WHERE: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.

LAST WEEK: Indianapolis def. Denver, 34-31; New England def. Minnesota, 31-7

WHO TO WATCH: Indianapolis -- QB Peyton Manning leads the NFL with a 108.0 quarterback rating and is second in passing yards (1,965) and touchdowns (15); WR Marvin Harrison has 12 touchdown catches in 14 career games against the Patriots; K Adam Vinatieri makes his Foxborough return. He is 14 of 14 in field-goal attempts this year. New England -- QB Tom Brady is coming off his best performance of the season, when he threw for 372 yards and four touchdowns; RB/KR Laurence Maroney has returned kicks for at least 70 yards in each of the last two games; LB Mike Vrabel leads the team with 51 tackles.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR: The Patriots have always believed one way to beat the Colts is to keep Manning off the field. While New England only ran the ball 15 times last week against Minnesota, expect them to run a lot more against the NFL's worst run defense. The Colts give up an average of 167.9 yards rushing per game. Look for big doses of Corey Dillon and Maroney. Conversely, the Patriots' pass defense, ranked 23rd, has to deal with the NFL's best passing offense (273.7 yards per game). The Patriots will likely try to rough up Colts receivers.

OF NOTE: The Patriots have won 17 of the last 22 games between the teams, although Indianapolis snapped a nine-game losing streak at New England last year. The Patriots are 24-10 against the Colts in Foxborough Peyton Manning is only 3-10 against New England while Tom Brady is 6-1 against the Colts The Colts are attempting to become only the second team in NFL history to begin 8-0 in consecutive seasons, joining the 1929-31 Green Bay Packers WR Troy Brown needs only two catches to pass Stanley Morgan as New England's all-time leading receiver.

INJURY REPORT:Indianapolis -- Out: DT Montae Reagor (head); Questionable: WR Terrence Wilkins (knee), DT Darrell Reid (abdomen), S Bob Sanders (knee), RB Dominic Rhodes (low back), WR Brandon Stokley (knee), TE Ben Utecht (low back), LB Rob Morris (hamstring), LB Gary Brackett (knee), DE Dwight Freeney (shoulder), CB Matt Giordano (calf), T Ryan Diem (upper arm), CB Nicholas Harper (knee), RB Joseph Addai (wrist), WR Aaron Moorehead (back), LB Keith O'Neil (ankle); Probable -- P Hunter Smith (right groin), K Adam Vinatieri (right groin). New England -- Questionable: CB Antwain Spann (shoulder), TE David Thomas (hand), DE Ty Warren (shoulder), S Eugene Wilson (hamstring), DE Richard Seymour (elbow), G Russ Hochstein (knee), WR Chad Jackson (hamstring), G Steve Neal (shoulder), T Nick Kaczur (shoulder), TE Garrett Mills (thigh), TE Daniel Graham (ankle), CB Ellis Hobbs (wrist), CB Willie Andrews (thigh), WR Reche Caldwell (knee), LB Don Davis (lower leg), RB Kevin Faulk (ankle), WR Jabar Gaffney (hand), T Matt Light (hand), RB Laurence Maroney (ankle); Probable: QB Tom Brady (right shoulder), QB Matt Cassel (right shoulder).

THEY SAID IT: Indianapolis kicker Adam Vinatieri on the similarities between the teams, "(The atmosphere) is almost identical. The team camaraderie here a bunch of good blue- collar, hard-working guys obviously both teams have a lot of superstars and a lot of good players. But as far as the locker room, you have guys that come in to work and work hard all day watching film, trying to get the edge. There are a lot of similarities between the two teams and I think that's why both of the teams have been very successful in the past."

• New England defensive end Richard Seymour, on facing Peyton Manning, "It's definitely hard to sack that guy. He gets the ball out quick. He makes some of his five-step drops look like three-step drops. He has a rifle for an arm. You name it, he can do it. He checks in and out, changes the play. He plays well in all aspects."

ALL-TIME SERIES: New England leads, 43-25

LAST MEETING: Nov. 7, 2005, won by Indianapolis, 40-21

TELEVISION: Channel 6, local NBC affiliate

PREDICTION: Indianapolis, 33-31

- Mike Lowe