gabbert had less than a minute and 80 yards to go for the win. He didn't need near that much time.
Gabbert hit wide receiver Cecil Shorts III over the middle of the Indianapolis Colts' defense and Shorts took it all the way for a touchdown to give the Jaguars a 22-17 win on Sunday in Lucas Oil Stadium.
"We checked to a play where we knew we could get the ball down the middle of the field," Gabbert said. "There are pros and cons to that play because we had no timeouts left. Cecil made a phenomenal play after the catch."
The Colts missed a couple of shots at tackling Shorts, who had been targeted only one other pass the entire game. When Colts safety Sergio Brown failed to stop Shorts, he hit his hands on his helmet, as if sensing where the play would ultimately end.
"It was a good pitch and catch and he split us and took it into the end zone," Colts safety Antoine Bethea said. "We were there. We just have to make that play. Game of inches."
The ending was a stunning turn of events after Adam Vinatieri's 37-yard field goal with 56 seconds left had given the Colts a 17-16 lead. But even Shorts' touchdown didn't completely seal the deal. Colts quarterback Andrew Luck had two shots at the end zone from the Jaguars' 26-yard line, with a final pass knocked down as time expired.
Luck finished 22 of 46 passing for a career-best 313 yards (his second 300-plus game) with two touchdowns and one interception.
"I hesitate to say (the Colts let a win slip away) because that would diminish what Jacksonville did," Luck said. "They deserved to win the game. They made the plays when it counted."
Jacksonville improved to 1-2 while the Colts fell to the same record. The Jaguars are home against Cincinnati next week while the Colts have a bye.
Until the flurry of activity at the end, Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew's mastery of the Colts had been the primary storyline. Jones-Drew rushed for 177 yards and a touchdown -- his highest yardage ever against the Colts.
Jones-Drew entered the game averaging 101 yards per game in 12 meetings with the Colts. The dominance continued: Jones-Drew rushed for 70 yards in the first half, and then opened Jacksonville's first possession of the third quarter with a 59-yard touchdown run that closed the Colts' lead to 14-10.
The Jaguars came up big two series later when linebacker Paul Posluszny picked off a poor Luck throw. The subsequent Jacksonville drive stalled, but Josh Scobee hit a 47-yard field goal to pull Jacksonville within 14-13 with 2:55 left in the third. It was Scobee again, from 26 yards, to give the Jaguars a 16-14 lead with 11:02 left.
"We came into the game wanting to decrease the number of frustrating plays we made in the last two games and increase the number of frustrating plays for our opponents," Jaguars coach Mike Mularkey said.
Luck hit rookie T.Y. Hilton with a 40-yard touchdown strike to put the Colts up 7-3 in the first quarter, and engineered a 14-play, 80-yard drive to close the half, hitting Mewelde Moore for a 4-yard score and a 14-3 lead.
But the Colts offense stalled in the second half, with multiple punts, turnovers and a scary moment where oft-concussed receiver Austin Collie went down on his first catch of the season. Collie's injury was to his knee this time.
Notes: Former Colts running back Edgerrin James was inducted into the team's "Ring of Honor" during a halftime ceremony. He joins former coach Tony Dungy and former teammate Marvin Harrison as the most recent inductees. Among the former teammates to congratulate him via video was Peyton Manning. ... Shorts' 80-yard touchdown reception tied for second-longest scoring catch in Jacksonville franchise history.
