JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Josh Scobee watched the kick clear the crossbar, then ripped off his helmet and started running the other way.
He cut left, then right, dodging teammates all over the field.
They finally caught up with him near the sideline, setting off a raucous celebration that the Jacksonville Jaguars desperately needed after consecutive lopsided losses.
Scobee’s 59-yard field goal on the final play gave the Jaguars a 31-28 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday and may have provided the spark players and coaches talked about needing all week. He certainly supplied some comic relief with his victory chase.
“I don’t know what I was thinking,” Scobee said. “I think I blacked out for about 10 seconds. It was incredible.”
It was the eighth-longest field goal in NFL history and the longest in franchise history. It may have been the biggest too.
The Jaguars rebounded from back-to-back, 25-point losses — the worst consecutive setbacks in team history — and handed the six-time defending AFC South champion Colts (2-2) their second division loss.
“Being that it was against the Colts, that’s huge for us,” Scobee said.
Peyton Manning was solid as usual, throwing for 352 yards and two touchdowns, but his receivers let the team down in this one.
Tight end Brody Eldridge dropped a pass near the goal line in the third quarter. Safety Anthony Smith made a shoelace grab on the ball and returned it near midfield. David Garrard found Marcedes Lewis over the middle for a 15-yard TD pass a few plays later, putting Jacksonville (2-2) ahead 21-14.
Reggie Wayne, who finished with a career-high 15 receptions for 196 yards, fumbled inside the 10-yard line on the ensuing drive.
“You don’t like for them to happen,” Manning said. “You like to have everything go just right, but when they do happen, when there’s time on the clock, you have to be able to overcome them and win in spite of them.”
Despite the turnovers, Manning tied the game with 48 seconds remaining. He hooked up with Dallas Clark on a fourth- and-10 play, then found Wayne streaking down the sideline for 42 yards. A few inches from the goal line, Manning hit Austin Collie for a 1-yard pass, and the extra point tied it up.
