Team of the Decade? Banks says, “Maybe”

I didn’t see this coming

— Indy started the decade by losing seven of its first eight games head-to-head against New England from 2000 to ’04, including two playoff matchups. But in the decade’s second half, the Colts are 5-1 against the Patriots, including the memorable 2006 AFC title game, which featured Indy clawing out of an 18-point second-quarter hole to win. If the two rivals were to meet again this postseason, with Indianapolis winning, the latter half of the decade would clearly belong to the Colts.

Assuming five more Indianapolis victories and a historic 19-0 season — not to mention a hasty playoff demise for New England — is admittedly assuming a lot. But it’s now within the sphere of possibility, and that kind of finish in Indy would more than cast the team of the decade debate in a new light. Suffice to say New England was the clear-cut team of the first half of the decade, but the Colts would have a strong case to claim they owned the second half. And at that point, let the argument begin as to which franchise prevailed overall.