The New England Patriots turned in their finest performance of the season a week ago with a lopsided victory in Pittsburgh.
Their reward? A visit from Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.
One of the league's best non-division rivalries will resume for the eighth consecutive season, highlighted by the marquee quarterback matchup between four-time league MVP Manning and three-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady.
After struggling against the Patriots for much of the early part of his career, Manning has had the upper hand in the rivalry in recent years as the Colts have won four of the past five matchups.
That includes last season's stunning 35-34 victory in Indianapolis, when the Colts roared back from a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit and capitalized on a stunning gamble by New England coach Bill Belichick, who went for it on fourth-and-2 deep in his own territory with just over two minutes to play.
Manning has led the injury-riddled Colts (6-3) to four wins in the last five games to move atop the AFC South with a one-game lead over Tennessee and Jacksonville.
Indianapolis needed a late defensive stand last week to hold off the Cincinnati Bengals 23-17. Manning failed to throw a touchdown pass for the second time this season and was held to a season-low 185 yards.
Manning was without two of his best weapons in tight end Dallas Clark and wide receiver Austin Collie as well as running backs Joseph Addai and Mike Hart. Clark is lost for the season while the other three may be available for Sunday's clash.
Clark had great success in the past gashing the middle of the Patriots' secondary, and Manning will likely look to continue to feed his replacement, Jacob Tamme, who has 24 receptions and two touchdowns in the last three games.
The Patriots rebounded from a 20-point loss to Cleveland and dominated in all phases in their win over Pittsburgh, blitzing often and sacking quarterback Ben Roethlisberger five times.
They are unlikely to employ a similar strategy against Manning, who has been sacked 12 times – more than his 2009 season total – including five in the last two weeks.
Brady threw for a season-high 350 yards and three touchdowns – all to rookie tight end Rob Gronkowski – in carving up the Pittsburgh secondary.
New England will likely to establish its ground game against the Colts, who have the 27th-rated rushing defense in the NFL. It will also keep Manning from attacking New England’s 30th-ranked pass defense.
BenJarvus Green-Ellis ran for 87 yards on 18 carries last week and is averaging 4.2 yards per carry, but he also has had three games in which he rushed for 24 yards or less.
The Patriots have scored a league-high 258 points and are 4-0 at home, but their suspect defense has surrendered at least 20 points in seven of their nine games.
Brady can make history Sunday when he goes for his 25th consecutive home win, which would tie Brett Favre for the longest streak in NFL annals.