New York Jets next up in Indy Colts’ perfect march

They certainly aren’t going to rest quarterback Peyton Manning for long as he pursues an unprecedented fourth NFL MVP award and the career 50,000-yard passing mark. And today they host the New York Jets, a team that has shown little ability to keep up offensively.

So Manning could get in his work, lift the Colts to a 15-0 record, knock the Jets out of playoff contention and finish off an unbeaten home schedule before heading to the Buffalo Bills for the regular season finale.

A share of history

“You don’t want to lose a game. As a competitor, as an athlete, you want to go out every single game and win,” defensive end Dwight Freeney said. “That being said, we’re going out there and playing hard every game no matter who is out there. Maybe the starters may not be out there the whole game, but that’s no excuse. We still have to try to get it done regardless.”

The Colts have gotten it done for 23 straight games, an NFL regular-season record. To think they will make a halfhearted effort at an unbeaten slate is, well, unthinkable.

The NFL got an early start on the action on Friday with the San Diego Chargers at the Tennessee Titans. The Chargers had already  won the AFC West division but there’s still plenty at stake for both teams.

Back in January, the winner of the Pittsburgh Steelers-Baltimore Ravens game was headed to the Super Bowl. Now, the loser -- particularly if it’s the defending champion Steelers -- might see playoff hopes disappear.

The Steelers ended a five-game slide with a final-play touchdown to edge the Green Bay Packers last weekend. That doesn’t mean they’re back to anticipated levels from earlier this season. Not by a long shot.

Baltimore has won three of four, including 20-17 in overtime against the Steelers when Ben Roethlisberger was sidelined by a concussion. The Ravens could clinch a wild card this weekend and remain barely alive in the NFC North race.

Nervous fans

The fans are nervous in Colorado, where they’ve been watching the Denver Broncos endure another collapse. From 6-0, the Broncos are 8-6 and scrambling for a wild-card berth. Their home loss to Oakland last Sunday was particularly damaging.

Denver’s highly rated defense will be tested severely by the potent Philadelphia Eagles and their big plays. The Eagles have won five in a row thanks mainly to the explosiveness of DeSean Jackson and the guidance of quarterback Donovan McNabb. A win and a Dallas loss gives the Eagles their sixth NFC East crown in this decade.

The Dallas Cowboys visit the Washington Redskins a month after the Cowboys won their first matchup 7-6. Considering how both teams looked last weekend, anything but a rout by Dallas would be surprising in the 100th edition of this intense rivalry. A win and a New York Giants loss puts Dallas into the playoffs. If the Cowboys can’t build momentum off handing New Orleans its first loss of the season, then they probably don’t belong in the playoffs.

Washington is merely playing for pride, especially after the 45-12 humiliation by the Giants last Monday.

Elsewhere today, it’s Kansas City at Cincinnati; Jacksonville at New England; Houston at Miami; Seattle at Green Bay; Carolina at the N.Y. Giants; Tampa Bay at New Orleans; Oakland at Cleveland; Detroit at San Francisco; St. Louis at Arizona; and Buffalo at Atlanta. On Monday, Minnesota is at Chicago.

Colts more concerned with post-season than pursuit of 16-0

The Indianapolis Colts are focusing more on having a successful post-season than the pursuit of an undefeated campaign yet they still see today’s game against the New York Jets as a measuring stick.

The offensively-minded Colts, who hold a 14-0 record and have locked up home field advantage in the playoffs, will only be playing for pride against the 7-7 Jets, who have the top-rated defense and are still fighting for the playoffs.

Colts head coach Jim Caldwell stressed in a conference call with reporters this week that preserving an unblemished record over the last two regular season games was not as important as resting players who needed a break.

“That certainly hasn’t been a priority of ours,” he said about going undefeated. “It’s a great by-product of a great season but certainly not one that we’re overly concerned with.

“There’s only one happy team at the end of the year, and that team is the one that wins it all.

Indianapolis, led by quarterback Peyton Manning, has the NFL’s highest-ranked passing attack and has scored 394 points. The Jets have yielded an NFL-low 221 points.

“It’s one of those games where you have an opportunity to see two really fine units going after one another,” added Caldwell. “It’s going to be fun.” New York Reuters