What's changed for the Colts since November..if anything
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The defense looked pretty impressive against the high-powered Denver offense, although it's one of those scenarios where it could have been Peyton and the offense just had an off night. He overthrew a lot of deep balls and the run game was virtually non-existent. Or Peyton could have looked bad because Indy was forcing him into bad decisions. I'm inclined to believe that it was somewhere in the middle. Indy's defense did look good, but Denver's offense did look disjointed and out of sync, hence the overthrown passes from Manning. Assuming that is the case, that could be an area of concern for the Patriots. But, if anyone can handle what Indy will throw at them, it's the Patriots. Indy will likely look to bring pressure, but Tom Brady did a great job of getting the ball out quick in the 2nd half of the Ravens when he brought the Patriots back from 28-14 to win the game.
Offensively, the Colts look like the same team the Patriots played in November. You have to be worried about Andrew Luck, who made some big-time plays against Denver, but the Patriots have him figured out, as evidenced by 3 straight blow out wins against Andrew Luck.
The Colts are going to be motivated, of course, but so are the Pats. Ultimately, I see the Patriots winning comfortably again. The Patriots are in sync offensively, more so than Denver, and the Pats have LeGarrette Blount back. Anyone remember what he did to Indy in the playoffs last year? Yeah, that's what I thought. Add that in with a good defense that can keep Andrew Luck in check while the offense stamps it's mark on the game, and I see the Pats winning handily.
