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ARTICLE LONE-UNBEATEN COLTS GO FOR FIRST 6-0 START SINCE
’58; TIGHT NFC EAST FEATURES GIANTS AT
COWBOYS One
left. And this Monday night, the NFL’s lone unbeaten team, the Indianapolis Colts, will attempt to start a season 6-0 for the first time in 47 years, since the WEEB EWBANK-JOHNNY UNITAS Colts of 1958. That team, of course, won the NFL championship in the first “sudden-death” overtime in NFL history in “The Greatest Game Ever Played.” The 2005 Colts are
pleased to have matched their best starts ever (four times before), but don’t
think everything is perfect in Indy, even after a 25-point victory (28-3) in
“We’re 5-0, which is good,” says Colts wide receiver BRANDON STOKLEY. “But we have to do a lot better than we did.” Never get too confident. That’s the NFL way. Things can be going smoothly…and then you miss the playoffs. In this decade
alone, two “perfect” teams through five weeks missed the playoffs that year
(2000 New York Jets, 4-0; 2003
On the reverse side, nine teams entered Week 6 with losing records, turned their seasons around and reached the playoffs, including six division winners: New Orleans (1-3) in 2000; New England (2-3/Super Bowl winner) in 2001; New York Jets (1-4), Pittsburgh (1-3) and Tennessee (1-4) in 2002; and 1-4 Green Bay last year. “You never know what you’re going to get from week to week in the NFL,” says New York Giants quarterback ELI MANNING. STORYLINE: The Patriots road tour
continues! The Super Bowl
champs play their fourth road game in the past five weeks. They have won their past two roadies,
against 2004 division winners
( The Broncos have their own streaks going. They have won four in a row, and for the seventh time in head coach MIKE SHANAHAN’s 11-year tenure, they have started the season at 4-1 or better. The big question Sunday is will victory come on the ground or through the air? It will be the Broncs' No. 2 NFL rushing attack led by TATUM BELL -- 127 yards and 34- and 55-yard TDs in Week 5 -- and MIKE ANDERSON matched against the Patriots’ No. 4 NFL passing game. New England QB TOM BRADY threw for big yards Sunday (350) and spread it around to nine different receivers. Whatever it takes, say the resilient Patriots. “We’ll keep coming and doing the hard things every week,” says Brady.
STORYLINE: One game separates the entire
division. It will be like old times in one respect, unlike them in another. It will be a typical big game in the super competitive NFC ****************************************************************************************************************************************** NFL
FACTOID MOST 100-YARD RECEIVING GAMES EVER: The receiving game is hot! There have been 60 100-yard receiving games through five weeks of the season, the most ever at this point of an NFL season. To show the frequency of NFL teams going to the air, Arizona Cardinals wide receivers ANQUAN BOLDIN and LARRY FITZGERALD last week became the first teammates in four years to each post 100-yard performances in consecutive games (Tennessee’s KEVIN DYSON and DERRICK MASON in 2001). ****************************************************************************************************************************************** East. One game separates all four teams – the 3-1 Giants and Redskins and 3-2 Cowboys and Eagles. Haven’t we been here before? But these are the
“Air Coughlin” Giants, who, even with a week off, rank second in the NFL in
scoring with 136 points ( The ’Boys? Their first four games were decided by
14 points, and then on Sunday they rang up a 33-10 win over the Eagles, who
entered the game with the NFL’s top offense. Usually conservative
“I’m glad they’re playing well,” says Giants center SHAUN O’HARA. “That’s when you want to play people. We’re playing well too, so it will be great timing for us.” STORYLINE: An AFC Central throwback game. An old rivalry will be rekindled when these two meet as they did in the old AFC Central Division twice a year after the Jaguars entered the NFL in 1995. In the seven years of the series, the teams split their annual meetings six times and stand 8-8 lifetime against each other with only 12 points separating them all-time (Jaguars, 288; Steelers, 276). There are many
interesting scenarios in this one.
Will When things go to
the air, two of the NFL’s best receivers will be featured --
STORYLINE: Coaching legends. Two of the most
successful coaches in NFL history meet for the first time since On the field, a mix
of youth and experience prevails in the teams’ offensive strength, the rushing
game. The Chiefs’ 32-year-old PRIEST HOLMES has run for 305 yards and
three touchdowns. He is often
spelled by 25-year-old LARRY JOHNSON
(198 yards, 3 TDs). Redskins
24-year-old RB CLINTON PORTIS while
with the Denver Broncos had three 100-yard rushing games in four outings against
the AFC West Chiefs. He scored a
career-high five TDs against KC on STORYLINE: Let the fireworks begin! It’s high-scoring offenses with outstanding passers (the Rams’ MARC BULGER and Colts’ PEYTON MANNING) and two of the top three receivers in 100-yard games since 1999 (Indy’s MARVIN HARRISON and St. Louis’ TORRY HOLT). Outstanding stat: The Rams – now led by interim head coach JOE VITT -- lead the league in “big plays,” those of 10 yards or more: BIG PLAYS --
2005
WEEK
6 SUNDAY,
OCTOBER 16 SERIES
STATS
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