Jets target Super Bowl with win over full stable of Colts

FLORHAM PARK, New Jersey (Reuters) - The Indianapolis Colts may come to regret the decision to rest their regulars in a defeat to the then unthreatening New York Jets last month, the side that now stand in their way of a Super Bowl berth.

The Jets and Colts meet again Sunday in Indianapolis for the AFC title. With Indianapolis eager to prove they can win when it counts, while the wild card Jets are determined to make the Super Bowl for the first time in 40 years.

"The big stage is every day in New York," Jets rookie coach Rex Ryan told reporters when asked whether his 9-7 team could handle the pressures of the big game against the 15-2 Colts.

"This will be as loose a team as you''ll ever see going into an AFC Championship game. We''re not afraid to compete against the Colts. We''re excited to."

Peyton Manning, the 10-times Pro Bowl quarterback for the Colts, left last month''s game in the third quarter after a touchdown drive put Indianapolis ahead 15-10. New York feasted against the back-up players and scored 19 points.

"It is something we addressed at the time, and we have truly moved on from it," Manning said Thursday on a conference call.

Indy''s play-safe approach was taken to avoid injuries in the regular season''s penultimate game. The move brought howls of protest from fans who thought the Colts could join the 1972 Miami Dolphins as the only unbeaten Super Bowl champions.

BLITZ HAPPY

While the 2006 Super Bowl winning Colts have continued a consistent run of success behind a passing game steered by Manning, Ryan has sparked the Jets with a blitz-happy defense and power running game he has termed "ground and pound."

"They are a talented group of guys that play extremely well together and right now they are on fire," Colts first-year coach Jim Caldwell said about New York''s defense.

Ryan said his NFL-best defense got a positive jolt from three Baltimore Ravens players -- linebacker Bart Scott, safety Jim Leonhard and lineman/defensive end Marques Douglas -- he had coached as defensive coordinator before being hired by the Jets.