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INDIANAPOLIS — Colts defensive end Robert Mathis couldn’t care less about the No. 1 draft pick. All he wants is another win.

Some of Indianapolis’ die-hard fans are urging the team’s brain trust to take a different tack, benching starters and losing Sunday’s season finale at Jacksonville so it can get the top pick.

“It’s better not to respond to that at all,” Mathis said when asked about the fans’ plea. “We play to win.”

The stakes are high.

Since moving to Indianapolis in 1984, only the 1991 Colts (1-15) produced fewer than three wins.

The Colts (2-13) have never finished with a losing record in AFC South play, and the last time anybody beat the Colts twice in the same season was 2007 when San Diego won at home in the regular season and in Indianapolis in the second round of the playoffs.

A victory over the Jags (4-11) would keep all of those streaks intact and allow the Colts to take a three-game winning string into next season, something they haven’t done since the 2006 Super Bowl-winning run.

The message coming from the top is simple: Keep on winning.

“We’re not going after anything but a win in Jacksonville, look at the last half century of SupBowl winners — how many had 1st pick,” Jim Irsay wrote on Twitter late Tuesday night.

Fans have a different view.

A win, coupled with a loss by St. Louis (2-13), would drop the Colts from the No. 1 overall slot down to No. 2, and likely out of the Andrew Luck sweepstakes. Most expect the Stanford quarterback to go in that top slot, whether the Colts or Rams have the pick or trade it.

The possibility of losing the No. 1 pick didn’t even seem plausible three weeks ago when the Colts were still winless. Two wins in five days, over division rivals Tennessee and Houston, and an extended break after last Thursday’s win have suddenly created doubts.

It’s not the first time the Colts have faced such a predicament. After going 0-10 in 1997, Indy won three of its next five, then needed a loss at Minnesota in the season finale to secure the No. 1 pick. It worked out with the selection of Peyton Manning, and the die-hards believe it would all work the same way again this year.

The Jags have a hand to play in this, too.

With Maurice Jones-Drew a near lock to win the league’s rushing title and an interim coach running the team, a Jags loss would not just help their draft position but could also prevent the Colts from taking another franchise quarterback they’d have to face twice a year for more than a decade.

“That’s not a part of my thinking at all,” Jaguars interim coach Mel Tucker said.

Indy’s players and coaches are saying the same thing.

Still, Colts fans point to 2009 when the team benched most of its key players early in the second half of Game 15, throwing away a chance at a perfect season. In the regular-season finale, most of the starters were yanked early at Buffalo. Back then, Bill Polian, now the team’s vice chairman, said the perfect season was not a goal but winning the Super Bowl was.

The Colts also lost to New Orleans in the title game.

Now, with seemingly nothing to gain and everything to lose, those who covet the No. 1 pick argue Indy should do the same thing.

Don’t count on it.

“In this locker room, everyone wants to be in there,” said Curtis Painter, who replaced Manning against the Jets in 2009. “Back then, I think the guys wanted to play then, too. Every guy wants to play and there’s certainly no difference this year.”

Notes: The Colts practiced Wednesday without starting quarterback Dan Orlovsky after his wife delivered triplets. That temporarily put Curtis Painter back in the charge of the starting offense, a tradeoff some Colts fans are willing to make given the circumstances. To their dismay, coach Jim Caldwell said Orlovsky, who has won two straight, should return to practice Thursday and should play Sunday.

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The Indianapolis Colts have struggled in 2011. The opened the season 0-13 and looked as if they had a possibility of going winless on the season. Then the team dug in and won two games in a row to move to 2-13 on the season. Through the ups and downs, Reggie Wayne has always been there and has had a very good season.

Indianapolis’ statistics are down across the board on offense from what fans are used to seeing. Peyton Manning has not played this season and the quarterback play has been just awful. Kerry Collins and Curtis Painter were downright awful for the first 11 games of the season. Dan Orlovsky has been a big improvement and has the team playing better football lately.

Even with the poor quarterback play, Reggie Wayne has hung in there and is quietly having a very good season at 33 years old. A lot of talk has been made recently about Wayne’s upcoming free agency and that the December 22 matchup against the Houston Texans could have been his last game at Lucas Oil Stadium. If it was, Wayne didn’t disappoint. He didn’t disappoint this entire season when you factor in what he’s had to play through.

With one game left to play, Wayne has 67 receptions for 887 yards and four touchdowns on the season. Wayne has an average of 13.2 yards per catch which is higher than his averages of the last two seasons. You can’t fault Wayne for the fact that his quarterbacks have been awful and have not been able to get him the ball.

Indianapolis has two wins on the season and both wins were clinched with touchdown catches by Reggie Wayne. This is no coincidence.

Reggie needs 113 yards in the finale against the Jacksonville Jaguars on January 1 to finish off his eighth straight season with over 1,000 yards receiving. This would be an amazing feat when fans look back on this seasons Indianapolis Colt team.

Wide receiver Pierre Garcon currently has one more catch and 37 more yards on the season than Wayne. Garcon has been the beneficiary of several deep balls early in the season and yardage that has been added on late in blowout losses. Wayne has consistently made the big plays and catches in key situations. Anyone who argues that Garcon has become the better player is simply not watching the games.

It’s impossible to say what would have been in Indianapolis if Peyton Manning had not missed the season. What I do know is that Reggie Wayne has not lost a step and deserves to be re-signed in Indianapolis to complete his career there. If anything, he needs to be rewarded for the work he has put in over the last 11 seasons. Fans have to appreciate the work Reggie Wayne has put in all season in 2011.

Kyle Rapoza is a Featured Contributor for the Yahoo! Contributor Network and has been a lifelong fan of the Indianapolis Colts. He attended Super Bowl XLIV in Miami and follows the team closely. Follow him on Twitter @kyler11.

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The Indianapolis Colts are still in search of their first victory of the season in week 15. This is not what I expected to be writing about at the beginning of the season, but here we are. Indianapolis has only three games remaining to avoid finishing the season winless. This week they will face the Tennessee Titans at home on December 18.

This game will be the best chance for Dan Orlovsky to show what he can do against an average team. In his first two starts, Orlovsky faced the New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens and was not terrible. He was clearly better than Curtis Painter and he actually moved the ball and helped the team score points on offense. There is no reason why he should not do significantly better against the Tennessee Titans.

Indianapolis needs to try to air it out downfield to Pierre Garcon and Reggie Wayne in this game. They have nothing to lose and need to be more aggressive in this game. As a fan of the team, it remains frustrating that the coaching staff refuses to do anything unconventional in an attempt to win. Why not go for it on every fourth down? There is no downside to it at all at this point. There is no reason why fans should expect anything different from Jim Caldwell this week though. It’s as if he has no idea that he is coaching for his job.

Colt fans early in the week appeared lucky enough to be facing rookie quarterback Jake Locker. Matt Hasselbeck now looks like he is on pace to start against the Colts. Whichever quarterback gets the start, they should have no trouble moving the ball against the Colt defense. One sign of hope is that Indianapolis generally does a very good job defending against running back Chris Johnson. If they can slow Johnson down, they may even stand a chance in this game. Tennessee does not have an explosive offense and should not be able to run away in this game.

I think this is a game where Indianapolis remains competitive and can put themselves in a position to win the game. They will likely fall short like every other game this year. At this point, fans can only hope that Dan Orlvosky will pull off his fourth quarter magic and make the game appear closer than it really is again. Orlovsky has shown that he is great at scoring points in the fourth quarter when the game is out of hand. Luckily, I think he’ll be able to do that and give fans hope that the game was actually closer than it really was.

Prediction: Titans 24, Colts 17

Kyle Rapoza is a Featured Contributor for the Yahoo! Contributor Network and has been a lifelong fan of the Indianapolis Colts. He attended Super Bowl XLIV in Miami and follows the team closely. Follow him on Twitter @kyler11.

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Remember how the Indianapolis Colts stubbornly stuck with Curtis Painter as their backup quarterback, even after he tanked like an Edsel in limited relief of Peyton Manning? They could have spent one of their draft picks in 2010 or 2011 on a different signal caller, but team vice chairman Bill Polian isn’t one to quickly cut bait or admit a mistake, so the Colt soldiered on. After Peyton Manning went down and then Kerry Collins followed suit, Polian dug in and cajoled head coach Jim Caldwell into starting Painter. I admit that Curtis did a whole lot better than I thought he would, at least at the start of his tenure, but he eventually became an unmitigated disaster. Now, Polian claims that he was thisclose to picking up another solution last spring in the 2011 draft, current arm of the week T. J. Yates.

As Polian told us during his weekly radio show on December 12, “We were getting ready to draft him in the very same round. Houston picked before us if I’m not mistaken.” Of course, the problem with that “recollection” is that Yates was selected in the fifth round, where the Colts didn’t even have a pick. Between the Colts’ fourth-round pick at number 119 overall and their sixth-round selection at number 188 overall, four quarterbacks were taken by other teams, so there is virtually no chance that Yates would have fallen to Indianapolis in any case.

Ah, but Polian now admits that he should have valued Yates more highly: “Should we have taken him a round earlier? Yes, without question.” Except that statement actually does raise a question: Is Yates more valuable than Delone Carter, whom the Colts selected in the fourth round? We were all pretty happy to hear that the bruising Carter was headed to town, particularly after some anemic running performances from the Colts’ backfield in recent seasons. Carter looked pretty good in the first few contests of 2011 but seems to have fallen out of favor recently. Now, Polian has quietly pulled the rug out from under his young runner.

All of which is to say that we (the Colts, their brass and fans) find ourselves in a curious position that we’re not accustomed to. Chronic losing has a deleterious effect on people, and even the most confident among us can start to have doubts. Polian is usually the model of smugness, and won’t give us an inch when it comes to admitting errors, but he’s starting to wobble a bit. Could it be that he is feeling the pressure of this lost season? Could it be that his other recent mistakes are coming to a head and staring him in the face?

Could be.

Adam Hughes was raised, and still lives, in rural Indiana. He has been a Colts fans since the team arrived in Indianapolis on a snowy morning in 1984. The Blue and White eventually replaced the Chicago Bears as his #1 team, and Super Bowl XLI was a dream come true.

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The Indianapolis Colts are now 0-13 after a 24-10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Indianapolis fell behind early and were never able to recover. Dan Orlovsky’s fourth quarter comeback fell 14 points short this week after he almost came back on the New England Patriots in a loss on November 4. The fact is that Orlovsky and the Colts are simply not playing good football. They very much look like an 0-13 football team.

I fully expected the Raven defense to put constant pressure on the Colts and they did just that all game. Orlovsky was sacked four times, fumbled three times and threw an interception in the game. This is not uncommon against the Baltimore defense though. Orlovsky can’t be faulted for his subpar performance. The offensive line was continually beaten by a superior defensive front.

Indianapolis abandoned the run early after falling behind and never got anything going on the ground. Donald Brown, Joseph Addai, and Delone Carter only combined to run 16 times for 50 yards in the game. Addai was used very little and fans have to wonder why he isn’t playing more. Addai began the season as the starter and has played hardly played in the second half of the season. Donald Brown has played well, but Addai deserves to get more work than he has lately.

As a fan of the team, this is just one of the many questionable decisions by coach Jim Caldwell this season. I can only hope that I am watching Caldwell coach the final three games of his career. It’s difficult to explain how poorly Caldwell has done this season. He has done nothing to prove that he deserves to keep his job.

To get an idea of how bad they played, Indianapolis only had 68 total yards of offense before the fourth quarter when the score was 24-3 and the game was out of reach. This is before Dan Orlovsky rallied the team to a last second touchdown that made the score appear closer than it was for the second week in a row.

For all their losses to injury recently, the Indianapolis defense was not terrible. They only allowed only 24 points to a very good team. They created a turnover, which has become rare, and had two big sacks by Dwight Freeney. You know times are tough when getting a single turnover in a loss is progress for a team.

The loss moves Indianapolis one week closer to the end of the season and the top draft pick for the 2012 NFL draft. The talk about Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck and what will happen with the quarterback position last year will only continue to grow. As a fan of the team, I’m just ready for the season to be over and the losses to stop.

Kyle Rapoza is a Featured Contributor for the Yahoo! Contributor Network and has been a lifelong fan of the Indianapolis Colts. He attended Super Bowl XLIV in Miami and follows the team closely. Follow him on Twitter @kyler11.

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Every year the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots play one of the most entertaining regular season games of the NFL season. This season that is unlikely to be the case. At 0-11, Indianapolis is looking for their first win of the season. Without Peyton Manning(notes), the matchup will be much different than fans are used to. Every game Indianapolis has played this season has been something different for fans.

For many analysts the question is not whether New England will win the game, but who many points they will score and how much they will win by.

The Colts made two significant changes this week that will have a major impact in the game. Defensive coordinator Larry Coyer was fired and replaced with linebackers coach Mike Murphy. Murphy should not be judged by the defense’s performance in this game. Tom Brady(notes) is amongst the best quarterbacks in the NFL and should be able to move the ball at will against the Indianapolis defense. The change to Murphy may ignite the defense but the playmakers to stop Brady and the Patriot offense are just not there.

Indianapolis also made a change at quarterback this week. Curtis Painter(notes) was recently benched in favor of Dan Orlovsky(notes). New England does not have a great defense and their secondary is certainly beatable. Fans will get a chance to see if Orlovsky can do any better than Painter. Indianapolis is likely to be playing from behind in the game and Orlovsky will get the opportunity to throw the ball a lot while attempting to score points to catch up to the Patriots.

As an Indianapolis fan, this is undoubtedly going to be one of the most difficult games of the season to suffer through. When the Colts take the field against their rivals they stand little chance to remain competitive let alone win the game. The Patriots should control the game from start to finish and make it difficult to watch.

For Indianapolis, neither Murphy or Orlovsky should have much of an impact in this game. Both were moves the team had to make though. After 11 straight losses some change had to be made. I only hope that it will eventually lead to a victory this season. That victory is just unlikely to come this week.

Prediction: Patriots 45, Colts 28

Kyle Rapoza is a Featured Contributor for the Yahoo! Contributor Network and has been a lifelong fan of the Indianapolis Colts. He attended Super Bowl XLIV in Miami and follows the team closely. Follow him on Twitter @kyler11.

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There is the quick update of the day.

Marvin Harrison(notes) was inducted into the Indianapolis Colts’ ” Ring of Honor ” at mid-field in Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday during halftime of the Colts’ game against the Carolina Panthers. It was an honor that was overdue for the receiver who helped Peyton Manning(notes) build a winning franchise during the early 2000s, but Harrison has struggled with off-the-field issues since his retirement in 2008, and Colts brass probably wanted to make sure that he would stay retired before making the move. That said, I think the franchise needs to open up the “Ring” a bit more and close around a couple of other past Colts who helped make those mid-decade teams so great. I don’t think many of my fellow Horseshoe fans would balk at the inclusion of Tarik Glenn and Edgerrin James(notes).

Glenn , drafted in the first round by the Colts in 1997, welcomed Manning to the league the next year and protected the quarterback’s blind side for the next nine seasons. The left tackle from the University of California at Berkeley began his college career as a defensive lineman, but made a successful conversion to the offensive line as a junior. Glenn’s strong blocking gave Manning the time he needed to hone his game and become one of the all-time greats. It also gave the quarterback a confidence that has been hard to recapture since Glenn retired before the 2007 season to pursue an MBA.

James had the unenviable task of replacing Marshall Faulk when the future Hall of Famer left for the St. Louis Rams before the 1999 season. James delivered splendidly, leading the league in rushing in each of his first two seasons and topping the 1000-yard mark in five of his seven seasons with the Colts. Ironically, James left the Colts as a free agent just in time for Indianapolis to make its Super Bowl run in 2006. Even though he was in Arizona that season, the Colts gave him a championship ring after their big win.

No matter how you look at it, Tarik Glenn and Edgerrin James are two of the Colts’ all-time greats, even including the franchise’s many decades in Baltimore. It’s time for the team to beef up its “Ring of Honor” and let in these two champions of the gridiron.

Adam Hughes was raised, and still lives, in rural Indiana. He has been a Colts fans since the team arrived in Indianapolis on a snowy morning in 1984. The Blue and White eventually replaced the Chicago Bears as his #1 team, and Super Bowl XLI was a dream come true.

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The Indianapolis Colts will look to get their first win of the season after opening the season with 10 straight losses. As a fan of the team, I’m more used to this being the point in the season where undefeated records and playoff preparations are being discussed. Now all you hear about is the 2012 draft and prospect Andrew Luck. For the 53 players on the team, the most important thing remaining is to find some way to win a single game in their final six games of the season.

No team wants to be remembered and go down in history for going 0-16. Jim Caldwell’s Indianapolis Colts have a very good chance to accomplish the embarrassing feat. If the team needed any extra incentive this week, Marvin Harrison(notes) is being inducted into the Ring of Honor at Lucas Oil Stadium. Harrison is a former teammate and friend of several of the veterans on the team. Hopefully this can elevate the game of Reggie Wayne(notes), Dwight Freeney(notes), Robert Mathis(notes) and others to lead the team to their first win.

Coach Jim Caldwell announced that Curtis Painter(notes) would still be the starter at quarterback coming off of the bye week. It was suspected that the team may look to make another change and try out backup Dan Orlovsky(notes) at quarterback. Painter has played very bad lately and was benched in favor of Orlovsky in the November 13 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. The decision to start Painter makes fans really wonder if the team is trying to lose and aim for Andrew Luck.

Carolina’s defense is one that even Indianapolis and Curtis Painter should be able to move the ball on. Matthew Stafford(notes) and the Detroit Lions scored 49 points and thrashed the Panther defense in their last game. Even Curtis Painter should be able to move the ball and score points in this game.

The biggest challenge will be slowing down Cam Newton(notes) and Steve Smith. The Indianapolis defense has continually given up big plays this season and the Panther offense has thrived on big plays. If Indianapolis can play strong defensively and limit the Panther offense, then they should be in great position to win the game.

The Indianapolis coaching staff has had two weeks to prepare for this game and lead the team to their first win. I think this is finally the week the Colts will win a game. If they can pull it out, it may come down to a late field goal by kicker Adam Vinatieri(notes).

Prediction: Colts 23, Panthers 21

Kyle Rapoza is a Featured Contributor for the Yahoo! Contributor Network and has been a lifelong fan of the Indianapolis Colts. He attended Super Bowl XLIV in Miami and follows the team closely. Follow him on Twitter @kyler11.

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The Carolina Panthers are on the road as they play the Indianapolis Colts on Nov. 27^th. The Panthers have struggled this year, but no team has struggled more than the Peyton Manning(notes) less Colts who have yet to win a game. Here are some keys to a Panthers victory.

Panthers Must Stop The Run

The rush defense has been porous all season ranking 30^th in the league as they allow an average of 140.7 yards per game. It is even more important to stop the run because the Colts have struggled all season through the air. Curtis Painter(notes) has completed 55.2 percent of his passes with five touchdowns and seven interceptions in the starting role. None of his touchdowns have come in the last four games. The Colts could also have a healthy Joseph Addai(notes) ready for this one. Even though the Colts have one of the worst rushing attacks in the league, this could potentially be a breakout game for them. They average 98.4 yards per game, which is good enough for 25^th in the league. However, with a healthy Addai in combination with Delone Carter(notes) and/or Donald Brown(notes), the Colts could have a successful day, especially if they need to focus on the run if Painter struggles. The rush defense needs to find a way to keep the Colts rushers in check and it could play a huge role in a victory for Carolina.

Limit Offensive Turnovers

Last week, Newton had four interceptions. Another day like that cannot happen. Newton at times has been consistent and one can expect that from a rookie quarterback. However, playing another struggling team, it is imperative to not give them any chance in this one. Newton needs to cut out the interceptions and continue to put points on the board, which the offense has done. If they can jump out in front and not let the Colts back in with errors, the Panthers should be able to come away with this one.

Pressure Painter

The Panthers pass defense has been middle of the pack this season averaging 234.1 yards per game, good enough for 17^th in the league. With a struggling QB under center, the front four of the Panthers need to get to Painter and force him into bad decisions. Charles Johnson(notes), who has an injured shoulder, may not be able to play in this one. If that is the case, it will be a big blow to the pass rush. He has seven of Carolina’s 19 sacks. However, even without Johnson, the Panthers should still be able to get to Painter. If the defense can get Newton and the offense on the field as much as possible to continue their high-scoring ways, the Panthers should certainly win.

*All stats found on espn.com

Although living several hundred miles from Charlotte, Matthew Levine bleeds Carolina blue. He has followed the Panthers since their inaugural season in 1995 and was absolutely heart-broken over the 2003 Super Bowl loss to the Patriots.

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Can the Indianapolis Colts finally win their first game? If they are destined to win this year, this will be the week. The Colts host the Jacksonville Jaguars on November 13 in what is a very winnable football game. Colts fans have struggled to deal with playing without Peyton Manning(notes). At 0-9 on the season there are few chances left at getting a win. The 2-6 Jaguars present a great opportunity for them.

Indianapolis often gets beaten badly by Jacksonville’s running game. The Colts’ defense has been terrible at defending against the run. Frankly, the defense has been terrible at everything this year. Indianapolis is giving up 31.4 points per game in 2011. Only two teams in NFL history have been worse. This statistic is greatly affected by the lopsided 62-7 loss to the New Orleans Saints. Colt fans have been subject to several blowout losses lately though.

One big reason the Colts can defeat the Jaguars is the poor play of quarterback Blaine Gabbert(notes). Gabbert has not played well at all in his rookie season. Dwight Freeney(notes) and Robert Mathis(notes) will need to break out of their slumps and put pressure on Gabbert.

While they do have the look of an 0-16 team, every fan wants to see the team win at least one game. The talent is certainly there, they just need to put it all together for a full game. I think and hope that this is just the week.

Veteran center Jeff Saturday recently held a team meeting to address the team on their winless season. The players in the locker room are not used to losing and this shows that they still care and are certainly not tanking the season in hopes of the number one draft pick. As great as Andrew Luck may someday be, these players want to win badly and have too much pride to not give it everything they have in an attempt to win this season. Going 0-16 is an embarrassment and something no professional player wants on their resume.

I’m predicting the first win of the season this week for the Colts. They will finally rally behind the veterans on the team and win the game on a late field goal by veteran kicker Adam Vinatieri(notes). This will still keep the team in the suck for luck sweepstakes.

Prediction: Colts 20, Jaguars 17

Kyle Rapoza is a Featured Contributor for the Yahoo! Contributor Network and has been a lifelong fan of the Indianapolis Colts. He attended Super Bowl XLIV in Miami and follows the team closely. Follow him on Twitter @kyler11.

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INDIANAPOLIS – And then there was one. One solitary team without a victory this NFL season, and it’s the Indianapolis Colts.

Their latest debacle came Sunday, in the form of a 31-7 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, in front of 65,218 fans at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Not once did the Colts’ offense get into the end zone. The only time they got in sniffing distance – the 33-yard line – quarterback Curtis Painter’s pass was intercepted by cornerback Kelvin Hayden, who was released by Indianapolis last summer after six seasons and a memorable interception return for a touchdown in the Super Bowl XLI victory.

Hayden’s snag of one of the many errant Painter passes was insult to injury for the Colts, off to a 0-9 start for the first time since 1997.

“Obviously, he’s a fine player,” Colts coach Jim Caldwell said. “He’s always been a guy who’s had a knack for making big plays, and he certainly came up with one in that situation. He was a very, very fine player for us.”

Conventional wisdom coming in was that the Falcons (5-3) would exploit the Colts’ 31st-ranked run defense – and Michael Turner did gain 71 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries – but it was the Colts’ mistake-prone 22nd-ranked pass defense that was the true foil.

Atlanta’s rookie wide receiver, Julio Jones, had three catches for 131 yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback Matt Ryan completed 14 of 24 passes for 275 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.

And, as usual, the Colts’ offense had no answer without quarterback Peyton Manning. Painter was ineffective in three quarters, completing 13 of 27 passes for 98 yards and one interception. In relief, Dan Orlovsky completed 4 of 6 for 20 yards.

“Curtis is still our starting quarterback,” Caldwell said. “We just wanted to see if we could change the path a little bit. We changed a few guys in the lineup; (Painter) wasn’t the only one.”

The Falcons outgained the Colts 432 yards to 186. First downs were 21 to 10. And time of possession was 37:46 to 22:14.

“We’ve just got to be sharper, better on the details,” Painter said. “I missed a few throws that normally I would have made. I just didn’t play well enough to win today. We’ve got to get those details straight. … We really feel like the last few games, we kind of hurt ourselves. The turnovers are always a dagger. We’ve got to clean things up and play a little bit better.”

Meanwhile, the Miami Dolphins (1-7) reeled off their first victory of the season, 31-3 at Kansas City (4-4), putting the Colts in the lead to get the first pick in next spring’s draft and the possibility of selecting much-hyped Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck.

Asked whether he ever dreamed such dreadfulness would be possible back in September, when the Colts still had aspirations of playing in the upcoming Super Bowl at Lucas Oil Stadium, Caldwell said: “I haven’t had nightmares like that in a long time. It’s obviously not something you’re going to anticipate happening. But there are no seasons with guarantees, and this one is no different.”

Despite three particularly humiliating weeks, including losing 62-7 at New Orleans on Oct. 23 and 27-10 at Tennessee on Oct. 30, Caldwell didn’t express particular concern he might lose his job before this Sunday’s game against Jacksonville.

“I don’t worry about me too much,” Caldwell said. “My focus is on the team and the players and putting in a better performance on game day. We just aren’t performing well right now and that’s my job – I’ve got to get these guys performing better and more consistently.”

Only two plays into the game, it was apparent the Colts’ fortunes would be about the same as they had been since Manning’s two offseason neck surgeries. Running back Delone Carter fumbled the ball away, setting up Turner’s 1-yard touchdown run.

Late in the first quarter, Ryan completed a 50-yard touchdown pass to Jones, who was surrounded by three defenders yet able to snag the ball and keep control while rolling over the goal line for a 14-0 lead.

Jones made it 21-0 when he cut inside of cornerback Kevin Thomas on a slant pattern and escaped for an 80-yard touchdown early in the second quarter.

The Colts got their only touchdown when cornerback Jerraud Powers intercepted Ryan’s slant pass from inside his own end zone and returned it 6 yards with 7:47 remaining in the second quarter. It was the first turnover forced by the Colts since their Week 3 loss to Pittsburgh and it ended a string of 23 quarters without a takeaway.

But the Colts, who came in to Sunday allowing a league-worst 31.5 points per game, still couldn’t escape playing almost exactly to that average. Ryan connected with tight end Tony Gonzalez on a 1-yard touchdown pass with 2:50 remaining in the third quarter, and Matt Bryant added a 20-yard field goal.

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The Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots have been one of the greatest rivals in the NFL over the last decade. Their yearly matchup is one of the most anticipated games on the NFL schedule every year and the two teams rarely disappoint. Their matchup is commonly one of the greatest games played all season. Even though the game is frequently played towards the middle to end of the season, one or both teams are commonly undefeated heading into the showdown. This season’s Colts and Patriots game will be very different.

The Colts are currently 0-9 and commonly ranked as the worst team in football in 2011. The Patriots are still competitive in the AFC but have lost consecutive games recently to the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants.

As the season progresses on, NBC gains the ability to enact flex scheduling for their prime-time Sunday night game. This allows NBC to not be stuck with a subpar game as the season winds down. The network recently announced that the Colts-Patriots game on December 4 would be flexed out of its scheduled NBC time slot.

The Colts have already played two Sunday night games this season. In week three they were highly competitive and put up a good fight against the Steelers. The Colts were also blown out in a 62-7 loss to the New Orleans Saints. NBC surely wants to avoid another game where Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth are stumbling for topics to discuss in a blowout game. This means Colts fans will not have to suffer through seeing their team in prime-time again. The Saints loss was one of the most painful losses I can ever remember watching.

A replacement game has not yet been named by NBC. The Colts and Patriots have been moved to an earlier time slot.

Going into the season Colts fans were pleased to see their team playing so frequently on national television. The matchup against the Patriots is often the first thing that I look for when the schedule comes out every year. This season I can only hope that the Colts put up a fight and don’t get blown out by their hated rivals, the Patriots. This will also save millions of fans from suffering through countless camera shots of Peyton Manning(notes) in street clothes on the sidelines. The move could be a blessing for fans who don’t want to witness another potential humiliation on national television.

Kyle Rapoza is a Featured Contributor for the Yahoo! Contributor Network and has been a lifelong fan of the Indianapolis Colts. He attended Super Bowl XLIV in Miami and follows the team closely. Follow him on Twitter @kyler11.

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