Coffee with the Colts (part two): A next-day look at Indianapolis Colts'17-15 victory over Baltimore

Indianapolis Colts RB Joseph Addai (Nick Wass/AP Photo)

Indy Football Report Editor John Oehser takes a next-morning look at the Indianapolis Colts' 17-15 victory over the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium in downtown Baltimore in Week 11 of the 2009 NFL season . . .

PART TWO OF TWO PARTS. PART ONE HERE.

HOW THE COLTS STAND . . .

1. Indianapolis (10-0). Now, the talk will begin about homefield advantage, and with reason. The Colts lead the AFC South by four games over Jacksonville and lead the AFC by three games over Cincinnati, San Diego and New England, each of which are 7-3. That's a huge lead, and whatever the Colts say this week to the contrary, that's the goal now.

2. Jacksonville (6-4). The Jaguars have become more than a nice little early-season feel-good story. To get to the playoffs, though, Jacksonville must negotiate a schedule that includes Miami, New England and Indianapolis.

3. Houston (5-4). The Texans will play host to Tennessee Monday.

4. Tennessee (3-6). The Titans will visit Houston Monday.

WHAT WE LEARNED SUNDAY . . .

The Colts can win even without DEs Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis having monster games. Neither of the Colts' Pro Bowl defensive ends had a sack Sunday. That was the first time this season that had happened, but even without a dominant pass rush off the corners, the Colts' defense held Baltimore without a touchdown.

WHAT WE DON'T KNOW . . .

How good the Colts can be. They are 10-0 and have won the last four games by an average of two and a half points. They have done so with CB Kelvin Hayden and WR Anthony Gonzalez not playing, and they still have the feel of a team finding its way.

LINKIN'

* Mike Preston of the Baltimore Sun says the Ravens deserved to lose. Here.

* Clark Judge of CBSSports.com says MLB Gary Brackett gets the credit for the victory. Here.

* Preston's report card. Here.

* Jamison Hensley of the Baltimore Sun weighs in with his game story. Here.

* Mike Chappell of the Indianapolis Star talks about TE Tom Santi's big game. Here.

* Chappell says Colts WR Reggie Wayne didn't see the game as sloppy. Here.

* Bob Kravitz says winning all that matters in the NFL (and yes, Bob, I wrote this before reading your column). Here.

* Kravitz's report card. Here.

THE LAST WORD . . .

Goes to Colts S Antoine Bethea via Judge of CBSSports.com: "With our offense nobody is ever going to beat us kicking field goals."

PART ONE OF "AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE" HERE