For the first time in the Tom Brady and Bill Belichick era, the Indianapolis Colts will be traveling to Foxboro without quarterback Peyton Manning on their roster. Granted, Manning was sidelined all of last season with a neck injury, so he wasn't the team's starter last time in Indy's Week 13 battle against the Patriots.
With that being said, for the first time of the Andrew Luck era, he'll be squaring off against future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady.
Along with Luck, let's take a look at three Colts that the Patriots should watch out for Sunday afternoon.
1. Andrew Luck
Through Luck's first nine games as an NFL starting quarterback, he has led Indianapolis to an incredible 6-3 record—it's certainly hard to believe that the Colts are in a rebuilding process, when they're in the mix for a playoff spot in the AFC.
This year's first overall selection has posted a 79.1 quarterback rating while completing 57.5 percent of his passes for 2,631 yards as well as tossing 10 touchdowns compared to nine interceptions. Luck has also been a threat on the ground, as he's ran for 159 yards on just 34 carries while scoring five touchdowns.
So not only does Luck have a "golden arm," but he's somewhat of a dual-threat quarterback. So if things start to break down on an offensive play, Luck can most definitely escape the pocket and make something happen on his feet.
While watching Luck play over the past few weeks, he continues to amaze me. The way that Luck reads defense is as good as just about any other start in the NFL today.
All in all, you can't treat Luck like a typical rookie quarterback—he's light-years better than that.
2. Reggie Wayne
It seems that just about anyone is shredding New England's secondary these days, and we can only expect that Reggie Wayne will have a huge day Sunday afternoon.
Wayne has recorded 69 receptions through nine games while accumulating 931 yards and scoring three touchdowns.
Against New England's 29th ranked pass defense, Wayne could end up having the best game of his season.
3. Tom Zbikowski
Entering Week 11, Tom Zbikowski is one of the major reasons why the Colts have had major success on the defensive side of the ball this season.
Indianapolis is currently ranked as the 18th best defense in the NFL, while ranking 15th in passing and and 22nd in rushing.
Thus far on the season, the former Baltimore Raven has racked up 29 tackles, which is fifth most on team, while recording one sack and breaking up four passes.
If you ask me, Zbikowski is Indy's most underrated player and could cause some problems against Tom Brady and the Pats.