Glen Farley: Pats, Colts destined for a rematch
Forty-eight shopping days 'til Christmas.
Seventy-five days 'til the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots meet again.
With visions of Peyton Manning and Joseph Addai, Tom Brady and Randy Moss dancing in their heads, a football nation anxiously awaits.
Barring catastrophe - i.e., major injuries - it would seem you can count on the Colts and Pats meeting again this football season.
The two best teams in the AFC - a.k.a., the two top teams in the NFL today - are destined for a rematch.
"We have to go out and get better every single week," Colts cornerback Marlin Jackson said after his team wasn't good enough for the first time in 13 games, falling to the Patriots, 24-20, Sunday in a battle of the unbeatens some saw fit to dub Super Bowl XLI 1/2. "This is the middle of the season. We've still got a lot of games left and maybe we'll see them again."
Plan on it.
Jan. 20 will be the date; Gillette Stadium will be the site.
Dub that Super Bowl XLI 3/4 because, while it may be the AFC Championship Game, the world championship of professional football will be on the line.
The NFC champ figures to be such an underdog that Super Bowl XLII in Glendale, Ariz., looms as a mere formality.
So, what might be different when the Colts and Pats meet again?
Playing to the Colts' advantage: Marvin Harrison, their Hall of Fame-bound wide receiver, should be healthy enough to play, although who knows what the condition of his gimpy knee might be. Offensive tackle Tony Ugoh, who protects Peyton Manning's blindside, should also be back by then.
Playing to the Patriots' advantage: John Perry and his officiating crew may not be on hand and, even if they are, they don't figure to be throwing flags (tossing them at a Patriots' franchise-record 146-yard pace) with the intensity that New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (445 yards passing) was firing the football on Sunday; and the game should be played in Foxborough, which should be football frigid by then.
Beginning a home winning streak they kicked off with their first regular-season game in Indy in 2006, extended straight through the year's AFC Championship Game and didn't end until the Patriots took one away from them on Sunday, the Colts have operated with the credo "there's no place like Dome."
Well, the Colts don't figure to be settling into the comfort-controlled confines of the RCA Dome for the 2007 AFC title game.
By going into Indianapolis and winning on Sunday, the Patriots have, in essence, created a 2 1/2-game lead in the race for postseason home turf over the Colts by virtue of their record (9-0 to 7-1) and the victory in their head-to-head matchup.
The Colts also have a tougher schedule that begins with the upcoming weekend's trip to San Diego for a Sunday night game the Patriots will be watching with their feet up on the couch.
"You don't want to get in trouble with position with New England," Colts defensive end Robert Mathis said. "We are now, so we've got to make the most of it and do the best we can."
As for the Patriots, they have put themselves in an enviable position - pigskin perfect and going on vacation.
At 9-0 at their bye, the Pats have positioned themselves to (dare we say?) upstage the 1972 Miami Dolphins.
Remember, Don Shula's team "only" went 17-0, for its feat was accomplished back in the days when the regular season consisted of 14 games. With today's 16-game regular season, 19-0 is a mathematical possibility.
And with the way these Patriots are playing, stringing together eight romps (including a 21-pointer over a Dallas team that appears to be the best the NFC has to offer) followed by a comeback win on the road against their main rivals in the AFC, who's to say they won't do it?
The biggest regular-season hurdles between the 2007 Patriots and history?
Games with last night's Monday night foes - at Baltimore on Dec. 3 followed by a home date with Pittsburgh six days later - and a trip to New Jersey to play the New York Giants in a Dec. 29 regular-season finale that would come after the Patriots have locked up all there is to lock up heading into the postseason leaving one to wonder if head coach Bill Belichick will play or rest his regulars.
Beyond that, the biggest hurdle figures to be an AFC Championship Game rematch with the Colts in Foxborough on Jan. 20.
"I'm looking forward to Round Two," Tom Jackson said on ESPN's "SportsCenter."
The countdown has already begun.
Enterprise staff writer Glen Farley can be reached at gfarley@enterprisenews.com.