The road to perfection, a path seldom travelled but now at 10 games and counting for the Colts and the Saints, gets suddenly steep and bumpy as November turns to December.
Indianapolis, has survived the past few weeks by the thinnest of margins not to mention some dumb luck, emphasis on the dumb, two weeks ago against New England. It faces another tough and hungry opponent in Houston today.
The past four Indy wins have come by margins of four, three, one and two points.
Meanwhile, the Saints are at home for the Monday nighter, in another much-anticipated joust with Gamblin' Bill Belichick and the Patriots. New Orleans has been able to survive the past few games while not playing its best ball, especially on defence.
If history is any teacher, perhaps both the Colts and Saints would be better off with a loss or two as they head down the stretch unopposed in their respective divisions. Given that an NFL season lives and dies by playoff performance, it is instructive to know that the last three teams to reach this point at 10-0, failed to win a Super Bowl.
The 2008 Tennessee Titans (13-3) and the 2005 Colts (14-2) did not even win one playoff game. The 2007 Patriots (16-0) made it through the first two rounds but were beaten by the Giants 17-14 in the Super Bowl.
A BRAINY DECISION
It's never a good thing when your starting quarterback -- especially one so talented and accomplished as Ben Roethlisberger -- is unable to play, but you can't help but applaud the Steelers for sitting him down.
The more light that gets shone on the issue of concussions in pro sports, and especially in the mayhem of the NFL, the more serious the problem seems to be. More and more horror stories of disabled and dysfunctional retired players are emerging and the common thread is a plethora of head injuries.
This is an important game for the Steelers. They face the Baltimore Ravens in a game where they can get a leg up in the pursuit of a wild card playoff berth or maybe even take a run at the division-leading Cincinnati Bengals.
After being concussed in last week's game, Roethlisberger practised on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday but exercise-induced headaches were the tip-off to the Steelers medical staff that he was not ready to play. In years past, that wouldn't have stopped either the team or the player from pushing the envelope. Maybe that's changing.
Kurt Warner, who also suffered a concussion last week, is listed as questionable. With a three-game lead in the NFC West, the Cardinals have some competitive leeway to keep Warner on the sidelines and get a look at Matt Leinart in a starting role.
QUICK KICKS
The Philadelphia Eagles might be favoured by nine points today at home to Washington, but they'll be facing the NFL's No. 1 red-zone defence. The Redskins have allowed 21 drives in the red zone and only seven touchdowns. The Eagles offence is 13-for-26 in converting red zone trips into TDs ... Titans' Chris Johnson has five consecutive games of rushing for at least 125 yards and a five-yard average per carry, matching a 1958 record by the legendary Jim Brown ... With Pittsburgh forced to rely on its running game in the absence Roethlisberger, it will have some tough sledding. The Ravens have allowed only four TDs in their past three games. .... The Falcons have lost four of their past five, all road games. QB Matt Ryan is 11-1 career as a starter at home and 5-9 as a starter on the road. They play host to Tampa today ... The Buffalo Bills have signed defensive lineman Corey Mace. Mace, from Port Moody, B.C., was added to the Buffalo roster, just over a week before the Bills take on the New York Jets in Toronto.
KEN.FIDLIN@SUNMEDIA.CA
