Peyton Manning has been outstanding this season but what more would you expect out of him?  He has started all six games for the Colts this season and he has completed 156 of 215 passes (72.6%) for 1,880 yards with 15 TD passes and only 4 interceptions (114.5 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 8 times for -4 yards (-0.5 ypc) but most of them were kneel downs.  The offensive line has kept Manning clean all season long as he has only been sacked two times this season.  But, Manning has had to overcome injuries to his #2 WR Anthony Gonzalez and a lack of a running game which makes his numbers even more outstanding when you look at them.  He shows no signs of slowing down so the Colts are a legit Super Bowl contender once again.

Despite Alex Smith having a great debut last week the Niners will likely run the ball a lot this week in a attempt to keep the ball away from the Colts.  Frank Gore will take dead aim at a Colts’ D that is allowing 111.8 yards rushing per game and 4.3 yards per carry.  The 49ers will then run a lot of play action passes to slow the Colts’ pass rush a little bit as Dwight Freeney (7 sacks) and Robert Mathis (4 sacks) bring the heat from the outside while the Niners are having issues at OT.  With that in mind the Niners will likely keep the passes shorter than they did last week to Vernon Davis, Josh Morgan, Michael Crabtree and Isaac Bruce. 

The Colts have the best pass blocking offensive line in all of football as Peyton Manning has only been sacked two times this season.  With that in mind the Niners might be better off using more zone coverages and using extra DBs on the field.  The Colts might be without Reggie Wayne who has a groin issue.  If he doesn’t play then Austin Collie, Pierre Garcon and Dallas Clark will do the heavy lifting against a Niners’ D that is allowing 236.0 yards passing per game this season.  The Niners are very solid against the run so don’t look for Joseph Addai to have a good game on Sunday.

PREDICTION:  COLTS 27, 49ERS 23

25-year old safety Antoine Bethea has been one of the leaders on the defense this season.  He has played in all six games for the Colts this season and he has 42 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 forced fumble, he has defensed 2 passes and he has 2 interceptions this year.  The Colts need Bethea to keep up the good work especially in run support as teams might try to copy the gameplan of the Miami Dolphins who almost beat the Colts earlier this season.

The Indianapolis Colts will be without rookie running back Donald Brown for 2-3 weeks due to a deep shoulder contusion.  Brown has carried the ball 46 times for 212 yards (4.6 ypc) with 2 TD runs this season and he has also caught 7 passes for 138 yards (19.7 avg) so far this season.  Joseph Addai will likely see his workload increase if he’s up to it.  Addai has carried the ball 82 times for 274 yards (3.3 ypc) with 4 TD runs and he has also caught 27 passes for 156 yards (5.8 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Chad Simpson will get more playing time as Addai’s new back up with Brown out of action.  He has carried the ball 6 times for 44 yards (7.3 ypc) with 1 TD run and he has also caught 1 pass for 2 yards.  This is a big chance for Simpson to really show what he can do.

The Colts did what they were supposed to do yesterday by absolutely dominating the Rams.  Peyton Manning was outstanding again as he completed 23 of 34 passes for 235 yards with 3 TD passes and 0 INTs.  Joseph Addai was so-so again carrying the ball 20 times for 64 yards (3.2 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Donald Brown carried the ball 2 times for 58 yards (29.0 ypc) yesterday.  Little used Chad Simpson even got in on the fun carrying the ball 3 times for 35 yards (11.7 ypc) with a TD.  Reggie Wayne was solid with 7 grabs for 83 yards (11.9 avg) with a TD.  TE Dallas Clark added 3 catches for 44 yards (14.7 avg) with a TD grab.  Rookie WR Austin Collie keeps rolling along as of last as he catches 4 passes for 36 yards (9.0 avg) and a TD grab.  The Colts finished up with 391 total yards on offense (156 rushing, 235 passing) in this game.

Safety Antoine Bethea led the way for the Colts in this game with 8 tackles.  CBs Jacob Lacey (4 tackles, pass defensed, 35-yard interception return for a TD) and Kelvin Hayden (4 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) also had outstanding games for the Colts on D in this game.  The Rams finished up with 272 total yards (155 rushing, 117 passing) in this game.  The Colts are now 6-0 on the season.