Colts will rebound in Cali, for sure

Football Betting Lines

11/06/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The looks on the faces of the Indianapolis Colts after Sunday's setback to the New England Patriots said it all. This team is not accustomed to losing.

The Colts are also not used to practicing on Mondays this time of year, either, because they are usually winning. Sunday's 24-20 loss to the unbeaten Patriots at the RCA Dome ended an eight-game regular-season winning streak for Indianapolis, and the Colts also had a 12-game winning streak dating back to last season halted, including four postseason games. The loss was the first for Indianapolis since a setback at Houston last December 24.

Even playing at home didn't seem to help Indy's cause, as it watched a 12-game winning streak inside the dome come to an end. The Colts, who opened a season with seven straight wins for the third straight year, still lead the AFC South division by one game over 6-2 Tennessee, while Jacksonville sits two games off the lead with a 5-3 record.

In order to stay atop the division standings, the Colts must forget about Sunday's loss immediately. When Indianapolis opened last season with a 9-0 mark, it lost four of the next seven games before regrouping in the playoffs to win its first Super Bowl title in 36 seasons. Head coach Tony Dungy wants to avoid a similar situation, even though the adversity worked out in the end.

"We had this same situation last year when we went to Dallas (in Week 11) and had a lead and didn't hold it against a good team," Dungy said. "We didn't think it was the end of the world, but we got into a stretch where we didn't play great ball. That's what we have to avoid. We've got to bounce back."

The Colts rebounded from the Dallas loss with a huge victory versus Philadelphia, but then lost three of their next four games.

Indianapolis, which has played a division leader in six of eight games this season, will travel to San Diego this weekend. The Chargers were handed a 35-17 loss by Minnesota, as Vikings rookie running back Adrian Peterson set a new NFL record by rushing for 296 yards with three touchdowns on 30 carries.

Colts running back Joseph Addai has to be frothing at the mouth to get on that plane for San Diego. Addai had a strong outing in Sunday's loss, gathering 112 yards on 26 carries and 114 yards and a touchdown on five receptions. He became the first player in franchise history to rush for more than 100 yards and have more than 100 yards receiving in the same game.

Addai's 73-yard TD reception on a screen pass staked Indy to a 13-7 halftime lead. But it was Patriots quarterback Tom Brady who stole the show in the end.

After holding Brady and the top-rated offense to 184 total yards in the first three quarters, the Colts owned a 20-10 advantage with less than 10 minutes remaining in the game. Then Brady resurrected New England's passing attack with 158 yards on 9-of-13 throwing and a pair of touchdown passes.

The Colts had one last chance and were moving the football with ease until Patriots defensive end Jarvis Green knocked the ball away from quarterback Peyton Manning. New England linebacker Rosevelt Colvin recovered the ball, and Brady converted a 3rd-and-6 with a 10-yard pass to Wes Welker with just over two minutes left.

The Patriots then ran out the clock as the Colts were out of timeouts.

"We were up 10 points in the fourth quarter and they found a way to come back and win," Dungy said. "I think we'll grow from it and learn and know as we get in those other tough games coming down the stretch we're going to have to be a little better in the fourth quarter."

Indianapolis will play on the road for a third time in four games this week. It will also most likely meet New England as the visitor come playoff time.

A FEW NOTES FROM SUNDAY

- The Patriots had scored on their first possession in all eight games this season before being held in check by the Colts on Sunday.

- Colts eight-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Marvin Harrison has missed two of the past three games with a knee injury. Rookie Anthony Gonzalez took over in Harrison's place and had one catch for 13 yards. Gonzalez, though, suffered a dislocated left thumb in the first half and never returned.

- Wideout Reggie Wayne finished with 62 yards on five catches for Indianapolis. Wayne had consecutive 100-yard receiving games entering Sunday's showdown with the Pats.

- Indy offensive left tackle Tony Ugoh (neck) and linebackers Freddy Keiaho (ear) and Tyjuan Hagler (neck) all missed Sunday's game.

- Sunday's loss for the Colts was their first in a regular-season game with playoff implications in the RCA Dome since October of the 2004 campaign, when Indy lost to Jacksonville by a 27-24 score.

- Manning was sacked three times on Sunday after going down just twice over the previous four games.

- Colts defensive end Robert Mathis registered two sacks on Sunday.

- New England entered Sunday's averaging a league-best 41.4 points per game, but was held under 30 points for the first time this season.

UP NEXT: LT AND THE BOLTS

The Colts will travel to the west coast this weekend for a showdown with the San Diego Chargers. San Diego is coming off a tough loss at Minnesota in which the run defense was battered by Peterson. It will have to do a better job this week, when Addai looks to duplicate his success from the New England game.

Indy's defense will be busy as well trying to contain Chargers multi-talented running back LaDainian Tomlinson. The reigning league MVP can hurt defenses on the ground and out of the backfield with his pass-catching skills. He had just 40 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries against the Vikings, however.

The Chargers own a 13-8 advantage in the all-time regular season series with Indianapolis, including a 26-17 upset at the RCA Dome when the teams last met during Week 15 of the 2005 season.