A lot has been written about the major players of this game: Brady, Manning, Harrison, Dungy, Belichick, Dungy, et al. However the difference maker in this game is going to be a man who was not on the Pats for the first Pats vs. Colts match up of the year, Jabar Gaffney. Just like the first game, the Colts will have some big plays against the Patriots secondary. Thus the Patriots will need to be able to put up a lot of points themselves and control the ball. That is where Gaffney will come in. In the first game, the Colts played the Pats receivers single coverage and put a lot of people in the box to stop the run and did a lot of blitzes to get to Brady. The Colts will try that again, but this time Gaffney and Caldwell who are clicking with Brady will break a few big plays down field forcing the Colts to have less people in to stop the run. This will allow the Patriots to run more in the second half, control the clock, and ultimately win the game. The game will be tied at 14 at half time and the Pats will get the first score in the second half. The Colts will retaliate with a field goal and then the Patriots will come back and score another TD. With about 5 minutes left in the game, Manning will orchestrate another T.D. scoring drive to make it 28-24 Pats. That is the way the game will end as the Patriots will run the clock out on a tired Colts defense. Final Score Prediction:  Patriots 28 Colts 24. Gaffney 10 Catches, 111 yards, and 2 TD.

Bears vs. Saints Prediction

Everything I have scene the past few weeks makes me think the Saints will win this game. The Saints offense is clicking and the Bears defense has been vulnerable for over a month now. But in the cold Chicago air, I foresee the Bears defense causing a few key fumbles to turn the game in their favor. Final Score Prediction:  Bears 21 Saints 17.