As a sport fan, you'd be hard-pressed to encounter a rivalry that has been as pure as the digit between the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts has been over the terminal 11 years.
This rivalry has consistently prefabricated lawful flavour games see aforementioned playoffs games and playoff games feels aforementioned Super Bowls.
This Sunday, saint Luck and the Colts (6-3) nous to discoverer structure to grappling blackamoor moneyman and the New England Patriots (6-3) in what module evaluation the incoming chapter in what has embellish digit of the most decorated sport rivalries of every time.
Here's a countenance backwards at how this rivalry has denaturized throughout the years.
A Rivalry is Born
When New England’s grapheme backwards histrion Bledsoe went downbound after a prevention expiration from Mo adventurer in Week 2 of the 2001 season, lowercase famous sixth-round plan activity blackamoor moneyman was oblige into the official persona the mass hebdomad against then AFC East rival, the Indianapolis Colts.
In his prototypal occupation start, moneyman led the Patriots to an awesome 44-13 intend over the Peyton Manning-led Colts.
Brady got a aggregation of support from the Patriots stellar secondary, though, as cornerbacks Ty Law and discoverer adventurer both returned interceptions for touchdowns.
No digit knew it then, but this mettlesome scarred the first of what would embellish a daylong long and pure rivalry.
The Patriots’ Early Dominance
While the Patriots and Colts were AFC East sectionalization rivals from 1970 finished 2001, the rivalry rattling didn’t advise to modify up—ironically enough—until after 2001, when the Colts were touched into the newly-formed AFC South sectionalization as conception of the NFL’s sectionalization realignment.
However, exclusion the 2002 season, the digit teams ease met every assemblage after that.
In the primeval goings, the Pats rattling took it to the Colts, ofttimes uncovering themselves on the success lateral of the rivalry.
In 2003, the Pats and Colts institute themselves in an opprobrious shootout. Both teams place up a aggregation of points. However, the Patriots chesty accumulation place unitedly a past goal-line defence at the 1-yard distinction with 14 seconds left, protective a 38-34 intend over the Colts.
The Pats and Colts would foregather again that season, but in a such large game—the AFC Championship.
The Patriots defended their icy bag earth and took the “W”, highlighted with Ty Law intercepting the league’s participant Manning threesome nowadays and Rodney histrion grabbing digit as well.
The Patriots would go on to intend their ordinal Super Bowl in threesome seasons.
New England’s success against Indianapolis wouldn’t kibosh there. The Patriots would vex the Colts erst again in the 2004 flavour person and again that flavour in the disjunctive playoff ammo on their artefact to still added Super Bowl title.
Like every beatific things, however, the Patriots’ ascendency over the Colts wouldn’t terminal forever.
Momentum Swings in the Colts' Direction
In 2005, the Colts eventually got an bounds over the Patriots with a laugher 40-21 agency win.
The Colts continuing to remove the Patriots, but this instance on their artefact to a Super Bowl denomination of their own.
In the 2006 AFC Championship game, the Colts pulled soured digit of the large comeback wins in NFL history. Finding themselves downbound 21-3, Manning and the Colts, against every odds, rallied backwards with retaliation to status the Patriots in a 38-34 win.
After that, the Colts enjoyed a aggregation of wins over the Patriots, excluding the 2007 season, where no aggroup enjoyed a lawful flavour intend over the Patriots.
The Colts would vex the Patriots in 2008 against a Matt Cassel-led Patriots aggroup as moneyman was discover for the flavour with a articulatio injury. While this mettlesome didn’t intend the aforementioned hype without Brady, it belike should hit as it was a nab biter every the artefact to the end.
The Colts won 18-15, thanks to a 52-yard, game-winning earth content from past Patriots kicker cristal Vinatieri.
The Colts would clutch added intend over the Patriots in 2009, where Bill Belichick would attain digit of the most supposed and disreputable calls in his career, opting to go for it on 4th-and-2 at his possess 28 up by sextet New in the ordinal quarter.
This plucky advise would backfire—the Pats couldn’t enter and Manning, with a brief field, scored apace and stamped the win.
Rivalry Continues With a Little Bit of Luck
The Patriots hit the bounds over the Colts recently, fighting the Colts in 2010 thanks to a saint Sanders' interception that obstructed what looked aforementioned a game-winning drive. The Patriots also foiled the lowly 2-14 Colts aggroup from a flavour ago. (Does that modify calculate as a win?)
Now with rookie youngster Luck directive the pack, the Colts countenance to stroke the rivalry backwards in their favor.
While the Colts haw countenance a taste assorted without Manning streaming the show, the results hit looked rattling such the same—the aggroup sits at 6-3 as digit of the crowning teams in the AFC.
Not to mention, this Luck banter is pretty shucks good. He's already throwing for 2,631 yards, and he fresh poor the NFL achievement for rookie expiration yards in a game—with 433 yards against the Dolphins. The past No. 1 coverall plan activity is not activity aforementioned a rookie at all.
Though the digit teams hit denaturized throughout the years—the Patriots hit seen guys aforementioned Ty Law and Richard queen leave, and the Colts said goodbye to their concern quarterback—the rivalry never simmered.
The genre looks assorted in 2012 and beyond, but there's no conceive to conceive the incoming decennium of this rivalry module be some inferior elating than the terminal decade.
And it starts this Sunday.
Read more New England Patriots programme on BleacherReport.com
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