National Football League

Colts' streak of 10-win seasons on verge of ending

Published Oct. 20, 2011 6:18 a.m. ET

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The Colts have followed the same script for nine seasons. Start fast, win 10 or more games, make the playoffs.

Times are changing in Indianapolis.

With Peyton Manning still recovering from neck surgery and a handful of his teammates also out, the Colts head into Sunday night's game at New Orleans as the league's only 0-6 team. Those nine straight seasons with double-digit wins just might be over.

''At this point, we're just trying to win a football game. We're not looking in the past, in the future, we're trying to win a football game,'' defensive tackle Dan Muir said. ''We're looking right now, today, what we can do today to be better today.''

For the past decade, the Colts have been one of the NFL's model franchises thanks to solid drafts, hard work and good fortune.

But many outsiders expected Indianapolis to sink when it became clear Manning would miss significant time because of the neck injury. Most, however, didn't anticipate things slipping away so quickly.

The Colts are ranked No. 28 in the NFL in both yards rushing and passing and their offense is ranked No. 31 overall, four spots behind their usually maligned defense. Only Jacksonville has played as many games as the Colts and scored fewer points.

The favorite sports talk debate in Indy is now about whether the Colts should try to win games or tank the season so it can draft Manning's eventual replacement, preferably Stanford star Andrew Luck. Nobody at the Colts complex would dare discuss that topic, though Manning did tell reporters recently that ''all true Colts fans'' should be rooting for wins.

It's a far cry from the good old days when Manning was running the show and the Colts were almost a lock to win the AFC South.

Without the four-time league MVP, the cracks have shown.

Indy hasn't lost seven straight since the start of 1997 when they were 0-10. If the Colts lose either of their next two games, the double-digit win streak would officially end before the second half of the season begins.

''You can't forget what they've done,'' defensive end Jamaal Anderson said. ''Success in this league is hard. It is very hard to win in this league, and I tell the younger guys here all the time that they're very lucky they came into a winning situation because they know that taste, they know what it's like to win. I've been on the worst of the worst.''

Anderson, who spent four seasons in Atlanta before signing with the Colts during training camp, insists it's not that bad in Indy.

Others suggest nothing, not even extending the two streaks, is out of reach.

With injuries taking away Mario Williams and Andre Johnson from Houston (3-3), division-leading Tennessee at only 3-2 and Jacksonville only one win ahead of the Colts, Indy believes it can still chase a division crown if it can turn things around soon.

The only AFC South game Indy has played was the season-opener at Houston. The Colts visit Tennessee on Oct. 30. They'll host Jacksonville on Nov. 13 and close out the season with three straight divisional games.

Indy has been close.

Pittsburgh needed a field goal with 4 seconds left to pull out a 23-20 victory on Sept. 25. Six days later, Tampa Bay rallied from a 10-point first-half deficit for a 24-17 win. Kansas City erased a 17-point deficit and held on for a 28-24 victory. Last weekend, Cincinnati blocked a potentially tying field goal, then returned a fumble 35 yards for a TD with 2:22 left to seal a 27-17 victory.

The near-misses and ugly games can't deter these Colts.

''We count Super Bowls over here,'' Pro Bowl defensive end Dwight Freeney said. ''I don't care if we're 7-9, as long as we win the Super Bowl, that's what matters. That's really all that counts.''

The Colts have been here before.

In 2010, Indy finished the regular season with four straight wins to go 10-6 and make the playoffs. In 2008, after starting 3-4, the Colts won nine straight.

This time, it would take 10 straight wins to keep the streaks alive - an improbable feat that players continue to believe is possible.

''I've seen our team win 14 straight,'' kicker Adam Vinatieri said. ''Now I'm not comparing us with any other team or any other season, but any win streak starts with winning one game and every time we step on the field, I feel like we can win.''