Colts turning tide in Patriots rivlary

Sports

November 20, 2009

Anonymous The Hendricks County Flyer Fri Nov 20, 2009, 05:47 PM EST

Early in Peyton Manning’s career, the New England Patriots had a stranglehold on the Colts.

The Patriots beat the Colts six consecutive times, with several of those wins coming in convincing fashion.

An unknown Tom Brady led the Patriots to two regular-season victories over the Colts in 2001 by a combined score of 82-30.

And who could forget the Colts’ ugly playoff losses in Foxborough following the 2004 and 2005 seasons? In those games, Manning tossed just one touchdown pass to five interceptions as the Colts put up a combined 17 points.

But enough with the past, this series is owned by the Colts of late.

With their miraculous 35-34 victory over the Patriots Sunday the Colts have now defeated the Patriots in five of the last six meetings, including their AFC Championship victory in 2007.

Speaking of Sunday’s victory, isn’t it amazing how the masses get fixated on one play — the infamous Belichick fourth-and-2 call? I’ve yet to hear anyone mention one of the game’s biggest plays — Phillip Wheeler’s strip of Laurence Maroney at the goal line late in the third quarter.

But I digress. The Colts have taken grip of this rivalry lately, but the Patriots still hold the edge.

Since 2000, the Patriots are 8-6 overall against the Colts, and 2-1 in playoff meetings. Fittingly, the winner of those playoff showdowns has gone on to win the Super Bowl each time.

So is it the rivalry of the decade, as NBC told you every 30 seconds Sunday? Sure, why not. No other ones come to mind for me.

Every time the Colts and Patriots face off something is on the line, whether it is homefield advantage or playoff survival.

The last five times these two teams met, the game was decided by one score or less. In each of those contests, the losing team had a chance to win or tie with five minutes or less remaining.

It seems inevitable these two teams will meet again. The Colts hold a four-game division lead, the Patriots a two-game division lead — and it would be hard to imagine either team not holding on.

A rematch would be interesting.

The Colts’ secondary isn’t going to get much healthier — Kelvin Hayden should at least return — and the Patriots’ passing game isn’t going to get any worse.

Then again, Manning and his young receiving corps will likely improve by playoff time as well. And Ty Law isn’t walking through that door.

One thing is certain, should there be a Colts/Pats rematch prepare to hear about Belichick’s fourth-down call approximately 1,255 more times.

The sure-fire picks went 2-2 last week, bringing this season’s record to 19-21. Pretty bad. I feel better about this week’s picks for whatever it’s worth (not much).

Cleveland at Detroit (-3.5), 1 p.m. Sunday

The Browns come off a short week and have one of the worst offenses in NFL history. The Lions are the best one-win team in the NFL … did I really just go there? Anyway, I like Detroit by double digits here. Lions -3.5.

N.Y. Jets @ New England (-10.5), 4:15 p.m. Sunday

The Patriots had the Colts on the ropes and let them go. Hoodie’s ego is bruised. Oh, how I pity the poor Jets. Patriots -10.5.

Cincinnati (-9.5) at Oakland, 4:15 p.m.

This is too easy. The Bengals are the real deal and they are going to hammer the hapless Raiders. The Oakland franchise needs a stick of dynamite badly. Bengals -9.5.

Tennessee @ Houston (-4.5), 8:30 p.m. Monday

You knew the Titans weren’t going to be held down forever. With an extra week of preparation and their Week 9 loss to the Colts still fresh in their minds, the Texans will be ready. Texans -4.5.

— Todd Taylor is sports editor for the Hendricks County Flyer and may be reached by calling 272-5800 ext. 155 or by e-mailing to todd.taylor@flyergroup.com.

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