Though they often play tough against Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts, the Jaguars can't expect to hold a Super Bowl contender scoreless for a second straight week as they visit the RCA Dome on Sunday in a matchup of undefeated teams.
Besides having never been shut out in 130 regular-season games since Manning's arrival in 1998, the Colts (2-0) lead the NFL this season with 69 points and are third in total offense with 428.0 yards per game.
Jacksonville (2-0) did shut down the defending champions in its most recent performance, holding the Pittsburgh Steelers to 153 total yards and nine first downs in a 9-0 victory. The Jaguars spoiled Ben Roethlisberger's return, intercepting two of his passes, and allowed Pittsburgh to cross midfield only once.
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Manning threw for 400 yards and three touchdowns last Sunday as Indianapolis scored on six of its first seven possessions and totaled 515 yards in a 43-24 home win over the Houston Texans. The Colts converted eight of their first 10 third-down chances and didn't punt until early in the fourth quarter.
Manning was not happy with his performance the last time these teams met at the RCA Dome. He had the fourth-fewest passing yards of his career with 122 and completed only 13-of-28 in a 10-3 victory last Sept. 18.
In the second meeting last season, Dec. 11 at Alltel Stadium, Manning completed 24 of 36 passes for 324 yards and two touchdowns in a 26-18 victory.
Each of the last five matchups between these AFC South rivals have been decided by seven points or less, and the Jaguars have won two.
While breaking Johnny Unitas' franchise record for career completions last week, Manning threw touchdown passes to three different receivers and none were to primary targets Marvin Harrison or Reggie Wayne.
Harrison still caught seven passes for 127 yards, and Wayne added six receptions for 135 yards. With 943 career receptions, Harrison is eight shy of Andre Reed for fourth place all-time.
Another bright spot from last week's win for Indianapolis was seeing the ground game get going. The Colts had 125 yards on 35 carries, with Joseph Addai rushing for 82 on 16 attempts.
In the season opener, their first meaningful game since Edgerrin James' departure, the Colts were held to 55 yards on 23 carries in a 26-21 win over the New York Giants.
Stopping the run is where Jacksonville excelled in its victory over Pittsburgh, setting a franchise record by allowing 26 rushing yards. Peterson played a big role in holding Willie Parker to 20 yards on 11 carries, and finished with a team-high seven tackles.
The Jaguars notched the fourth shutout win in franchise history and first since beating Houston 27-0 on Dec. 7, 2003. Jacksonville's offense, though, was kept out of the end zone.
Even though Byron Leftwich completed 26 of 39 passes for 260 yards and Fred Taylor added 92 yards on 22 carries, the Jaguars could only muster three second-half field goals by Josh Scobee.
Notable Game Trends:
- Jaguars are 8-1-1 ATS in their last 10 games as an underdog.
- Jaguars are 6-1-1 ATS in their last 8 games following a S.U. win.
- Jaguars are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games as a road underdog.
- Jaguars are 4-1-1 ATS in their last 6 vs. AFC.
- Jaguars are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall.
- Colts are 5-1-1 ATS in their last 7 games following a SU win of more than 14 points.
- Colts are 4-1-1 ATS in their last 6 vs. AFC South.
- Colts are 3-0-1 ATS in their last 4 games following a ATS win.
- Colts are 10-2-1 ATS in their last 13 games in September.
- Road team is 3-0-1 ATS in their last 4 meetings.
- Underdog is 5-2-1 ATS in their last 8 meetings.
- Jaguars are 5-2-1 ATS in their last 8 meetings
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