A brief history of Colts vs. Patriots (A.B. era)

By Os Davis  |   Thursday, November 02, 2006  |  Comments( 5 )

New England Patriots
Got something to say?

Log In above and share your thoughts on this topic with other fans!
Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, it's finally upon us ... the latest round in what has become a mark-your-calendar semi-annual slugfest is about to be fought: It's the Indianapolis Colts at the New England Patriots.

Now this is what the Sunday night slot is for: After massaging your brain with a steady diet of pre-game/game/post-game and your liver with a steady diet of beer for, what, eight hours, it's time for the single best game of the week in what has become one of the single best rivalries in the NFL.

Today's Colts-Patriots rivalry began in the first week of the Patriots' existence. While by the book, New England's team - then the Boston Patriots - first played in 1960, we should properly speak in terms of B.B. (Before Brady) and A.B. (Anno Brady, or "in the year of our Brady"). By the New England system, calendar year 1960 and those halcyon days of the AFL was actually 41 B.B. The year 2001 would be the last in Jim Mora's reign as Indianapolis head coach, and the blue-and-white would finish with a 6-10 mark.

In 1 B.B., Week 3 of the 2001 season, young and unknown, Brady's first start came against these Colts piloted by Peyton Manning. Brady looked like a veteran (albeit a highly conservative one), Manning threw three interceptions including two returned for TDs, and the Patriots cruised to an astounding 44-13 victory, the first of many surprises in that season.

Under the old divisional format which had the Patriots and Colts in a five-team AFC East, the two faced off three weeks later in Indy with a similar result but in different fashion. That one was 38-17, New England; Brady put together a game straight out of 2004: 16-for-20, 202 yards, three TDs, zero interceptions.

In 2002, the NFL switched to the four-team, eight-division format of today. The Colts and Pats didn't meet that season but, along with the Denver Broncos, Indianapolis would become New England's chief rival despite their division. Ironically, while Indianapolis played in the AFC East with the navy blue-and-silver, the teams rarely managed to contend in the same season and few truly memorable games took place between the two, despite twin contests annually. The Patriots' former Public Enemy No. 1, the Miami Dolphins, have not resurrected their classic rivalry with New England since the reformation.

In 2003, the Patriots were no longer a surprise and the Colts were picked by many to play in Super Bowl XXXVIII. Week 13 saw Indy hosting New England, resulting in a dandy 38-34 shootout. Manning went for four TDs, but the Patriots' defense woke up in time to save the day. Willie McGinest and the boys held the Colts off with an airtight goal-line stand on the game's last four plays, three of them runs by Edgerrin James and all taken from the one-yard line. No official statistics on the numbers hospitalized by oxygen deprivation due to excessive breath-holding in the teams' hometown areas was recorded.

But that game was merely a showdown for the playoff showdown. The regular-season game itself had been hyped as the ever-popular "possible playoff preview," with both squads having entered the game at 9-2.

Sure enough, it was Patriots-Colts in the AFC Championship Game and, despite the superior record and home field, the Pats went off as one-point underdogs. And why not? The infamous stat bandied about incessantly before this game was that in two playoff games, the Colts had punted exactly zero times. The final of this one was 24-14, but certainly one of the most lopsided 10-point games in playoff history. Manning was sacked three times (all by Jarvis Green) and picked off four times (thrice by Ty Law). The Patriots cooled the hottest offensive machine since the 1999 St. Louis Rams enough to run up a 15-0 halftime lead and never relinquished control.

The league's schedule crafters set up a championship game rematch for Week 1 of the 2004 season. The first Game Of The Week was about as pretty as Week 1 gets, but, to be sure, many edges of many seats were occupied. Though Brady (26-of-38 for 335 yards on three TDs) outdueled an again-confused Manning (16-of-29 for 256 yards, two TDs and one pick) and Corey Dillon went for nearly six yards per carry, the New England defense was porous enough to make it a three-point game with seconds left. From 47 yards out, Mike Vanderjagt helped cement his reputation in the clutch by going wide right. Patriots, 27-24.

Though not even the ESPN guys were crass enough at the time, the season opener was another "playoff preview." The Colts came to Foxborough for the AFC Divisional Playoff Round for another memorable matchup. Well, for Patriots fans anyway. For the blue-and-white, the frustration and summation of the Colts could be seen in one shot from the national broadcast. Manning opened the fourth quarter with second- and third-down incompletes, unsnapped the chin strap, and shouted a four-letter synonym for excrement twice. The world knew Belichick had gotten in his head. Game definitively over. Patriots, 20-3.

This year, we got tons of hype surrounding the "Manning Bowl." In 2005, the Patriots-Colts face-off on "Monday Night Football" became the "Peyton Manning Love Fest" as the Colts encountered no difficulties on any side of the ball, coolly smoking the Pats while making Asante Samuel and the secondary look especially bad in a 40-21 romp. In between crushing Colt plays, viewers were "treated" to old Peyton Manning commercials, new Peyton Manning commercials, Peyton Manning bio clips, and Peyton Manning parodies of Peyton Manning commercials. Meanwhile, the sequence of events that truly shocked the Patriot faithful involved Belichick, frustrated beyond words at Samuel again getting burned for a TD, throwing the red flag in anger. Fortunately (though things could hardly have been going worse), the referees indulged Belichick's half-hearted excuse that he wanted a replay to ensure both of the receiver's feet were in bounds. This call stands as the worst "challenge" ever.

So, in this third recent "playoff preview" between the teams, again are the Colts and the Patriots beasts of the AFC (and of the NFL itself, if we're being honest), the subplots are plentiful, and the hype is high. But who cares? This could be the 2006 season's first classic, a prime-time match worthy of the time slot

RealFootball365.com for insights in the afterglow of New England Patriots vs. Indianapolis Colts.
Got something to say?

Log In above and share your thoughts on this topic with other fans! (5)

About Os Davis

Os Davis has taken a twisted route to get to RealFootball365.com in his nearly 17 years in professional writing, working in any number of capacities in the sportswriting, news reporting and film criticism worlds. In print media, Os has served as editor at a few publications, including Albuquerque's...
read more
Article Tools Share!   |  RSS  |  Bleacher Report About Bleacher Report
CommentsComments: 5  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
fr8train		12:37 PM
11/02/2006
I am looking forward to this game. Kudos to the Colts for playing Denver and New England on the road in consecutive weeks. This...
No.2
ref		08:59 PM
11/02/2006
Should be a great game. Two very good teams, each with some questions and a whole LOT of exclamations, going at it mid-season.
No.3
Eli		07:19 PM
11/04/2006
I don't care if Manning beats Brady in this matchup! Until Manning does something in the playoffs, he'll always be another Dan...
Team News  |  View All Patriots Content
Brady, Pats bond strong as e...
This is Time to celebrate for the global fans of New England Patriots...
1 year, 5 months ago   |   Brady, Pats bond strong as ever as new NFL season nears ( 0 )
Bruschi Retirement Thoughts:...
Over the last decade the NFL has seen a lot of characters compete on i...
2 years, 5 months ago   |   Bruschi Retirement Thoughts: The Epitome of an NFL Player ( 2 )
New-look New England, old Ma...
Here’s a game New England Patriots season ticket holders have been awa...
3 years, 2 months ago   |   New-look New England, old Master Belichick get edge over Jets ( 0 )
Just say yes to Pats-Colts
Let’s see, what don’t we have for the latest, most obscure chapter of...
3 years, 3 months ago   |   Just say yes to Pats-Colts ( 1 )
Penalty-gate!
Ah, it wouldn’t be football in the 2000s without accusations of cheati...
3 years, 3 months ago   |   Penalty-gate! ( 2 )