Since 2001, the Patriots and Colts have enjoyed one of the great rivalries in football, thanks in large part to Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. As Kerry Byrne explained here, the two signal-callers are part of the finest quarterback rivalry in the history of the NFL.

But while the pair has always been at the center of the action, it’s been a handful of other players who have provided some of the most dramatic moments of the rivalry. With the understanding that this list includes great plays, not necessarily great overall games (sorry, Ty Law), here’s my choice — in chronological order — of the five greatest single moments of the Patriots-Colts feud since 2001.

Sept. 30, 2001: Bryan Cox’ hit on Jerome Pathon. Indianapolis came into the game that September afternoon on a roll. The Colts were 2-0 and had put up a combined 87 points in their first two games. On the other hand, New England was 0-2, and starting a relative unknown in Brady — Drew Bledsoe had been knocked out the previous week by Jets linebacker Mo Lewis.

But it was the defense that delivered for the Patriots that Sunday afternoon at the old Foxboro Stadium. In the first quarter, the Indianapolis wide receiver came over the middle on a crossing pattern, only to get blasted into next week by Cox. The hit set the tone for the game (a 44-13 win for New England) and the Patriots' defensive approach for the rest of the season.

“That established a new era of toughness on this team that probably had been lacking prior to that hit,” then-Patriots offensive coordinator Charlie Weis said.

Nov. 30, 2003: Willie McGinest’s tackle on Edgerrin James at the goal line at the end of the game. With the clock winding down and the Patriots in need of a late stop on the goal line, McGinest came flying in off the edge to drop James on fourth-and-1 to seal a wild 38-34 victory for New England at the RCA Dome.

“Like a bat out of hell, I was coming,” McGinest said. “Either he was going to get hit or it was going to be a great play-action play and [Manning] was going to throw it.”

McGinest’s celebration — a full-on sprint to midfield to celebrate New England’s victory — was one of the indelible images of the season, the culmination of a crazy game in which the Patriots saw a 31-10 second-half lead evaporate under an aerial assault from Manning and the Colts. But New England stopped Indianapolis four times from inside the 2-yard line as the game wound down, highlighted by McGinest’s game-saving fourth-down tackle.

“All bets are off at the 1-yard line,’’ Patriots linebacker Ted Johnson said. “It’s whoever is tougher and whoever executes better, really. On that play, we were better.’’

Sept. 9, 2004: McGinest’s sack of Manning at the end of the game. Less than a year later, it was McGinest who again was the defensive hero at the expense of Indianapolis. In the season-opener at Gillette Stadium, the Patriots were clinging to a late 27-24 lead, but Manning and the Colts were in New England territory with 49 seconds remaining and going for what could have been a go-ahead touchdown.

On a third-and-8 situation at the Patriots 17-yard line, Manning dropped back … and kept going backward as McGinest came screaming in again off the corner. The Patriots linebacker eventually dropped Manning, pinning the Colts quarterback with a 12-yard sack.

Read More

Blogs

• Rating the Roster, Part 2
• Bill Belichick and Nick Saban hanging at Pebble Beach

Audio on Demand

• The Boys Give Their Super Bowl Score on the Final Segment of NFL Sunday For the Year
• The Super Bowl Can Be Emotional Enough, But the Pats Are Doing It for Myra

Columns

• Ten points of emphasis for the Patriots this offseason
• Patriots put the wraps on the season with a farewell in Foxboro

Tickets

The loss of yardage created a 48-yard field goal attempt for Colts kicker Mike Vanderjagt, who was clearly confident — he had made 42 straight field goals to that point, and as he trotted onto the field, he rubbed his thumb and forefinger and middle fingers together signifying he was “money.” But Vanderjagt pushed it wide right, sending Gillette Stadium into a frenzy and allowing the Patriots to come away with a 27-24 win.

“It seems that Willie always seems to be there when we need him,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said after the game.

Jan. 21, 2007: Marlin Jackson's interception of Brady at the end of the AFC championship game. In Indianapolis, they remember Jackson’s interception in the 2006 AFC title game the same way that Red Sox fans talk about the Dave Roberts steal. The Colts had beaten the Patriots on a handful of occasions over the previous two years, but this was the first time Indianapolis had won a big playoff game against New England.

The Patriots built a 21-6 halftime lead, but behind Manning, a 32-point second half for Indianapolis gave the Colts a 38-34 lead with a minute to go. New England was marching for what could have been a go-ahead touchdown, but Jackson stepped in front of a Brady pass meant for tight end Benjamin Watson, sealing the win for the Colts and setting off the biggest party Indianapolis has ever seen. It was a memorable finish to one of the greatest football games of the decade.

“We could have executed a little better in the third or fourth quarter,” Brady said. “It should never have come down to the final drive.”

Nov. 4, 2007: Randy Moss' one-handed catch over the middle. Nowhere near as important as the other four moments, this catch stands as one of the best Moss has made in his relatively short career with the Patriots. (Go to about the 2:32 mark of this video and watch it all the way through.) With New England down 13-7 early in the third quarter and facing a first-and-10 from its 9-yard line, Brady dropped back to pass. He took a three-step drop and found Moss over the middle.

Even though the ball was slightly overthrown, Moss went up for it and snagged it with his right hand, bringing it back in before landing on the turf and getting hit by an Indianapolis defensive back. (The catch, which went for 17 yards, would spark a drive that ended in a 34-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski.)

The day after the game, Belichick marveled at the reception and said that even though Moss makes the amazing look routine, it was one of the first times he saw that sort of catch over the middle.

“I can tell you, though, standing out here at practice, anybody will tell you that’s not the first one. It’s not the 10th one,” Belichick said. “Honestly, he does that on a pretty regular basis. … If that’s how he can get it, then that's how he gets it.

“[But] no, you usually don’t see that coming over the middle.”