The Indianapolis Colts secured a playoff sport with a 31-24 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday.

Manning completed his first 17 passes and finished 29-of-34 for 364 yards and three touchdowns for the Colts (11-4), who won their eighth straight game and will be the fifth seed in the AFC.

Indianapolis trailed by 10 entering the fourth quarter, but tied the contest with 6:34 left after Manning's 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end Dallas Clark earlier in the session and Adam Vinatieri's 45-yard field goal.

On the Jaguars' next possession, quarterback David Garrard tried to force a third-down ball into coverage when Ratliff intercepted the pass and followed his blockers down the right sideline. The score gave the Colts a 31-24 lead with 4:58 remaining.

After the both teams punted, Jacksonville (5-10) drove from its own 10 all the way down to Indianapolis' seven-yard line with 19 seconds left.

With no timeouts left, Garrard threw an incompletion on first down and Dwight Freeney raced around the left end and sacked the quarterback on second down. The Jaguars could not get back to the line in time to stop the clock, ending the game.

Garrard was 28-of-41 for 329 yards with one touchdown and one interception for Jacksonville. He also rushed for a score. The Jaguars quarterback hit Dennis Northcutt for a 28-yard touchdown pass 3:55 into the game and his 2-yard touchdown run gave his team a 14-0 lead with 11:43 left in the second quarter.

Indianapolis halved the deficit with 8:46 left before the break as Manning bought time and hit Reggie Wayne for a 41-yard touchdown pass down the right side of the field.

Jacksonville held a 17-7 lead at the half but Indianapolis scored on the first possession of the second half when Manning connected with Dominic Rhodes on a 10-yard touchdown with 10:32 left in the third.

Jacksonville answered with another long drive, this one 14 plays, 76 yards and was capped after 7:58 with Montell Owens' 2-yard touchdown run to give the home team a 24-14 lead.