NFL Football - Indianapolis Colts Roll Over the Tennessee Titans 23 - 0

With both teams playoff positions set, the second meeting of the Indianapolis Colts and the Tennessee Titans was a potential preview of a third meeting between the two teams in the AFC playoffs. Tennessee won the previous meeting of the two teams 31-21 on October 27th. Alas, it was not to be. Peyton Manning played the first series for Indy going seven for seven for 95 yards allowing him to surpass 4,000 yards for a NFL record ninth season. Manning surpassed the 4,000 yard mark with a 55 yard touchdown pass to Joseph Addai. The majority of the key players on both sides were pulled early into the game with the backups playing the majority of the game. Indy prevailed in a 23-0 shutout over the Titans to finish the season 12-4.

Indy's 2008 Surge

Since losing to the Titans in October, Peyton Manning has led the Colts to nine consecutive wins and their seventh playoff berth in a row. Even before today's victory over the Titans, there has been a lot of discussion on if Manning should win the 2008 NFL MVP. Most of the discussion hinges around the fact that the Colts winning streak has been based almost entirely on the passing game with the rushing attack being ranked 31st in the NFL. During the Colts winning streak, Manning has completed over 72% of his passes for 2247 yards and 17 TD's.

NFL Playoff Prospects for the Colts

Independent of who wins the Denver vs San Diego matchup the Colts will travel to take on the winner of the game in the NFL Wild Card game next weekend. Its debatable on which team the Colts would prefer to face in the opening game. Denver's secondary has proven to be more vulnerable to the passing attack than San Diego's. Charger quarterback, Phillip Rivers, has also been on a late season tear after the Chargers got off to a slow start to the 2008 season. The Colts would likely prefer to see the Bronco's win tonight's matchup, but will likely be facing the Chargers at home next weekend.