Jets 27, Colts 17
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — That green blur was Curtis Martin streaking around and through the Indianapolis Colts for 203 yards.
Martin capped one of the greatest days of rushing in NFL history, becoming the fourth 200-yard runner of Sunday afternoon's action. He also scored the clinching touchdown in the New York Jets' 27-17 victory over the Colts.
Coming off a sore buttocks that severely limited him last week, Martin rushed for a career and franchise high. He had runs of 55 and 36 yards in going over 1,000 for the sixth straight year. Only Barry Sanders and Eric Dickerson have done that in their first six NFL seasons.
"It means for myself I am grateful, that is the way it touches me," Martin said. "To be grateful for the talent I have been blessed with and to be able to use it and try to be at my best every year and week to week and day to day."
Martin has never been better than Sunday as the Jets (9-4) snapped a four-game slide against the Colts; won their third in a row after a three-game slump; and remained firmly in the playoff race, one game behind Miami in the AFC East.
Martin spearheaded a ground game that balanced Vinny Testaverde's 295 yards passing and two touchdowns. Martin's 55-yard run was his longest this season, in which he has 1,094 yards.
"I think it did a lot for our confidence more than anything," Martin said after his team pushed the Colts (7-6) to the brink of playoff extinction. "I have seen confidence carry a team beyond what I think their ability was.
"I think our confidence comes in not allowing Indy to beat us five times straight — I think that can be demoralizing to a team. We said, 'Today we are going to draw the line in the sand,' and we weren't going to let them cross that line. And if they did, we feel we were going to choke them, and today was one of those days."
It began as one of those rare days where the Jets get going quickly. For much of the season, they've needed to come from behind to win. This time, they led 20-0 at halftime.
They marched 78 yards on 12 plays on the opening series, including rookie Windrell Hayes' first NFL catch, for 32 yards. Wayne Chrebet caught Testaverde's 11-yarder for the score.
New York made it 14-0 on the next series. Dedric Ward's one-handed catch in the back of the end zone capped a 70-yard drive. Martin had a 36-yard run on which he broke three tackles.
John Hall hit a 45-yard field goal to make it 17-0 moments after Martin's 55-yard gallop put him over 1,000 yards.
"There's something special about that guy," coach Al Groh said.
Victor Green's interception at the goal line and 43-yard return led to Hall's 21-yarder as the half ended.
"In the first half, we struggled," coach Jim Mora admitted. "We've got to get people stopped. We've had three games where we struggled on the road in the first half. It's not a question of not being ready or not trying, it just hasn't worked."
But things began working better in the second half for the Colts, who were outgained 336-91 in the first half.
Mike Vanderjagt's 32-yard field goal got them on the scoreboard. They got to 20-10 on Peyton Manning's 17-yard pass to Marvin Harrison, then Terrence Wilkins beat Marcus Coleman on a fly pattern for a 43-yard touchdown, making it 20-17.
New York secured the victory after a critical mistake by Colts center Jeff Saturday. His shotgun snap barely moved a yard and was pounced on by Bryan Cox at the Indianapolis 20. A 16-yard pass to Chrebet on third down set up Martin's TD run.
"It was a freak play there on the snap," Manning said. "You won't see that happen again in five years.
"It's a shame. We had too many mistakes we couldn't overcome."