One Down, Two to Go
Colts looks to win in Foxboro for the first time since 1995
written by Stephen Conway

This Sunday's game against the New England Patriots marks the middle of a three game road series for the Colts. Coming off a hard fought last second win against Buffalo, the Colts will look to solidify their position within the division by beating the Pats.

Though the team showed many signs of weakness against the Bills in the first half, their most potent strength was very evident at the end of the fourth quarter: mental toughness. We hope that every Colt player strives to play as well he can on every down, but mistakes can and will happen. It's how the players respond to these mistakes that is important. The Colts have learned over the past two seasons to bounce back from their mistakes. The defense let a mediocre to poor Bills running game look dynamite in the first half, but came back to register four sacks in the second half. And even when the defense missed an assignment late in the game, resulting in a huge touchdown reception for Bills' receiver Eric Moulds, the offense did not panic. Manning strapped his helmet on and calmly led the team downfield for a game winning field goal by Mike Vanderjagt. Such resilience in the face of a very hostile crowd and an inspired Buffalo defense is very rare, especially considering the realtive youth of the team.

Stacking together consecutive wins in six days against Jacksonville and Buffalo has the Colts headed in the right direction. Enter the resurgent Patriots. Coming off a tremendous performance versus the Denver Broncos, Drew Bledsoe will look to pull his team out of the cellar. The Patriots' 1-4 record is deceptive. Their four losses have been by a total of 21 points. In three of those games they had the ball in the red zone in the last minute of the game and failed to score. It probably could go unsaid, but there is no such thing as an easy game in the NFL and this week is no exception. Traditionally, the Patriots have had the Colts' number.   I can remember a season where the Pats went 2-14, with their only two wins being against the Colts.

It's doubtful veteran coach Jim Mora will allow the team to take the Patriots lightly. While the Patriots will most certainly be desperate for a home win, much pressure is also on the Colts to gain ground on the undefeated Jets. Gaining confidence each week, the Colts must strive for a consistently high level of play, regardless of opponent. The Patriots will be a good test in this regard.

Matchups
Breakdowns of the key matchups on offense, defense, and special teams.

Game Prediction
This game is the Colts' to win or lose. Across the board, we are the better team. But that doesn't always translate into another notch in the win column. Last week, by all rights Buffalo played better than the Colts for most of the game. The difference was the Colts stepped up and made impact plays in crucial situations and the Bills did not. The Patriots passing game is regaining momentum and their defense is starting to play with fire. The Colts must put pressure on the Pats by scoring the way they are capable while also applying pressure to Bledsoe early and often. Unless the Colts come out flat and turn the ball over several times, I see a convincing road victory this week.

Score: Colts 27 Patriots 17

Next Opponent
New England Patriots
10/08/2000

when: 12:00
where: Foxboro Stadium
TV: CBS

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