OPINION

By Dave Goldberg

updated 7:26 p.m. ET Oct. 6, 2008

The Indianapolis Colts were handed a game by the Houston Texans on Sunday.

It was a much-needed win, but it may not matter. Just five weeks into the 2008 season, the 2006 champs are in trouble. It’s not just their 2-2 record that leaves them 2½ games behind unbeaten Tennessee in the AFC South, but the way they are playing: badly.

They’re not alone.

Six other teams that began the season with high hopes are already in deep holes: San Diego and Jacksonville in the AFC; Seattle, Philadelphia, Green Bay and Minnesota in the NFC, with the Vikings (1-3) playing in New Orleans on Monday night.

Some are using the “it’s early” theme, pointing to the New York Giants’ climb from an 0-2 start to a title last season. But every season is different, and it’s unwise to use the example of last year’s Giants or the 2005 Steelers, who won the Super Bowl after opening 6-5.

“There are any number of statistical analyses of teams that have started this bad and still done OK, but those don’t mean much unless you improve the product, and what you’re doing on the field,” Seattle’s Mike Holmgren acknowledged after those same Giants pounded his Seahawks 44-6 on Sunday, outgaining them 523-187.

The Seahawks have the same thing going for them they’ve had the past few seasons: the NFC West, where even at 1-3 they are only 1½ games behind the inconsistent Cardinals. But Seattle played Sunday more like a team that would challenge the winless Rams for a spot at the bottom than one that can compete for its fifth straight division title and sixth straight playoff berth.

The struggling teams:

Indianapolis (2-2)
The Colts have been one of the league’s elite teams for most of this decade. Not this year.

“I thought we had that passion at the end. But it was missing during the middle of the game and we’ve got to get that back somewhere,” coach Tony Dungy said after Sunday’s 31-27 win in Houston. Indy trailed 27-10 midway through the fourth quarter, cut it to 27-17 with 4:04 left, then capitalized on two fumbles and an interception by Texans QB Sage Rosenfels to pull out the win.

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The Colts could be 0-4. They trailed only 15-0 in Minnesota late in the third quarter because young QB Tarvaris Jackson couldn’t convert scoring opportunities into TDs. That allowed Peyton Manning, who can do what Jackson can’t, to pull out an 18-15 victory.

Yes, Indianapolis has run off double-digit winning streaks in the past and still has two games left with Tennessee. But the Colts can’t get away with giving up more than 150 yards on the ground while waiting for injured safety Bob Sanders to return, as they did two years ago.

The offense, with the line banged up, just isn’t as good. Age hits everyone and 36-year-old Marvin Harrison, coming off a knee injury that caused him to miss most of last season, is averaging only 9.6 yards a catch and doesn’t seem to be in the rhythm with Manning as he has in past years.

San Diego (2-3)
Yes, the Chargers started 1-3 last season, finished 11-5 and made the AFC title game. There’s talent enough to make the playoffs. But the defense is missing Shawne Merriman, one reason it ranks 28th in yards allowed and is last against the pass without the Pro Bowl linebacker to pressure opposing QBs.

LaDainian Tomlinson may be hitting that RB wall at 29: Hampered by a sore toe, he’s averaging only 3.7 yards per carry, a yard less than last season and almost a yard off his career average.

Jacksonville (2-3)

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Three games back of Tennessee in the AFC South and two Josh Scobee field goals from 0-5. Simple problem: three starters hurt in the middle of the offensive line, so the Jags can’t run, which is their preferred mode. Fred Taylor is averaging 3.4 yards per carry compared to 5.4 last season, and he’s 32. Not being able to run puts more pressure on David Garrard and his so-so receivers. Garrard has four interceptions in five games, one more than he had in 12 starts last season.

Seattle (1-3)
The Seahawks have been outscored 78-16 by the Bills and Giants in games that started at 1 p.m. EDT, or 10 a.m. Seattle time. San Diego had to do the same in Miami on Sunday and lost. It’s a problem that West Coast teams have been complaining about for years, especially when they’ve had to make multiple East Coast trips in the same season — the Seahawks have four of them this year.

But the issues go beyond that and beyond injuries. The missing receivers, Deion Branch and Bobby Engram, were back Sunday and the Seahawks still were noncompetitive against what is currently the NFL’s best team. Beyond that, the Seahawks’ only win was over St. Louis, which might lose to everyone this season, and they have lost to San Francisco at home, where they were 32-8 from 2003-2007.

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