It was a win for sure. After getting the ball back with a couple minutes to go, Peyton Manning developed an incredible drive to put the Colts in field goal position to win the AFC Championship game and advance to their first Super Bowl since 1971. Mike Vanderjagt set up to hit a field goal a little over 40 yards. And who seemed to be the most accurate kicker in our time, missed the field goal wide right and the Colts playoff run ended short like usual. Could this be a curse that a team with such caliber cannot make it to the big show? I mean, the Patriots, who are usually a lower seed in the playoffs compared to the Colts, have been there three out of the past five years. Before the defeat in the RCA Dome against the Steelers in 2006, the Colts have lost two years in a row to the Patriots. Will this be another year where Peyton and the boys come up short to the record of 11-1 that Belichick and Patriots have in the playoffs? I don’t think so.
In order to win the game on Sunday against the Pats, instead of relying on Peyton Manning to take it home, they must rely on their defense. And the Colts defense, that was ridiculed and blamed for most of their losses this year, has come up big in the playoffs and has saved Peyton Manning’s rear after he threw three interceptions in the game against KC and two more in last Saturday’s showdown in Baltimore. The Colt’s defense in their two playoff games this year have given up a combined 14 points. They shutdown Pro-Bowl running back Larry Johnson only allowing him to 32 yards and intercepted Trent Green twice in the first round of the playoffs. In Baltimore this past weekend, they only gave up a combined 83 yards on the ground to Jamal Lewis and Mike Anderson, and intercepted Steve McNair twice holding the Raven to six points. Although his numbers don’t show, Peyton is still putting points on the board thanks to his illustrious receiver core and power backs Joseph Addai and Dominic Rhodes. Peyton must contribute, but if the defense keeps playing the way they have been, the Colts will be packing their bags for South Florida for their first Super Bowl appearance since 1971.
Back to the game Sunday. Tom Brady, is indisputably one of the best quarterbacks in the league today and one of the most dangerous players in the playoffs. But he can be stopped. The Colts have never beaten the Patriots in post season play, but with their defense holding their opponents score in the single digits and Peyton Manning still moving the ball up and down the field, they will have their best chance on Sunday to show that they are not just a regular season powerhouse. However, Asanti Samuel is at the top of his game and Tom Brady knows how to win in the playoffs. On the other hand, the Colts, with their electrifying defense, seem to be the better team and playing at home are looking towards nothing but the Vince Lombardi trophy.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 15th, 2007 at 9:07 pm and is filed under Football. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.