Outside the locker room on Sunday -- after the Indianapolis Colts had remained unbeaten -- the team's owner, Jim Irsay, was asked about what may be the NFL's hottest debate.
Should the Colts continue to play their starters in pursuit of a 16-0 regular season? Or should coach Tony Dungy bench his star players, protect them from injury before the playoffs, and risk spoiling the Colts' chance for a perfect season?
"That's why I pay Tony," Irsay said after the Colts had defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars, 26-18, and improved to 13-0.
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"As an owner, your head coach is the guy who really has the pulse of the team. He's the guy who's in the best position to make that decision. The main thing as an owner is that you support your coach, period. I support whichever way Tony chooses to go."
Sunday's victory kept alive the Colts' chance to join the 1972 Miami Dolphins (17-0), the only team in league history to go through the regular season (which was 14 games then) and the playoffs unbeaten. Building a 26-3 lead before holding off a fourth-quarter Jaguars rally, Indianapolis clinched the American Football Conference South, a first-round bye and home-field advantage through the conference playoffs.
After the game, Dungy said his starters would play on Sunday when the Colts face the visiting San Diego Chargers. But he refused to speculate on who might play when the Colts finish the regular season at Seattle (Dec. 24) and at home against Arizona (Jan. 1).
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"We still have a month before we play a playoff game, so we have to keep improving," Dungy said when asked why his starters would play against the Chargers. "I know it's hard for people to believe, but 16-0 would be a nice footnote, it'd be great, we'd love to do it. But it's not the ultimate thing. We want to get ourselves ready the best possible way for the playoffs."
Asked how much influence the players would have on his decisions on playing time, Dungy said, "Not much. They all want to play, and they all want to keep trying to win. But beyond next week, we'll see what happens. I just think I'll know when it's right to rest some guys, and I'll do it."
To defeat the Colts, you have to take away something, and the Jaguars took away nothing. Peyton Manning completed 24 of 36 passes for 324 yards, and he threw two touchdown passes to Marvin Harrison. Edgerrin James rushed 30 times for 93 yards, caught nine passes and looked none the worse for wear.
PHOTO: AFP
"I feel great," said James, quietly having another superb season as one of the league's best all-purpose backs. "Playing in this offense is fun."
It looked that way. Jacksonville (9-4) had won five consecutive games and had played the Colts tough in a 10-3 loss in September. But Manning and the Colts quickly quieted the crowd of 67,164, driving 89 yards for a touchdown on their first possession. The drive was precise and relentless, and it set the tone for the game, with Manning hitting Harrison over the middle on a 9-yard scoring pass.
After Jacksonville answered with a second-quarter field goal, Harrison struck again. He faked a sideline move on cornerback Rashean Mathis, then cut back toward the center of the field and blew past him. Manning threw, and Harrison, who was three steps ahead of Mathis, never broke stride. The touchdown play covered 65 yards and gave Indianapolis a 14-3 lead.
Manning said that in studying the Jaguars on film before the game, he felt that Mathis might be susceptible on just such a play.
"Mathis is an aggressive cover corner; he's made some big interceptions," Manning said. "Against the Jets, he made an interception on a play like that. This time, we faked it and went deep."
The Colts led, 17-3, at halftime, and added three field goals to go ahead, 26-3, with a little more than 12 minutes to play. But the Jaguars made the final minutes interesting, scoring on a 5-yard run by quarterback David Garrard, then recovering an onside kick.
That led to a 71-yard touchdown drive, with Garrard throwing a 1-yard scoring pass to Jimmy Smith, then running for the 2-point conversion. "I think we thought the game was over; we didn't play as sharp as we needed to, and they're a good football team," Dungy said.
With Jacksonville trailing by 26-18 with 1:54 left, coach Jack Del Rio decided to have Josh Scobee kick off into the end zone, hoping that the Jaguar defense would hold. Manning said he took offense at that.
"It was a direct challenge to the offense for them to kick off, saying they thought they could stop us," Manning said. "I pointed that out to our offensive line."
On third-and-7, Manning sealed the victory by finding Dallas Clark on a 12-yard pass for a first down. From there, Manning ran out the clock, and the Colts' chance for a perfect season was intact. As Dungy and the Colts decide how to approach the rest of the season, Manning said the issue would not become divisive.
"Some coaches tell their players what to say, but coach Dungy doesn't do that," he said. "I know you're going to get some mixed answers. But the truth is, it doesn't really matter what any of the players say.
"We talk about one voice around here, and it's the head coach. It's his call. What he tells us to do, we'll do."
Giants 26, Eagles 23, OT
At Philadelphia, Jay Feely's redemption kick for New York sent NFC defending champion Philadelphia (5-8) out of the playoffs chase.
Feely's 36-yard field goal with 3:55 left in overtime lifted New York to victory that put them closer to the NFC East title.
Feely, who cost the Giants (9-4) a victory in Seattle two weeks ago by missing three late kicks, made four field goals. Tiki Barber had 124 yards rushing and one TD catch and the Giants overcame Eli Manning's three interceptions in the fourth quarter and overtime.
Osi Umenyiora sacked Mike McMahon and Kenderick Allen recovered McMahon's fumble at the Eagles 27, setting up Feely's winning kick four plays later.
Cowboys 31, Chiefs 28
At Irving, Texas, Drew Bledsoe threw for 332 yards and three touchdowns, including a 1-yarder to Dan Campbell with 22 seconds left to give Dallas (8-5) the win that kept them a game behind the New York Giants.
Dallas ended a two-game losing streak and finally found itself on the right end of a game-ending field goal when Kansas City's Lawrence Tynes missed a 41-yarder on the final play. The Cowboys have had all but two games decided by a touchdown or less; two of their last three losses came on a field goal as time expired.
Kansas City (8-5) wasted Larry Johnson's 143 yards rushing and three touchdowns and ended a three-game winning streak. The Chiefs also lost a chance to move up in the AFC playoff standings.
Buccaneers 20, Panthers 10
At Charlotte, North Carolina, Carnell "Cadillac" Williams ran for 112 yards and a pair of a touchdowns to lead Tampa Bay into a tie with Carolina for the NFL South division lead.
Both Tampa Bay (9-4) and Carolina (9-4) have NFC South rivals the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints remaining on their schedules, and the Falcons (7-5) are 1.5 games out of the lead heading into Monday's game against the Saints.
The Tampa Bay defense held Carolina to 276 yards as they snapped a five-game losing streak against the Panthers.
Bengals 23, Browns 20
At Cincinnati, Rudi Johnson ran for a season-high 169 yards, and Shayne Graham kicked a 37-yard field goal on the final play as Cincinnati stayed in firm control of the AFC North division.
Cincinnati (10-3) reached double-digits in victories for the first time since 1988, its last Super Bowl season.
With Carson Palmer struggling to complete throws in the wind, Johnson carried a season-high 30 times and did most of the work in a 43-yard drive to Graham's winning kick.
The Browns (4-9) had a chance to pull off an upset, but couldn't stop Johnson or overcome two penalties in the closing minutes. Leigh Bodden was called for interference and illegal contact on Chad Johnson to set up Graham's game-winner.
Patriots 35, Bills 7
At Buffalo, New York, Tom Brady finished with 329 yards passing and two touchdowns in leading New England to a 35-7 victory over unraveling Buffalo.
Corey Dillon added a 12-yard touchdown run and 102 yards rushing. Troy Brown and Christian Fauria each caught short touchdown passes as the two-time Super Bowl champions (8-5) scored the first 35 points and closed in on the AFC East title as Buffalo (4-9) lost for the fourth straight game.
Dolphins 23, Chargers 21
At San Diego, Gus Frerotte threw two touchdown passes to Chris Chambers in the third quarter and Miami shocked San Diego, ending the Chargers' five-game winning streak and severely damaging their playoff hopes.
The Dolphins (6-7) won their third straight and remained alive for the AFC East title. Their victory kept the two-time defending Super Bowl champion New England Pat-riots from clinching the division. New England won 35-7 at Buffalo.
Antonio Gates caught an 8-yard TD pass from Drew Brees with 15 seconds left, but the Dolphins recovered the onside kick as San Diego fell to 8-5.
Seahawks 41, 49ers 3
At Seattle, Matt Hasselbeck completed eight of his first nine passes for three touchdowns over the first 15:22, and Seattle cruised.
Hasselbeck finished 21-for-25 for 226 yards and a season-high four scores in three quarters of Seattle's team-record ninth straight win. Bobby Engram caught two touchdowns.
NFL rushing leader Shaun Alexander added 108 yards on 21 carries and his league-leading 23rd rushing score. He is four TDs from the league's single-season record of 27, set by Priest Holmes of Kansas City in 2003.
Seattle (11-2) didn't punt until 4 minutes remained in the third quarter against San Francisco (2-11).
Broncos 12, Ravens 10
At Denver, Kyle Johnson made a tiptoe catch for a touchdown, Champ Bailey set a franchise record with an interception in his fifth straight game and Al Wilson made a big hit on the goal line to lift Denver (10-3) over Baltimore (4-9).
The victory increased Denver's lead to two games in the AFC West and tied it with Cincinnati for the second-best record in the AFC. Jake Plummer threw for 236 yards and the touchdown to Johnson. Tatum Bell was held to 63 yards and Mike Anderson had only 21.
Vikings 27, Rams 13
At Minneapolis, the Minnesota defense forced six turnovers and held Steven Jackson to 67 yards rushing in its sixth straight victory. With Chicago losing at Pittsburgh, the Vikings (8-5) pulled within one game of the division lead in a season that appeared lost after a 2-5 start.
Brian Williams led the way with two interceptions as the Vikings confused and battered rookie St. Louis quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who was 26-of-44 for 235 yards and five interceptions for the fading Rams (5-8).
Koren Robinson, Michael Bennett and Ciatrick Fason all scored touchdowns for the Vikings on the ground.
Steelers 21, Bears 9
At Pittsburgh, Jerome Bettis plowed through the muck and snow for two touchdowns and 101 yards as Pittsburgh (8-5) ended Chicago's eight-game winning streak.
Bettis, held to 22 yards on 14 carries in his previous two games, had his first 100-yard game since getting 117 in December last year against Baltimore. Bettis' previous season high was 56 yards against Cincinnati in October, and he had only 186 yards in Pittsburgh's first 12 games.
Chicago (9-4) is now just a game ahead of Minnesota in the NFC North.
Titans 13, Texans 10
At Nashville, Tennessee, Kris Brown hooked a 31-yard field goal wide left even as Tennessee coach Jeff Fisher was trying to call a timeout, and the Titans held on to beat hapless Houston.
Rob Bironas kicked a 21-yard field goal with 10 seconds left that gave Tennessee (4-9) the sweep of its AFC South rival (1-11) for the division cellar.
Redskins 17, Cardinals 13
At Tempe, Arizona, Clinton Portis ran for 105 yards as Washington rallied from a 10-3 deficit to keep its slim playoff hopes alive.
Portis ran 15 yards for a touchdown to tie the game at 10 in the third quarter, and Antonio Brown gave the Redskins (7-6) the lead for good at 17-13 with a 91-yard kickoff return in the third quarter.
The Redskins needed both shots in the arm after Brunell's horrendous first half. Kurt Warner passed for 255 yards for Arizona (4-9).
Jets 26, Raiders 10
At East Rutherford, New Jersey, Curtis Martin missed his first game since 1998 with a sore right knee but third-string running back Cedric Houston and third-string quarterback Brooks Bollinger led New York to break a seven-game losing streak.
Bollinger threw for one touchdown and set a team record with 56 yards rushing by a quarterback, Houston scored the first touchdown of his career and John Abraham had two sacks that caused fumbles for the Jets (3-9). Marques Tuiasosopo threw two interceptions, lost two fumbles and was sacked six times for Oakland (4-9).
Packers 16, Lions 13, OT
At Green Bay, Wisconsin, given a second chance after an apparent fourth-quarter safety was overturned, Green Bay drove 56 yards in overtime to set up Ryan Longwell's 28-yard field goal.
Detroit (4-9) wrapped up Packers running back Samkon Gado in the end zone with 6:59 remaining in regulation. Gado tried to toss the ball forward as he was being tackled and was flagged for intentional grounding, resulting in a safety that would have put the Lions ahead by 15-13. But officials huddled and overturned the call, saying it was a forward pass and Gado was outside the tackle box, giving the Packers another chance.
The Packers (3-10) were backed up in their territory after a goal-line stand by their defense. Linebacker Na'il Diggs stopped the Lions' Jeff Garcia on a fourth-and-goal sneak.
Brett Favre was 21-for-31 for 170 yards, throwing one interception at the end of regulation. Gado rushed for 171 yards and a touchdown.
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