The final countdown

IT’S the final countdown as the NFL begins December with a final five weeks that will decide who will make it to the playoffs this January.

“This is what you live for as a football player,” said Carolina Panthers safety Mike Minter, whose team faces an important division battle with Atlanta this week. “These next five weeks are going to be big-time football.”

They will be that way even more so for the Indianapolis Colts, who are five wins away from history. Indianapolis, which reached 11-0 Monday night with a win over Pittsburgh, can post the most regular-season victories (16) without a defeat in history, topping the 14 wins of the 1972 Miami Dolphins.

It will be tough. There is a 60 percent failure rate for the 10 teams in history that attempted to raise their record to 12-0.

“It’s hard to win 11 games in a season, let alone the first 11,” said Colts quarterback Peyton Manning.

The Colts this week can join the NFC’s top club, the 9-2 Seattle Seahawks, in becoming the first teams to enter the 2005 playoffs.

But many eyes will also be focused on the NFC East clash that sees the Dallas Cowboys visit the New York Giants.

The teams are tied for first in the NFC East…Dallas holds the tiebreaker with an October overtime victory…and former Giants coach Bill Parcells is back in town.

“This is a huge game,” said Giants TE Jeremy Shockey. “This is the ‘Game of the Year’ for the Giants.”

This could be a close one if it turns into a typical Giants-Cowboys game. Eight of the 11 meetings between the two since 2000 have been decided by no more then seven points. If it comes down to the fourth quarter, both teams are well suited.

The Giants rank second in the NFL in fourth-quarter scoring with 95 points. And only Detroit (34) has allowed fewer points in the period than Dallas (40).

ENDS