Patriots at Colts: It's All About Defense

It's finally here. The most anticipated NFL regular season game in almost two decades is less than a week away. It's the game that many people are speculating to be the greatest regular season game in the history of the NFL. It's the potential preview of the AFC Championship Game. It's the undefeated Patriots. It's the undefeated defending Super Bowl Champion Indianapolis Colts. It's week nine of the NFL.

Most of the hype heading into this game has to do with the Patriots. We've marveled at Tom Brady's season, discussed CameraGate and wondered if the Patriots were running up the score on their opponents. This is not, however, another article in which I point out just how good the Colts have been in 2007. No, I've already done that. This piece is to point out one simple fact.

The Patriots-Colts game this Sunday is going to be all about defense.

I've read all the stats. I'm well aware that New England is on pace to score 10,000 points this season. Yeah, I know that by the time this season is over Tom Brady could very well have 55 touchdown passes. That in no way diminishes how difficult scoring could be for New England on Sunday. Brady and company have been outscoring opponents left and right. Don't expect that to be the case this Sunday.

The Patriots are heading into what may very well be the most underrated place to play when it comes to a team having "home field advantage." The RCA Dome has gotten so loud for opposing offenses at times that the Colts have been accused of pumping in noise through the PA system. Due to the hype of this game and the rivalry that has emerged between the two teams it isn't too unrealistic to believe that the RCA Dome could be louder this Sunday than it was during last year's AFC Championship Game.

In case you haven't noticed (and judging by talk radio, TV and online articles I've been reading, you haven't) the Colts defense has been pretty darn good so far. In seven games the Colts have given up on average less than 15 points (14.57) a game.

Remember that the Colts have played a more difficult schedule than the Patriots thus far. So far the Colts have played four teams with winning records on the road. In those four games the Colts only gave up 14.5 points on average. That's pretty impressive.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the field, the Patriots are, well, the Patriots. In eight games the Patriots have only allowed two teams to score more than 20 points against them. Dallas, a team with an incredibly potent offense, scored 27 points on the Patriots in week six (New England won easily 48-27). The next week, Miami managed to score 28 points on the Patriots. However, most of the points came against New England's second and third team defense.

So far in the 2007 NFL regular season the Patriots have held the Chargers to 14 points, the Bengals to 13 points, a very good Browns offense to only 17 points, and the Redskins to only 7 points. What could make this week different for the Patriots? Every one of those games mentioned above except for the Cincinnati game were played in New England.

I'm not in anyway suggesting that the Patriots-Colts game is going to end up with a 6-3 final score. However, don't expect a 52-49 finish either. Neither Tom Brady nor Peyton Manning are going to be flawless on Sunday. Don't be too surprised if both quarterbacks throw at least one interception by game's end.

Sunday's game is going to come down to which defense can make the big play when it matters. The team that can keep the opposition's passing game in check, limit any big runs and create the vital turnover will be the team that wins on Sunday. Patriots at Colts: It should be great.