Steve Silverman

The Patriots and the Colts have been muscling NFL opponents around for half a season. When they meet Sunday in Indianapolis, it is almost certainly one of two meetings between these adversaries this season.

The second will almost certainly be in the AFC Championship game. That the winner will certainly be a heavy favorite two weeks later in the Super Bowl against the Cowboys, Giants, Packers or whomever the NFC has to offer.

Since the Patriots and Colts will meet in a more decisive game in January, what is the real significance in the meeting between these two unbeaten teams? Either would sacrifice a loss on Sunday for a victory in the second.

But that is not how the system works. The only way to go after this game — with the whole football-watching nation tuned in — is to go after it hard. Last year the Colts beat the Patriots 27-20 in the regular season and again, 38-34, in the AFC championship game. While both games were relatively high scoring, there was little similarity to the Colts’ comeback win in the title game to the regular-season meeting.

In the 2003 and ’04 regular seasons, the Patriots got the better of the Colts and then beat Indianapolis in subsequent playoff games.

A win Sunday will give the winner a leg up in the battle and give the winner even more confidence than before. The loser will have a seed of doubt to contend with as the team finishes the regular season and prepares for the playoffs.

The situation is quite similar to what the Cowboys and 49ers faced in the 1990s. In that era, the NFC was clearly the dominant conference and the 49ers and Cowboys were the two best teams. Both teams regularly made moves in the offseason to get a leg up on the other.

In 1992, the two teams did not meet in the regular season. At that point, the 49ers had be a strong team for 10 years. The Cowboys were building their dynasty with an energetic coach in Jimmy Johnson, a clutch, accurate quarterback in Troy Aikman and a the future all-time rushing champions in Emmitt Smith. Johnson drove this developing team to the NFC Championship game, where they were significant underdogs at San Francisco.

But the Cowboys were ready for the challenge, and took down the 49ers, 30-20, before going on to hammer the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVII.

In 1993, the Cowboys beat the 49ers, 26-17, in a midseason home game and subsequently beat San Francisco, 38-21, in the NFC title game. Once again, the reward was a Super Bowl meeting with the Bills and the Cowboys recorded another significant win.

The 49ers regrouped the next season, beat the Cowboys, 21-14, in San Francisco and they repeated their victory in a 38-28 win in the NFC title game. An easy win over the Chargers in Super Bowl XXIX followed.

Sunday, 4:15 p.m. ET, CBS Position-by-position: Who has the edge? How Colts can win  |  How Pats can win Celizic: Game will live up to huge hype Novacek's Picks  |  Madden's  |  Yours? Brady, Manning are top marketers' dreams Opinion: Role reversal — pressure's on Pats Feature: Manning vs. Brady  |    Video debate iPredict: Brady to break Manning’s TD mark NBC Sports: Pats' plan is simple, and amazing Rank the NFL’s all-time dominant teams

Patriots player personnel vice president Scott Pioli and coach Bill Belichick took note of their two losses to the Colts last year and realized that the Patriots didn’t have the guns on offense to match Indianapolis’ explosive attack. They acquired receivers Randy Moss, Wes Welker and Donte Stallworth to give Tom Brady a cadre of weapons that were as good — or perhaps even better — as the Colts have for Peyton Manning.

Belichick and Colts coach Tony Dungy know that this is an important game and the tangible benefit of winning will likely bring home-field advantage during the playoffs. But history says that winning this game is the precursor to winning when it counts.

Don’t expect either coach to turn the temperature up as they prepare for this game — at least publicly. They will each acknowledge it’s an important game and that winning is vital, but neither one will say how important it really is. However, when they're in the locker room, both men will use all of their motivational skills to prepare their players.

Special feature Ranking the NFL’s all-time teams

They probably won’t need much of a spark to get their teams going. The Pats and Colts are professional, talented, deep and smart. Nobody will have to tell Brady or Manning how important the game is.

Here’s the bottom line: Unless serious injuries follow, the winner will likely have a ticket to the Super Bowl punched. Once the game is over Roger Goodell ought to go out and get the Lombardi Trophy engraved with the winner’s name.

MORE FROM NFL

NFL Section Front

Top NFL MVP candidates The 10 biggest NFL training camp storylines   PFT: Vikings need Jackson even if Favre signs PFT: Time running out for McNabb-Reid team PFT: Romo leaves Simpson 'heartbroken' with split PFT: Ravens' Mason retires PFT: Griese canned by Bucs, becomes free agent PFT: 'Next question!' T.O. a Bill more than 1 year? Jets release veteran TE Franks PFT: Bon Jovi refused to join Estefan, Buffett in Miami NFL Section Front   Add NFL headlines to your news reader: