JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Peyton Manning asked his coaches at halftime if they had any suggestions for him. All he got was, "You haven't thrown any incompletions. Just try to keep doing what you're doing."

Great tip.

Manning was nearly perfect all night, exactly what the Indianapolis Colts needed to overcome whatever emotion the Jacksonville Jaguars got from Richard Collier's return.

Manning completed his first 17 passes, picked apart Jacksonville's secondary and led the Colts to their eighth consecutive win and seventh straight playoff berth. He finished 29-for-34 and threw for 364 yards and three touchdowns, and the Colts secured the No. 5 seed in the AFC playoffs with a 31-24 victory over the Jaguars last night.

"Peyton Manning is unbelievable," coach Tony Dungy said. "He put a lot of it on his shoulders and kept us in it. He played unbelievably under the circumstances.

"All in all, with everything that was riding on it ... it was a great performance. It was an MVP performance for sure."

Manning led the Colts back from deficits of 14-0 and 24-14, and Adam Vinatieri's 45-yard field goal tied the game at 24-all late in the fourth.

Indianapolis (11-4) took the lead for good when Keiwan Ratliff intercepted a pass from David Garrard and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown with 4:48 remaining.

"One of those plays I was in the right place at the right time," Ratliff said. "He threw the ball and I just caught it and tried to get to the end zone."

The Jaguars (5-10) had two chances to tie it, but both drives ended with sacks. Garrard drove Jacksonville to the 7-yard line with 29 seconds remaining, but Maurice Jones-Drew sprained his knee on a reception, and since the Jaguars had no timeouts, there was a 10-second runoff.

Garrard misfired on first down, then got sacked by Dwight Freeney to end the game.

Collier, a 6-foot-7 offensive lineman paralyzed from the waist down following a shooting in early September, returned to the field for the first time and was recognized during pregame ceremonies. He drove onto the field, sat next to his teammates during the national anthem and went to midfield as an honorary team captain for the coin toss.

COWBOYS

A SORE ROMO WILL PLAY

Considering that Tony Romo finished the last game with his sore back, the Dallas Cowboys quarterback doesn't anticipate any problem being ready for the next game. Even in a shortened week.

"If I've been able to do it once already, I can't imagine it ever being worse than that," Romo said yesterday. "I did it last week so if that's the worst that it gets, I should be able to play either way."

Romo said he will be ready Saturday night when Dallas plays its Texas Stadium finale against the Baltimore Ravens.

"Tony Romo practiced and felt a lot better," coach Wade Phillips said. "It looks good for him for Saturday."

TITANS

FINNEGAN FINED $25,000

Tennessee Titans Pro Bowl cornerback Cortland Finnegan has been fined $25,000 by the NFL for two hard hits on Houston quarterback Matt Schaub last weekend.

Finnegan was sanctioned yesterday for a helmet-to-helmet hit and an unnecessary roughness penalty for spearing Schaub on the same series during Tennessee's 13-12 loss to the Texans on Sunday.

Finnegan is tied for second in the NFL with five interceptions.

VIKINGS

JACKSON TO START AT QB

Tarvaris Jackson has reclaimed his starting spot at quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings.

The team announced the move yesterday, and coach Brad Childress said the decision has nothing to do with the health of Gus Frerotte and everything to do with the way Jackson has played the last two weeks.

"I thought it gives our team the best chance right now," Childress said. "It takes nothing away from Gus. It's more a product of what Tarvaris has done with the ball in his hand."

It's been quite a turnaround for Jackson, who was benched after losses to Green Bay and Indianapolis to start the season yet now finds himself leading the Vikings (9-5) into a crucial game with Atlanta on Sunday. A win would give the Vikings their first NFC North title.

Frerotte stepped in for Jackson in Week 3 and won seven of the next 10 games, but also threw 15 interceptions in that span. The 37-year-old Frerotte injured his lower back two weeks ago against Detroit.

ELSEWHERE

Cardinals: Wide receiver Anquan Boldin (shoulder injury) and running back J.J. Arrington (knee injury) could be sidelined for Arizona's game at New England on Sunday. Boldin, named to the Pro Bowl for a third time, has a shoulder injury. Arrington's role on the team has increased through the season. Neither player practiced the past two days.

Rams: St. Louis lost two more players for the rest of the season, placing wide receiver and kick returner Derek Stanley (torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee) and linebacker Gary Stills (bone chips in his left knee) on injured reserve. The moves bring to an even dozen the number of Rams on injured reserve.