NFL Preview – New England Patriots (6-2) at Indianapolis Colts (8-0)
By Scott Garbarini, Sports Network
The Indianapolis Colts are halfway towards achieving a goal the New England Patriots know a little something about. The AFC South leaders will put their spotless 2009 record on the line when the two conference heavyweights go toe-to-toe this Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium in the marquee matchup of the Week 10 slate.
Winners of their first eight games, the Colts are one of two teams still unbeaten at the midway point of this campaign and have an opportunity to join the 2007 Patriots as the only club to complete a 16-game regular-season with a perfect record. Indianapolis has also won an astounding 17 straight non- playoff tests dating back to last year, a streak that began with an 18-15 decision over the Tom Brady-less Pats at Lucas Oil Stadium. The winning points were provided by former New England Super Bowl hero Adam Vinatieri, with the veteran kicker booting a tie-breaking 52-yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter.
If Indianapolis is able to knock off the Patriots, who have prevailed in their last three outings and stand atop the AFC East with a 6-2 record, it will have tied the second-longest regular-season win streak in NFL history. That place happens to be held by New England, which ripped off 18 consecutive victories spanning the 2003 and 2004 seasons behind the highly-successful duo of Brady and head coach Bill Belichick.
The Colts had to work for their most recent triumph, utilizing a short touchdown run from running back Joseph Addai in the fourth quarter to best a game Houston squad by a 20-17 score last Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium. Indianapolis squandered an early 13-0 lead before embarking on an eight-play, 61-yard drive to move back ahead, then survived a Texans comeback bid that came up short when kicker Kris Brown missed a 42-yard field goal try as time expired.
While the Colts come into Sunday’s showdown with the glossier record, New England may be the team playing the best football in the AFC at the moment. After obliterating Tennessee and Tampa Bay by a combined 94-7 overall margin to close out October, the Patriots returned from a bye week to post a 27-17 home win over defending AFC East champion Miami this past Sunday.
New England also had to earn its latest victory with a second-half rally. Trailing 17-16 late in the third quarter, the Pats pulled in front on a 71- yard connection from Brady to Randy Moss followed by a successful two-point attempt, then kept the determined Dolphins off the scoreboard in the final period.
This highly-anticipated clash will not only be featuring a pair of division front-runners and probable AFC playoff participants. It will also pit the top two passing offenses and scoring defenses in the NFL at the moment, not to mention the always-intriguing head-to-head battle between two legendary quarterbacks in Brady and the Colts’ Peyton Manning.
The future Hall of Famers have opposed one another nine times over the course of this decade, three of which have come in the postseason. Brady’s Patriots have come out on top in six of those occasions, but Manning and the Colts have won three of the past four meetings, including a 38-34 verdict in the 2006 AFC Championship.
SERIES HISTORY
The Patriots hold a 42-27 edge in their all-time regular season series with the Colts, but as previously mentioned, were 18-15 road losers when they visited Indianapolis in Week 9 of last season. New England won the previous meeting, a 24-20 decision at the RCA Dome in 2007. The teams were a combined 15-0 heading into that matchup.
The Patriots and Colts have met three times in the postseason, with New England taking a 24-14 decision in the 2003 AFC Championship and a 20-3 triumph in a 2004 AFC Divisional Playoff prior to the Colts’ 38-34 home win in the 2006 AFC Championship.
The Patriots are 32-13, including playoffs, against Indianapolis since the Colts moved from Baltimore following the 1983 season.
Belichick is 10-7 against the Colts all-time, including 8-5 while with the Patriots. Indianapolis’ Jim Caldwell will be meeting both Belichick and New England for the first time as a head coach.
OVERALL ANALYSIS
Even though it’s never wise to bet against Manning, there are a few factors which could play in the Patriots’ favor here. The first regards the shaky depth of an Indianapolis secondary that has gotten surprisingly good play out of a pair of untested rookies, ones who struggled at times against Houston’s outstanding duo of Schaub and Andre Johnson last week and have yet to face a trio of the caliber of Brady, Moss and Welker. Secondly, New England has shown better offensive balance among the two teams as of late and should be able to keep Indianapolis’ excellent pass rushers from teeing off if it can run the ball as effectively as in past weeks. And finally, there’s the law of averages. The Colts are going to lose at some point this season, and they’ve had to scrape and claw their way past teams that aren’t as good as the Patriots on a few occasions this year. In a game that clearly has the chance to live up to its advance billing, New England’s advantages on defense and ability to run the football give the visitors an ever-so slight edge.
Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Patriots 27, Colts 24
Related posts: