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Colts Look Super
By Tim Sullivan
WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer
Everything is fine in Indianapolis, after all. Peyton Manning and Co. just needed another national, prime-time stage against a quality team, and the regular-season Colts everyone has come to know suddenly reappeared.
So what if homefield advantage isn't the top priority now simply because of how the Chargers are playing? The Colts had it last year, and what happened?
All Indianapolis (11-3) can do now is keep winning -- like it did in a 34-16 romp over the Bengals on Monday night -- keep ignoring the critics, and who knows, perhaps, in the end this will be the year.
"On some teams, it's almost like you have two different teams," Manning said. "We try to stick together."
That's a good thing, because no one seemed to believe in the Colts a week ago. They had lost three of four and were giving up rushing yards like they were going out of style. But the ship has been righted -- or so we think -- and the AFC South title is theirs, and the postseason awaits.
Of course, that's usually where the trouble starts. But we digress.
"Sometimes things get escalated," Manning said. "We lost two in a row, so we must have all these problems. We knew what was at stake. We're playing for a lot of momentum going into the postseason and for seeding."
On Christmas Eve, they get another chance -- or a layup if you will -- to continue that momentum as they play the Texans (4-10) in Houston. Monitor the line all week on WagerWeb.com. Then, they close the season against the Dolphins (6-8) in Indianapolis on New Year's Eve.
So, it's not a particularly tough trek down the stretch for Coach Tony Dungy's crew. The problem, however, is that neither team will present a stiff challenge in the running game, and that's surely what the Colts need as they fine-tune things for the playoffs.
Because if they run into the ground-gobbling Jaguars, or the balanced Patriots, or -- dare we say it -- LaDainian Tomlinson and the Chargers in January, it might be curtains for the Colts.
"We've got a record," Dungy said, "that a lot of teams would like to have."
That's true. And they should be proud of that.
But they also have a defense that a lot of teams would like to face. And, as usual, judgment on this team needs to be reserved until the postseason ends. That's simply because it's the standard that they've set and the ultimate goal that they've yet to reach.
BENGALS BACK ON THE ROAD: It doesn't get much easier for the Bengals, who have a short week to get over the loss to the Colts and get ready for the equally desperate Broncos on Christmas Eve. Monitor the line all week on WagerWeb.com.
Denver (8-6) is back in the thick of things after a convincing 37-20 victory over the Cardinals in Arizona on Sunday.
"We need to win one game two more times," Denver safety John Lynch said.
And that's what we mean by desperate. The Broncos' win on Sunday snapped a four-game losing streak that shifted Denver from a contender to a hopeful.
But there is optimism, even though the Bengals (8-6) will be no pushover. Denver closes the season at home against San Francisco (6-8) on New Year's Eve.
EXTRA POINTS: Vikings RB Chester Taylor (ribs) is expected to practice all week and play on Thursday against Green Bay on the NFL Network in a battle of 6-8 teams. The Packers are -3 on WagerWeb.com. ... Giants RB Brandon Jacobs has an ankle injury that will be evaluated all week leading up to New York's date against the Saints (9-5) on Sunday. The Giants (7-7) are -3 on WagerWeb.com. Jacobs will take over for Tiki Barber, who is retiring, full-time next season.
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