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The biggest game of the year

The biggest game of the year

They're the defending Super Bowl champions, are a perfect 7-0 and are at home, yet the Indianapolis Colts will find themselves as underdogs Sunday.

Then again, the Colts will face none other than the New England Patriots, a team that's 8-0 and has had its way against its rivals so far this season.

Actually, it's easy to understand how oddsmakers have made the Patriots early 4½-point favourites.

First, consider the play of quarterback Tom Brady. The three-time Super Bowl champion has been white hot this season, having thrown a career-high 29 touchdown passes in just eight games. He's on a pace to completely obliterate the NFL record of 49 TD passes established just three seasons ago by Indianapolis's Peyton Manning.

Brady is also leading the NFL in passing with 2,431 yards and has an out-of-this-world passer rating of 136.2. Manning is the closest to Manning, at 102.9.

Last weekend, the six-foot-four, 224-pound Brady was just 29-of-38 passing for 306 yards and three touchdowns in leading the Patriots past Washington 52-7. But convincing wins have been the norm this year for New England, which has defeated all of its rivals by at least 17 points.

Only the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins have scored more than 20 points against the Patriots so far this season.

However, to beat New England means a team must outscore the Patriots, and that's a tough proposition considering the Pats have already scored 331 points this season. And then there's Randy Moss.

The former Minnesota Vikings first-round pick has been nothing short of sensational so far. The former Marshall star leads the NFL in receiving with 47 catches for 779 yards and has already caught 11 touchdown passes.

Last year in 13 games with the Oakland Raiders, Moss had 42 catches for 553 yards and four TDs. He's on pace to surpass his career-best 1,632 yards receiving (2003 with Minnesota) and 17 touchdown catches ('98 and '03 with the Vikings).

Newcomers Donte' Stallworth and Wes Welker have also helped create more room for Moss.

While the Patriots have been impressive, the Colts haven't exactly been chopped liver.

They've won a club-record 12 straight home games and are 3-0 on the road within their own division. While the Colts are certainly regarded as a passing team, thanks to the presence of Manning and such wideouts as Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne, consider that Indianapolis is leading the NFL in rushing touchdowns (12) and its defence is allowing just 14.6 points per game, a figure that's better than the Patriots (they're giving up 15.9 points per game).

But the Colts are more than just a passing team. Sophomore Joseph Addai is seventh in the NFL in rushing with 592 yards, and is averaging 4.8 yards per carry. He has also run for seven touchdowns.

And when Addai either can't go or needs a break, former CFL star Kenton Keith has been there to deliver. The long-time Saskatchewan Roughrider has rushed for 344 yards and is also averaging 4.8 yards per carry in his first season with Indianapolis and has scored three touchdowns. The various statistics clearly suggest that both Indianapolis and New England are in a league of their own.

New England leads the NFL in total offensive yards (440 yards per game), passing (304 yards per game) and scoring (41.4 points per game). Indianapolis is No. 3 in total yards (399 yards per game), sixth in passing (258.7 yards) and third in scoring (32 points per game), but now has a running game that's ranked fifth overall (140.3 yards per game).

Another difference, too, is the Colts' defence. Indianapolis is ranked first against the pass (165.4 yards per game) and 13th versus the run (107.4 yards per game).

New England counters with a defence that's fifth against the run (87 yards per game) and fifth against the pass (181.5 yards per game).

And both units are tied for the league lead in turnover margin at plus-11.

There's no denying the talent and firepower of either offence, so much so that when one breaks both units down, it's a wash. Brady should cancel out Manning, Harrison should cancel out Moss, and so on.

But where the matchup gets interesting is at running back _ where New England's Laurence Maroney has been hampered by injuries _ and on defence. Actually, if the Colts can establish the run and play a ball-control offence, then that would also serve to keep Brady and Co. on the sidelines.

And that's possibly how the Colts can befuddle the oddsmakers and register the upset to improve to 8-0. An undefeated team registering an upset victory, somehow that sounds odd. Then again, this isn't an ordinary matchup between two ordinary teams, is it?