Peyton and Colts: Making sweet music

With apologies to Brooks and Dunn, when Peyton Manning plays something country in Music City, Titans fans aren't likely to enjoy the tune. The way the three-time league MVP is performing - and the way the Titans are reeling - the matchup with the Colts could be a prime time rout.

NBC must have pinpointed Sunday night's meeting as one of the most attractive on its schedule. Then the Titans (0-4) went into such a serious dive that no matter how much spin the network puts on its telecast, viewers could be searching for something more entertaining by halftime.

Then again, they might stick around to see if Manning can continue his phenomenal passing pace. Instead of being saddled by an inexperienced receiving crew, aside from Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark, Manning has overseen a rapid maturation process for the likes of Pierre Garcon, Austin Collie and running back Donald Brown. In last week's win over Seattle that boosted Indianapolis to 4-0, four receivers - Clark, Wayne, Collie and Joseph Addai - had at least six receptions.

"Our guys are doing a great job of catching that ball and getting yards after the catch," Manning said. "I'd say as a group, we might be doing that as well as we've done. That sure does make drives a lot more efficient when you're throwing seven yards and getting 20 yards out of it."

Manning has guided Indy to 13 straight regular-season victories. He has thrown for at least 300 yards in all four games this season and will join Kurt Warner and Steve Young as the only quarterbacks with five straight if he does it in Nashville.

He also leads the league with a 114.5 passer rating, which would project to the second best of his career behind the 2004 season when Manning set a league mark with 49 TD passes (since broken by Tom Brady) and finished with a 121.1 rating. Manning has thrown nine touchdowns and three interceptions, and is completing 70.8 percent of his throws for a superb average gain of 9.75 yards.

"The Colts are clearly playing really, really good football right now," Titans coach Jeff Fisher said. "I think Peyton has been the best I've seen him in the last few years."

And the Titans are about the worst he has seen them in a while. A loss to Indianapolis would put a team that won its first 10 games a year ago at 0-5.

"They'll find a way out of this, and that's all we can do," Fisher said. "I know I've said this before, but you come back and you work and you try to find a way to win the next game and keep your focus on improving."

Also Sunday, it's New England at Denver; Atlanta at San Francisco; Houston at Arizona; Indianapolis at Tennessee; Pittsburgh at Detroit; Minnesota at St. Louis; Dallas at Kansas City; Washington at Carolina; Tampa Bay at Philadelphia; Oakland at the New York Giants; Cleveland at Buffalo; and Jacksonville at Seattle.

The New York Jets visit Miami on Monday night.

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New England (3-1) at Denver (4-0)

The mentor (Bill Belichick) and the student (Josh McDaniels).

Clearly, McDaniels learned plenty during his eight years under Belichick in New England. He's done as good a job ignoring criticism about how he handled some situations - Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall - with the Broncos as, well, Belichick always has done everywhere he's coached.

Denver's defense has been a revelation. Now comes the best trial yet: Brady, Randy Moss, Wes Welker and company.

Cincinnati (3-1) at Baltimore (3-1)

The Bengals have gone down to the final seconds in all four games and are one fluky deflected TD pass away from 4-0. Just like the Broncos, though, they get their best test on Sunday against the ticked-off Ravens.

Baltimore bumbled away a perfect record with turnovers and dropped passes at Foxborough last week. Most noteworthy about these Ravens is that when their powerful defense stumbles, the offense now can win games and ranks third in the league overall.

Atlanta (2-1) at San Francisco (3-1)

Another proving ground - for both sides.

The Niners are just as close as the Bengals to being spotless, falling only on Brett Favre's long TD pass with 2 seconds to go in Week 3. While top draftee Michael Crabtree isn't likely to be a factor after finally signing on Wednesday, another rookie, RB Glen Coffey, needs to be if Frank Gore (ankle) remains sidelined.

One intriguing encounter could be San Francisco's beast of a linebacker, Patrick Willis, against Atlanta's robust runner, Michael Turner. A road win here would be a good jumping off point in a rough four-week stretch for the Falcons: Chicago, Dallas and New Orleans follow.

New York Jets (3-1) at Miami (1-3)

Seems like these teams meet every year on Monday night. The Jets are coming off their first loss, in which rookie QB Mark Sanchez struggled at New Orleans, but the rest of the team played rather well. Miami comes off its first victory, in which it dismantled Buffalo.

Whichever teams run the ball better figures to be in control. The Dolphins might need a win more with the Saints, Patriots and Jets again on the schedule after next week's bye.

Houston (2-2) at Arizona (1-2)

If the Cardinals are going to defend the NFC West title - never mind the conference championship, for now - they must win games like this. The Texans have been inconsistent all year, and had to overcome flu problems to beat Oakland at home. Arizona comes off a bye and is 0-2 at University of Phoenix Stadium.

Pittsburgh (2-2) at Detroit (1-3)

Despite never truly being threatened by San Diego last weekend, the Steelers staggered in the second half for the fourth consecutive time. Even if the Lions aren't much of a challenge, those are habits Pittsburgh needs to kick, particularly with the AFC North so competitive through one month.

Detroit could be without top overall draft pick Matthew Stafford (knee) at quarterback. The Steelers might miss RB Willie Parker, but Rashard Mendenhall rushed for 165 yards and scored twice against the Chargers.

Minnesota (4-0) at St. Louis (0-4)

Another matchup between the haves and the do-we-really-have-to-watch-thems? Steve Spagnuolo was hired as coach with the thought the defense would carry St. Louis, but only Detroit in the NFC has allowed more points than the 108 yielded by the Rams. And they've scored a mere 24, 18 fewer than Oakland, which is next worst in the league.

And now they face the surging Vikings, who could have a letdown after that emotional Monday nighter against Green Bay. Short of a total collapse, though, does anyone expect Minnesota to lose?

Tampa Bay (0-4) at Philadelphia (2-1)

More of the good versus the bad/ugly. Even worse for the Bucs, Philly comes off a bye week that allowed QB Donovan McNabb to get healthy. Still, Kevin Kolb performed well as McNabb recovered from a cracked rib, so if coach Andy Reid wants to rest his starter another week, he might be comfortable doing so against an opponent that's been outscored 107-54.

Oakland (1-3) at New York Giants (4-0)

Guess what! Yet another matchup of the attractive against the unwatchable. Even if Eli Manning's heel hasn't healed enough for him to start, the Giants should be safe. They can simply run the ball all day long, and when Oakland has the ball watch the league's worst offense commit more blunders.

Dallas (2-2) at Kansas City (0-4)

The Chiefs have been predictably bad week in and week out. The Cowboys have been totally unpredictable every week. KC's offense is ranked 31st and Dallas is rated fourth. So watch the Chiefs go wild on the scoreboard.

Nah.

Washington (2-2) at Carolina (0-3)

The Redskins struggled to beat Tampa Bay and St. Louis at home. While Carolina hasn't won anywhere yet, a week off to re-examine itself should have helped. The Panthers have self-destructed in the passing game, and the Skins rank fourth against the pass, which could mean another long day for Jake Delhomme, who has been picked seven times already.

Cleveland (0-4) at Buffalo (1-3)

A Great Lakes matchup between two not-great teams. The Browns came close against Cincinnati last week, falling in overtime, then dealt away their talented but troublesome wideout, Braylon Edwards, who allegedly punched out one of LeBron James' buddies. Maybe the lesson is nobody messes with King James and stays in Cleveland. So is LeBron powerful enough to have ordered the deal?

The Bills have gone steadily downhill since outplaying the Patriots but losing their opener. Their only win was over Tampa Bay.

Jacksonville (2-2) at Seattle (1-3)

For the second successive year, the Seahawks have been ravaged by injuries. Word is All-Star tackle Walter Jones might not play this season, and a broken rib has sidelined the other key offensive player, QB Matt Hasselbeck. He might be available against the Jaguars, who have won two straight despite a mediocre defense.