A Perfect Ending to the Perfect Bowl - at Least for the Patriots

It was a storybook ending to a most unlikely match up. Here it was halfway through the regular season, and the two unbeaten giants of the American Football Conference were going head to head on a warm autumn afternoon. It was like Goliath versus Godzilla, a repeat of the post-season game last year, when Indianapolis prevailed and eventually took home the Lombardi trophy.

Sports writers were calling this game, the "Perfect Bowl", for it showcased two teams without any losses. The New England Patriots, who were 8-0, went up against The Indianapolis Colts, who due to a bye week, were only 7-0. Now, New England is 9-0 and the Colts are 7-1. Never before had two teams with so many wins and no losses met this late in the season. An all time first that featured two of the games finest and most successful quarterbacks.

In one corner there was Tom Brady, the nobody, the seventh-round draft pick from Michigan, who had come on strong in recent years to win three Super Bowls. And in the other corner was Peyton Manning, a first round draft pick from Tennessee, who learned the game from his father, Archie, who was for years an All-Pro quarterback with the Saints. This family dynasty of NFL quarterbacks also includes little brother, Eli, who currently plays with the New York Giants.

The game went down like a championship fight, with the advantage see-sawing from one worthy opponent to the other. First it was the Colts coming on strong, but they couldn't score
a touchdown, as they made two long drives in the first quarter and ended up with only one measly field goal. The Patriots responded with a long drive of the own and went up 7-3. The two teams traded field goals and the sore was 10-6, but then at the very end of the first half Indie bounced back, thanks to a timely interception and short pass that went practically the full length of the field for another score, and so they took a small lead to the half-time locker room.