The NFL's rivalry of the decade turned in another game for the ages Sunday night as the

Indianapolis Colts remained unbeaten after rallying to defeat the New England Patriots, 35-34.

The game was reminiscent of the 2006 AFC Championship Game when the Colts overcame an

18-point deficit to knock out the Patriots, 38-34.

But the Colts had three quarters to pull off that comeback. On Sunday, they were down 17

points with a little more than 12 minutes left in the game.

The Colts-Patriots matchups (12 since 2001) have defined seasons and often determined

home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs. The Colts (9-0) clearly have the inside track now.

Some observations from Week 10 in the NFL:

Belichick's blunder: Patriots coach Bill Belichick isn't often

second-guessed, but it was warranted when he chose to go for it on fourth-and-2 from his

28-yard line late in the game and his team ahead by six points.

The move backfired as RB Kevin Faulk was stopped short of the first down after catching a

pass from Tom Brady. So instead of making Colts QB Peyton Manning drive 60 or 70 yards for a

winning touchdown, he was given a short field. That's akin to letting a hungry fox in an

unguarded hen house.

Some critics say it was arrogance on Belichick's part, but it could be that he didn't trust

his defense to stop Manning, even though the Pats intercepted him twice in the second half.

Either way, it will go down as one of the worst coaching gaffes in recent memory.

Turning the tide: Remember when the Patriots owned the Colts? Not anymore.

After losing six straight in the series, the Colts have won five of the last six meetings. It

helps that the last four games between the teams have been played in Indianapolis and indoors

at either the RCA Dome or Lucas Oil Stadium.

Bengals are for real: They established themselves as the best team in the AFC

North by beating the defending division and Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers for the

second time this season. The Bengals also swept the Baltimore Ravens and are one win over

hapless Cleveland away from going 6-0 in the division. The Bengals have a good offense with QB

Carson Palmer, WR Chad Ochocinco and RB Cedric Benson. But their relentless, playmaking

defense has been the bigger story.

Imperfect Saints: New Orleans is dreaming of an undefeated season, but it has

to play better. The offense, while still explosive, has been mistake-prone in recent weeks.

The run defense is giving up big chunks of yardage and the injuries are piling up in the

secondary. It says a lot about how good the Saints are that they're not playing well and still

winning. But if the uneven play continues, they could have a blemish on their record soon.

Rise and fall: Last season, San Diego wiped out Denver's three-game lead in

the last three weeks to clinch the AFC West. Could history be repeating itself? The Chargers

were 2-3 after getting thumped by the Broncos on Oct. 19. The Chargers haven't lost since,

while the Broncos have lost three straight after a surprising 6-0 start. The teams are now

tied heading into their encounter in Denver on Sunday. The Broncos may be without QB Kyle

Orton, who injured an ankle during their 27-17 loss at Washington.

Forever young: We keep waiting for Minnesota QB Brett Favre to start acting

his age, but he continues to play like a young stallion. He threw for 344 yards in a win over

Detroit and has the Vikings (8-1) off to their best start since they went 15-1 and played in

the NFC Championship Game in 1998. Favre has done wonders for the Vikings' receivers,

especially Sidney Rice (seven catches for a career-high 201 yards against the Lions), who is

having a break-out third season.

Buyer's remorse: A lot of people thought the Chicago Bears were going to be a

Super Bowl contender after their blockbuster trade to get QB Jay Cutler. But the Bears haven't

gotten what they expected from Cutler, who has thrown for 2,343 yards and 14 touchdowns but

also leads the NFL with 17 interceptions after throwing five of them in a 10-6 loss at San

Francisco last Thursday. He has nine interceptions in the red zone (five this season) over the

last two years, tops in the league.

Fantasy nightmare: Jacksonville RB Maurice Jones-Drew had a chance to score a

late touchdown against the Jets but was instructed by coach Jack Del Rio to take a knee at the

1-yard line so the Jaguars could run the clock down and kick a chip-shot, game-winning field

goal on the final play. It ticked off fantasy owners who have Jones-Drew and it was a risk if

something bad happened on the field goal attempt. But the decision worked, so it was a good

move by the Jags.

Bills replay: It's bad enough the Bills had to contend with Titans RB Chris

Johnson. But their job was tougher because the Titans used him effectively on option plays and

screen passes.

On third-and-2 from the Titans' 44-yard line, QB Vince Young faked the handoff to FB Ahmard

Hall, pivoted and headed to his right. As Young was turning the corner, the Titans' offensive

line did a nice job sealing off most of the defense to the inside. That left CB Reggie Corner

alone outside to take either Young or Johnson. Young did a great job of carrying out the

option by running upfield, forcing Corner to commit, and then pitching the ball to Johnson,

who sprinted down the sideline for a 32-yard run. A second option play netted 23 yards.

Johnson gained 52 yards of his 100 receiving yards on four screen passes. One screen in the

first quarter illustrated its effectiveness. The Titans Gs Jake Scott and Eugene Amano leaked

out in front of Johnson, as did FB Hall. As Johnson caught the ball 4 yards behind the line of

scrimmage, Scott, Amano and Hall executed perfect blocks on Bills LBs Bryan Scott, Paul

Posluszny and Chris Draft. Those blocks gave Johnson a lane to get downfield for a 17-yard

gain.

Best offensive performance: Johnson is challenging Minnesota's Adrian

Peterson as the best running back in the NFL. Johnson was stellar Sunday, rushing for 132

yards and two touchdowns and catching nine passes for 100 yards in the Titans' 41-17 defeat of

the Bills.

Best defensive performance: Green Bay CB Charles Woodson's nine tackles, two

forced fumbles, a sack and a critical fourth-quarter interception fueled the Packers' defense,

which dominated the Dallas Cowboys in a 17-7 win.