Patriots-Colts rivalry, 2006-2007: From Manning's greatest game to the perfect Pats

October 31, 2:50 AMNew England Patriots ExaminerSean Crowe

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Can't stop the Colts? Outscore them!

Part 1: Patriots-Colts rivalry, 2001-2003: The Belichick hammer and the Manning nail

Part 2: Patriots-Colts Rivalry, 2004-2005: Colts, Manning Finally Get Over The Hump

Nov. 5, 2006: Colts 27, Patriots 20

In their last meeting, Peyton Manning figured out the Belichick defense. His Colts stole the AFC torch and ran with it. Coming into this game, they were once again undefeated, but this time the Patriots were 6-2 and playing pretty well themselves.

For the first time in the rivalry, it was Tom Brady who let his team down. He had one of the worst games of his career, throwing 4 interceptions. Peyton Manning, on the other hand, was once again tremendous.

Manning threw for 326 yards and 2 touchdowns. Adam Vinatieri, who was so huge for the Patriots when he played in New England, was once again huge for the Patriots.

Unfortunately for him, he was playing for the Colts.

Vinatieri’s two missed field goals kept the Patriots in the game, but the Colts secondary was too much for a Tom Brady led offense that had lost its top two receivers from the previous year.

Not only had Peyton Manning figured out the Belichick defense, but it seemed the Colts’ defense had figured out Tom Brady.

Jan. 21, 2007: Colts 38, Patriots 34

The Patriots and Colts have had a fantastic rivalry, but they’ve only played two epic games. The first epic game was their September 9th, 2004 meeting which the Patriots won 27 to 24.

The second epic game was the 2006 season’s AFC championship game.

The Patriots were coming off an improbably victory over the San Diego Chargers. They were playing their best football of the season. They thought, as did most of New England, that they were going to once again dominate Peyton Manning in a playoff game.

But this was a different Peyton Manning, and a different Colts team.

Admittedly, it didn’t seem that way early. When Asante Samuel returned a Peyton Manning interception for a touchdown to make the score 21-3, everyone thought the game was over. I remember actually feeling bad for Peyton Manning. He was so good, maybe one of the best ever, but he just kept running into Bill Belichick and Tom Brady.

But in a blink, Peyton Manning led his team back.

First, there was a 76 yard drive that resulted in a Manning 1 yard touchdown run. Then, there was a 76 yard drive that resulted in a 1 yard touchdown pass to Dan Klecko.

All of a sudden, the game was tied at 21.

The Patriots answered quickly as Ellis Hobbs returned a kickoff 75 yards, and then Tom Brady hit Jabar Gaffney for a 6 yard touchdown retaking the lead 28-21.

You knew things were going right for the Colts when their center, Jeff Saturday, recovered a fumble in the Patriots’ end zone to tie the game at 28.

The Patriots and Colts traded field goals to tie the game at 31. With 3:49 left in the game, Stephen Gostkowski kicked what the Patriots hoped would be the game winning field goal.

But Peyton Manning wasn’t going to be beaten this time. He led his team on a 7 play, 80 yard drive. Not for a game tying field goal, but a game winning touchdown.

It was Peyton Manning’s greatest game, and he had it against his greatest rival. He was spectacular. Two weeks later, he won his Super Bowl.

Nov. 4, 2007: Patriots 24, Colts 20

The Patriots no longer had an answer for Peyton Manning, so they decided to build an offense that could outscore him.

In the offseason, the Patriots went out and traded for Randy Moss. They signed Donte Stallworth. They traded for Wes Welker. They weren’t just beating teams, they were dominating the NFL in a way that no other team had ever even dreamed of doing.

The Patriots were 8-0, but the Colts were 7-0 and somehow flying under the radar because of what the Patriots were doing. And they liked it that way.

The Colts defense did the best job of any team to that point against the 2007 Patriots’ offense. They held the Patriots to a single first half Randy Moss touchdown. The Colts took the lead on a crazy 73 yard screen pass to Joseph Addai with 13 seconds left in the half. It was the first time all season that the Patriots were losing going into halftime.

After a third quarter Patriots’ field goal, Peyton Manning was able to lead his team to its second touchdown of the game. With 5:18 left in the game, the Colts had a 20-10 lead and the Patriots offense hadn’t been able to do anything all day.

But this Patriots offense couldn’t be held down for 60 minutes. Brady hit Moss on a long pass that set up a Wes Welker touchdown. He then hit Donte Stallworth on a long pass that set up a Kevin Faulk touchdown.

In a blink, the Patriots went from 10 points down, to 4 points up.

Peyton Manning tried to lead his team back, but Rosevelt Colvin recovered a late fourth quarter Manning fumble to ice the game for the undefeated Patriots.

After three straight devastating losses to their rivals, the Patriots had once again taken back the title of best team in the AFC.

Sean Crowe is the New England Patriots Examiner. You can email him at scrowe@gmail.com. Check out some of his other work on his Bleacher Report page.