This game between the Indianapolis Colts (9-0) and New England Patriots (6-3) lived up to all of the hype and came down to the wire.  Who would have thought a coaching mistake from Bill Belichick would end up being the Patriots’ downfall.  Widely considered the best coach in the NFL, Belichick took a big gamble with 2:08 left when he went for it on 4th and 1 from his own 28-yard line.  The Patriots were up 34-28 and turned the ball over on downs, giving Peyton Manning a short field.  This was obviously a bad call by Belichick as Manning easily led his Colts’ to a touchdown with 13 seconds left.  The Patriots blew a 17 point lead going into the 4th quarter, the biggest 4th quarter lead that a Belichick team has ever blown.

Tom Brady and the offense had an outstanding game, but they needed one more yard to win this one.  Brady outplayed Manning through most of the game, but not by much.  Brady and Randy Moss hooked up for some big plays throughout the game, including two touchdown passes.  Brady went 29/42 for 375 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 1 interception while Moss had 9 catches for 2 touchdowns and 179 yards.  The Patriots’ defense contained the Colts running game to 91 yards, but they could have done a better job against a Colts’ team that has struggled to run the ball all season.  Manning ended up on top in the quarterback shootout, getting one more touchdown than Brady but also throwing one more pick.  He had 28/44 for 327 yards and 4 touchdowns, 2 interceptions.  The Patriots defense did what they could against Manning, but Belichick put them in almost an impossible situation late in the game and it obviously cost them.