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Stephen Gostkowski named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week.

Gostkowski was a perfect four-of-four on field goals against Miami (30, 38, 34 and 40 yards), tying his career high with four successful kicks in a game. Gostkowski also had four field goals against Atlanta on Sept. 27 and had four successful boots in two games in 2008 (at N.Y. Jets on 9/14/08 and vs. Arizona on 12/21/08). In addition, Gostkowski kicked three of his six kickoffs into the end zone with two going for touchbacks to help limit Miami's dangerous kickoff returner Ted Ginn, Jr.

Gostkowski is second in the NFL with 73 points and is on track to finish the season with 146 points. Last season, he had an NFL-best 148 points.

Kerry Byrne The Tom Brady - Peyton Manning rivalry is The Greatest Quarterback Rivalry in NFL History.  Here are a few of the reasons why:

The games always have playoff implications. Brady-Manning have faced each other three times in the playoffs (2003, 2004 and 2006). Each time, the team that won the regular-season battle hosted the playoff rematch. Each time, the team that hosted the playoff rematch won the playoff rematch. Each time, the team that won the playoff rematch went on to win the Super Bowl.

Both are among the best passers in history. Manning set a record when he passed for 49 TDs in 2004; Brady broke his record when he passed for 50 TDs in 2007. Manning set a record when he posted a 121.4 passer rating in 2004; Brady posted the second-highest mark in history, with a 117.2 passer rating in 2007. Today, Manning is No. 2 on the all-time passer rating list (95.3); Brady is No. 4 (93.4).

Both are among the great winners in history. Brady has won a ridiculous 107 of 136 career starts, a .787 winning percentage. Only Otto Graham, playing in the early 1950s, won more often. Manning has won 132 of 199 career starts, and his .663 percentage is among the best of all time. This year, his Colts will win at least 12 games for the seventh straight season — a string of success unmatched in history.

It’s rare for two quarterbacks for two quarterbacks to win so often — it’s even more rare for the same two quarterbacks to face each other almost every single season.

Both are MVPs. Brady-Manning have combined to win league MVP honors in the 2003, 2004, 2007 and 2008 seasons, not to mention Super Bowl MVP honors after the 2001, 2003 and 2006 seasons.

It’s unprecedented for guys with seven different MVP trophies on the mantle to meet so often.

TEAM TALK

• New England Patriots at Indianapolis Colts: Broadcast info, series history, trends, player and team connections, and much more. Check it out.
• Ask PFW:  Paul Perillo answers his weekly reader mailbag.
• Tuesday Conference Calls: Bill Belichick (15:41 min. audio), Dean Pees (12:55 min.), Nick Caserio (13:05 min.)
• Patriots Today: Transitioning to Indy, Maroney goes to school. (11:23 min. video)

LOCAL LINKS

• Chris Gasper declares nothing surpasses Patriots-Colts right now in the rivalry rankings for the region.
• Albert Breer, with the help of three NFL pro scouts, looks at five factors that figure in how this one plays out on Sunday against the Colts.  Neither team will be reinventing the wheel here.
• Ian Rapoport gleans a distasteful trend from Dean Pees' conference call with the media, “In the six years that I’ve been here,” Pees said, “the only time that we’ve really stopped them was in the AFC Championship game back in ’04 out here when it was snowing.”  Ugh.
  
• Ian Rapoport notes Peyton Manning keeps the defense thinking; they need to stay relaxed and ready to attack simultaneously.
• Mike Reiss looks at where the Patriots rank in key statistical categories through nine weeks of the NFL season, comparing it to the Colts.
• Chris Gasper explains why the Patriots play the Colts in Indy for the third straight year.
• Mike Reiss notes when the Patriots and Colts meet, the tempo of the game is always a definitive part of the action.
• Michael Hurley focuses on Sebastian Vollmer who will be facing his toughest test yet Sunday.
• Monique Walker reports Laurence Maroney was the prize when a Duxbury Middle School student won a "Take a Player to School" sweepstakes.  Terrific way to spend your day off, Lomo.
• Mike Reiss answers his weekly reader mailbag. Terrific insight here as usual.
• Christopher Price answers his weekly reader mailbag.  Worth a look.
• Globe 10.0 Chris Gasper and Dan Shaughnessy debate which is the best receiver duo, Brady-Moss or Montana-Rice. (2:52 min.)  Video worth it just to hear Shaughnessy say he's a homer and loves the Patriots.
• Boston Herald Patriots Notebook: Brandon McGowan's cover assignment, Dallas Clark; Despite rumors, No Larry Johnson in Foxborough; NBC decided not to flex the Pats-Jets game Nov. 22, keeping it at 4:15.
  

NATIONAL NEWS

• Michael Lombardi (Nat'l Football Post) Play calling at the end of the half can be important.  Lombardi dissects the Patriots-Dolphins and Colts-Texans for examples.
• ESPN's Steve Young advises fans not to debate whether Tom Brady or Peyton Manning is the better quarterback, but to appreciate them both regardless of rooting interests.  (1 min. video)
• Matt Bowen (Nat'l Football Post) Would you sign L.J.?
• Peter King (SI) NFL Midseason All-Pro Team and Awards.  Meriweather and Gostkowski make his list.
• Don Banks (SI) Inside the NFL: Midseason report.
• Jason LaConfora (NFL.com) Handing out some first half hardware.
• Adam Schein (Fox Sports) Peyton heads first half award winners.
• Keith Schleiden (ProFootballWeekly) Colts lead PFW's mid-season All-Pro team.
• Jason Cole (Yahoo! Sports) Second-half intrigue: Ten questions to consider for the remainder of '09.
• Jim Trotter (SI) Ten predictions for '09 second half.
• Kevin Hench (Fox Sports) Preseason's no-brainer picks that didn't pan out.
• Tim Graham (ESPN) Fun with AccuScore: Playoff field and draft order.
  

VIEW FROM INDIANAPOLIS

• WXIN Fox 59 in Indianapolis reports a worker at Lucas Oil Stadium blew the whistle on the unsanitary conditions (animal and mice feces) in the kitchens, pantries and food service areas.  The video is disgusting.  I'm brown-bagging it today.
• Phil Richards (Indy Star) Colts' spokesman lost his legs in Iraq, but not his heart.