INDIANAPOLIS -- Josh Scobee proved Jacksonville's traditional formula still works.
After wearing out the Indy defense on the ground, Scobee saved the game -- and perhaps the season -- by making a 51-yard field goal with 4 seconds left to give the Jaguars a 23-21 victory, their first in Indy since 2004.
It didn't look like Jacksonville (1-2) would need Scobee's boot after consuming more than 12 minutes on a marathon drive to open the fourth quarter capped by Scobee's 21-yarder for a 20-14 lead with 2:33 left.
Peyton Manning nearly pulled off his second improbable comeback in two weeks. The two-time league MVP needed just 1:26 to take the Colts 77 yards before giving the ball to Joseph Addai for a 2-yard TD run with 1:07 to go.
David Garrard followed that with his best impersonation of Manning.
He repeatedly slithered his way through Indy's pass rush to buy time, find open receivers and lay the ball in perfectly. He was helped by an 11-yard pass interference penalty on linebacker Freddy Keiaho when a fourth-and-1 pass fell incomplete with 25 seconds to go.
Garrard took advantage of the second chance by hooking up for three more completions to set up Scobee's winner.
Jacksonville was on the verge of falling to 0-3 for the first time since 2003 and dropping two games behind the five-time AFC South champs.
Instead, they got even with Indianapolis (1-2) and earned the first chip in the tiebreaker format with a victory at Lucas Oil Stadium, where the Colts still have not won in four tries, two of them preseason games.
And they did it the old-fashioned way.
Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor each topped 100 yards as the Jaguars piled up 236 yards on the ground and held the ball for more than 41 minutes. Jacksonville actually had as many rushes (48) as the Colts had total offensive plays.
It was a far cry from the 97 yards Taylor and Jones-Drew combined for in the first two games when the Jags were sputtering.
For a while, it looked like the Colts would revert to their old form.
They started quickly after Dallas Clark made a nifty one-handed catch on Manning's first pass of the game. Manning finished the drive by hooking up with Marvin Harrison on a 4-yard TD pass just inside the sideline for a 7-0 lead. It was Harrison's first score in more than 12 months.
The Jags answered with Scobee's 26-yard field goal and Rashean Mathis returned an interception 61 yards to give Jacksonville a 10-7 lead with 5:10 left in the half.
But Manning set up Addai for a 3-yard TD run that made it 14-10.
Indy had a chance to take control in the third quarter after Kelvin Hayden picked off Garrard and returned it 28 yards to the Jags 47, but Manning missed Harrison on a deep pass down the middle and Brian Williams intercepted it at the Colts 2.
Jacksonville responded with another long drive, including an incredible 34-yard run from Taylor, who appeared to be stopped for a loss. Instead, Taylor spun away, reversed field and broke two tackles to get down the sideline. Two plays later, Jones-Drew scored from 4 yards out to give Jacksonville a 17-14 lead late in the third quarter.
Taylor ran 26 times for 121 yards, while Jones-Drew ran 19 times for 107 yards and a TD. Jones-Drew also had four receptions for 59 yards.
