Indianapolis ? The Indianapolis Colts would like to forget about all those missed opportunities in Jacksonville.

Their 2-2 record will be a constant reminder.

What the Colts will see on Sunday’s game tape are two red-zone turnovers, a dropped interception that could have at least forced overtime, nine third-down conversions allowed and a time-out that gave Jacksonville enough time to reach Josh Scobee’s field-goal range.

By December, they may still be kicking themselves for letting this one slip away.

“I lost sleep last night because I was pretty close,” cornerback Kelvin Hayden said Monday, referring to the interception he dropped in the closing seconds. “There was nothing but green in front of me, but you’ve got to make the catch first.”

For the Colts, playing catch-up is an unusual predicament.

They’ve started four of the past five seasons 7-0, the lone exception coming when Peyton Manning was recovering from an infected bursa sac in his left knee. They’ve won at least 12 games in a league-record seven straight seasons and taken six of the last seven AFC South titles.

No team won more games or made more playoff appearances in the last decade.

But now, instead of putting their division foes in an early hole, Indy is staring at an 0-2 mark in the AFC South for the first time.

“We always say the division games count as two, so starting 0-2 in the division, that’s tough,” Pro Bowl safety Antoine Bethea said. “I’m pretty sure we’ll get better.”

There are plenty of explanations for what’s wrong.

While Manning is off to the best start of his 13-year career and just passed John Elway for third in career yards (51,493), even a four-time league MVP can’t be expected to rescue Indy every week.

Part of the problem has been injuries.

Receiver Pierre Garcon has missed two games with a bad hamstring. Receiver Anthony Gonzalez has missed three games with a sprained right ankle. Safety Bob Sanders is expected to miss at least two more months and could be out the rest of the season after having surgery to repair a torn biceps muscle in his right arm. Left tackle Charlie Johnson was slowed during the season’s first month by a sprained right foot, and Pro Bowl center Jeff Saturday has been playing his way back from August knee surgery.

The bigger concern is a defense that is not playing up to expectations.

Indy’s pass rush struggled to pressure Jacksonville quarterback David Garrard just as it did the week before in Denver. The run defense gave up 174 yards to the Jags, the third time this season an opponent has topped 100 yards, and the Colts rank 29th in the NFL against the run.

A week ago, players said they were less concerned about yardage allowed and more focused on holding teams to field goals. Jacksonville, though, scored TDs on all three of its red-zone trips Sunday, and when the defense needed a stop to force overtime, it failed again — twice.

Manning’s one-yard TD pass to Austin Collie tied the score at 28 with 48 seconds left.