Reggie Wayne

Passing yards: Brett Favre, Vikings, 446 Completions: Brett Favre, Vikings, 36 Pass attempts: Peyton Manning, Colts, 52 TD passes: Philip Rivers, Chargers, 4 Receptions: Steve Johnson, Bills; Jacob Tamme, Colts; and Reggie Wayne, Colts, 11 Receving yards: Steve Johnson, Bills, 145 Rushing yards: Peyton Hillis, Browns, 184 Carries: Peyton Hillis, Browns, 29 Field goals: Billy Cundiff, Ravens, 4...

Something you might not know about me: I like stats. Stats are good. Stats are right. Stats work. And stats - you mark my words - will not only save your fantasy season, but they'll save that other malfunctioning corporation called the USofA. (Let's start with the fantasy season and get to the fixing-the-country part later.) Not too late but getting late early. The playoffs are the goal, and you need some tweaking lest you be tardy for the party. You don't need to get a new fantasy.

SCOUTING REPORT Danny Amendola, St. Louis: The thought is he could become the Wes Welker new offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels had in New England. Thing is, Amendola already is. He had 85 catches last year, but for only 689 yards. Miles Austin, Dallas: Numbers slipped across the board last year after Tony Romo (collarbone) got hurt. But Romo has had a good camp and Austin's value is up. Dwayne Bowe, Kansas City: He will have to find consistency to take that next step up the wide receiver food chain.

INDIANAPOLIS - Reggie Wayne caught a 1-yard touchdown pass from Dan Orlovsky with 19 seconds left, and the Indianapolis Colts beat the Houston Texans, 19-16, Thursday night. The Colts (2-13) have now won two straight, both against division foes, behind Orlovsky, the former Texans quarterback who lost his first nine NFL starts. Colts 19, Texans 16 Houston 10 0 3 3 – 16 Indianapolis 3 3 3 10 – 19 First quarter Hou–Foster 9 run (Rackers kick)

Fantasy Boom Drew Brees: Picked up right where he left off - 26 for 34, 358 yards, and 6 touchdowns. Yeah, it was against the Lions, but that's just silly. Joe Flacco: Ray Rice was supposed to be the big point scorer for Baltimore this week. He was good, but Rice didn't match Flacco's output (307 yards and three touchdowns). Thomas Jones: Might have to slow our roll on that Leon Washington talk. Looks like Jones could still be a No. 1 fantasy back after all (107 yards, two touchdowns)

Today at 1 p.m. Television: Channel 3 Line: Colts by 10 DENVER (10-6) at INDIANAPOLIS (12-4) Prediction: Colts 35, Broncos 24 Over-under: 56 Coaches: For Denver, Mike Shanahan, 52 (10th season, also Oakland Raiders, 1988-89; overall, 116-74; postseason, 7-3.) For Indianapolis, Tony Dungy, 49 (third season, also Tampa Bay 1996-2001; overall, 92-62; postseason, 4-6). Regular season: The Broncos finished second in the AFC West. The Colts won the AFC South. Most recent meeting: Last Sunday.

INDIANAPOLIS - Reggie Wayne will always remember last night's catch. The man with the expiring contract caught a 1-yard touchdown pass from Dan Orlovsky with 19 seconds left, giving the Colts their only lead of the game in a 19-16 victory over AFC South champion Houston. It's the second straight win for the Colts (2-13), who will have to fight off St. Louis and Minnesota for the No. 1 overall draft pick. Orlovsky, who played the last two seasons with Houston, also won his second straight game after losing his first nine NFL starts.

Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts finally scaled their personal Everest. Maybe now, after routing the New England Patriots, 40-21, last night, they will admit this could be a super season. Manning shrugged off his 0-7 record at Foxborough with an intelligent dissection of the two-time defending champions. Aided by star running back Edgerrin James' 104 yards on 34 carries, and 100-yard receiving games from Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne, Manning led the Colts on six lengthy scoring drives and kept them perfect through eight games, the NFL's only undefeated team.

New York Jets at Indianapolis Colts When: Sunday, 3 p.m. Where: Lucas Oil Stadium (63,000), Indianapolis TV: CBS (Jim Nantz, Phil Simms) Radio: The Fanatic, 97.5-FM and ESPN, 950-AM (Kevin Harlan, Randy Cross, Mark Malone) Right off the bat: The Colts are favored by 7 1/2 and the over/under is 39 1/2 ... This is the first conference championship with a pair of rookie head coaches (Jets' Rex Ryan, Colts' Jim Caldwell) ... The Jets' win over the Colts, then based in Baltimore, in Super Bowl III is regarded as one of the biggest upsets in sports history.

The AFC and NFC Championship games are upon us. Good matchups both. What do you expect to see in the two contests today? And who advances to the Super Bowl? I can't wait to watch Darrelle Revis on Reggie Wayne. Revis has shut down every big-name receiver he's faced this season. If he can take away Peyton Manning's biggest toy, and the Jets can get some pressure, they'll have a chance. But ultimately I don't see the rookie QB being able to take his team to the Bowl. In the NFC, it'll be offense, offense, offense.

INDIANAPOLIS - Reggie Wayne will always remember last night's catch. The man with the expiring contract caught a 1-yard touchdown pass from Dan Orlovsky with 19 seconds left, giving the Colts their only lead of the game in a 19-16 victory over AFC South champion Houston. It's the second straight win for the Colts (2-13), who will have to fight off St. Louis and Minnesota for the No. 1 overall draft pick. Orlovsky, who played the last two seasons with Houston, also won his second straight game after losing his first nine NFL starts.

INDIANAPOLIS - Reggie Wayne caught a 1-yard touchdown pass from Dan Orlovsky with 19 seconds left, and the Indianapolis Colts beat the Houston Texans, 19-16, Thursday night. The Colts (2-13) have now won two straight, both against division foes, behind Orlovsky, the former Texans quarterback who lost his first nine NFL starts. Colts 19, Texans 16 Houston 10 0 3 3 – 16 Indianapolis 3 3 3 10 – 19 First quarter Hou–Foster 9 run (Rackers kick)

THE INDIANAPOLIS Colts are bringing one veteran quarterback out of retirement. No, not Brett Favre. The Colts agreed to terms yesterday with Kerry Collins, making him the likely starter in case Peyton Manning hasn't completely recovered from offseason neck surgery when the season opens Sept. 11. Collins said he has been given no indication that Manning won't play at Houston. "Hopefully, Peyton will be back, but if he's not maybe I can be one of the guys that can help this ballclub," Collins said in a conference call with reporters last night.

SCOUTING REPORT Danny Amendola, St. Louis: The thought is he could become the Wes Welker new offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels had in New England. Thing is, Amendola already is. He had 85 catches last year, but for only 689 yards. Miles Austin, Dallas: Numbers slipped across the board last year after Tony Romo (collarbone) got hurt. But Romo has had a good camp and Austin's value is up. Dwayne Bowe, Kansas City: He will have to find consistency to take that next step up the wide receiver food chain.

INDIANAPOLIS - The Dallas Cowboys have not quit. After losing seven of their first eight games, the Cowboys will not be going to the playoffs. Their season is essentially over, but they are not playing like it. Want proof? It was scattered all over the turf inside Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday - effort and execution and turnovers and big plays and poise, all of the things you need to win in the National Football League. For the third time since offensive coordinator Jason Garrett replaced Wade Phillips as coach, the Cowboys won, beating the Indianapolis Colts, 38-35, in overtime.

This is an excerpt from Paul Domowitch's "Day-After Dissection," which is posted Mondays after Eagles games on the Daily News' Eagles blog. For more, visit www.eagletarian.com . This one was for the old man. This one was for Jim Johnson, who didn't live long enough to see his defense do what it did Sunday. He didn't live long enough to see it beat Peyton Manning. "This is sweet," defensive coordinator Sean McDermott said after the Eagles intercepted Manning twice and sacked him three times in a dramatic, 26-24 win over the Colts.

Passing yards: Brett Favre, Vikings, 446 Completions: Brett Favre, Vikings, 36 Pass attempts: Peyton Manning, Colts, 52 TD passes: Philip Rivers, Chargers, 4 Receptions: Steve Johnson, Bills; Jacob Tamme, Colts; and Reggie Wayne, Colts, 11 Receving yards: Steve Johnson, Bills, 145 Rushing yards: Peyton Hillis, Browns, 184 Carries: Peyton Hillis, Browns, 29 Field goals: Billy Cundiff, Ravens, 4...

Here are some observations and ruminations about the Eagles-Colts game: Testing Vick The Colts wasted no time testing whether Michael Vick's ribs were indeed 100 percent. Their defense didn't burn a single opportunity to knock the quarterback down in the first quarter. Mind you, Vick wasn't sacked. The Colts just kept hitting him every time he scrambled out of the pocket. All three of the blows could have been deemed cheap. The first drew a roughing-the-passer penalty, but the next two didn't.

Here is a look at the good, the bad and the ugly from the Eagles-Colts game: So much for producing long, drawn-out drives to keep Peyton Manning and company off the field. The Eagles' offense wasted little time getting on the board. The Birds needed only three plays and 1 minute, 46 seconds to jump out to a 7-0 lead. LeSean McCoy did the bulk of the work, zig-zagging his way for a 62-yard run on the game's first play from scrimmage. Two plays later, Michael Vick hit DeSean Jackson on a slant for a 9-yard score and a perfect start.

Here are the top 100 fantasy draft picks (note: bye weeks are next to team names) 1. Adrian Peterson, RB, Vikings, 4 2. Drew Brees, QB, Saints, 10 3. Chris Johnson, RB, Titans, 9 4. Peyton Manning, QB, Colts, 7 5. Aaron Rodgers, QB, Packers, 10 6. Ray Rice, RB, Ravens, 8 7. Andre Johnson, WR, Texans, 7 8. Tom Brady, QB, Patriots, 5 9. Michael Turner, RB, Falcons, 8 10. Maurice Jones-Drew, RB, Jaguars, 9...