No big deal for Indianapolis, which is led by two of the calmer people in the NFL, coach Tony Dungy and quarterback Peyton Manning.
"I think it's good for the NFL to have story lines, and I'd certainly rather have them talking about something like that than Terrell Owens," Dungy says. "This is the first time I've ever been through this situation, so I'm going to enjoy it."
That demeanor may help the Colts in Cincinnati. Indianapolis is used to big games. The Bengals are not.
But Cincinnati did beat the Kansas City Chiefs two seasons ago when they came to town 9-0. And this team is better -- that was Marvin Lewis' first season as head coach and the first of two 8-8 seasons that propelled the Bengals from the NFL's basement to the middle of the pack.
Now they are legitimate contenders, tied for first in the AFC North division with Pittsburgh, and looking to this game as an opportunity to be recognized as an elite team.
Most of the Bengals spent their bye weekend cheering for Indianapolis to beat Houston so they would have the first shot at knocking off the league's last unbeaten team.
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