Read the arguments from Bleacher Fan and Sports Geek about which games they believe are the best of THIS weekend.
We are over halfway through the NFL regular season, and we are, sadly, closing in on the end of the college football season, too. We just kicked off the season the other day, right? Wow, it always flies by! Nevertheless, we enter this weekend with some interesting NFL matchups. After looking at the schedule, we all know what the best game of the weekend is and I was not about to skip it. The undefeated Indianapolis Colts welcome the New England Patriots to town. Is it just me, or does this game always seem to pop up on the schedule? This is the 14th time these two teams have met (including three times in the playoffs). The Patriots have won eight of 13, but the Colts have four out of the past five. It is without a doubt the best NFL rivalry of this decade.
As always, it is a big game. The Colts come into the game undefeated at 8-0, though they have been tested the past two weeks against the San Francisco 49ers and the Houston Texans. Peyton Manning, once again, is having an MVP caliber season. Through eight games, he has thrown for 2,545 yards and 16 touchdowns. I thought he might have somewhat of a down season, for his standards anyway since he no longer has Marvin Harrison to throw to. Add in the fact that the other starting receiver, Anthony Gonzalez, has not played since week one, and there is a recipe for inconsistency at the wide receiver position. But guys like rookie Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon have picked up the slack, combining for 55 catches and six touchdowns. Head coach Jim Caldwell has done a magnificent job of picking up right where Tony Dungy left off.
Meanwhile, the Patriots are who we thought they were. The Patriots come into this matchup with a 6-2 overall record. New England has had its share of close games, too. Tom Brady, after a slow start, has picked up the pace and thrown for nearly 2,400 yards and 16 touchdowns. The usual suspects are still there at wide receivers with Randy Moss and Wes Welker having solid seasons. Remember when Moss was considered a bad seed? That seems like such a long time ago now! The offense as a whole is third in the league and the defense quietly is the second ranked defense right now.
New England needs this game to send a message to the Colts that they are still a force to be reckoned with in the AFC. It will also keep the Patriots alive in the battle for home field advantage in the AFC, which is very important in January… especially if these two teams are to get together again. Indianapolis needs this game to distance itself overall by three games over the Patriots. The Colts most definitely do not want to go to Foxboro in January, having been there and done that and knowing they do not want to do it again! It is quite a bit warmer at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Overall, I am definitely looking forward to this game. It is a Sunday night NBC matchup so we will all be able to watch it. It should be another classic in a long line of great games in this rivalry.
