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INDIANAPOLIS (Ticker) -- After surviving the roughest part of their schedule, the
Indianapolis Colts
look poised to build some momentum.
The Colts aim for their fourth straight win Sunday when they host the
Oakland Raiders
, who are trying to snap an 11-game road losing streak.
Indianapolis opened the season with a challenging schedule that included road games against New England, Tennessee and Jacksonville and a home contest against Green Bay.
After dropping the opener at New England, the Colts captured their last three contests. Now they are beginning a stretch in which they play four of their next five games at home.
As usual, the Colts are being led by
Peyton Manning
, who leads the NFL with 11 touchdown passes. He has completed 88-of-131 passes (67 percent) for 1,123 yards.
Sparked by the trio of Manning,
Edgerrin James
and
Marvin Harrison
, the Colts lead the NFL in scoring offense at 31.0 points per game. They are second in yardage at 402.3 per game.
Of course, questions remain about the Colts' defense, which ranks last in the league, allowing 414.5 yards per contest.
The Raiders are coming off last week's mistake-prone 30-17 loss at Houston.
Making his first start in place of injured starter
Rich Gannon
,
Kerry Collins
threw three interceptions and lost a pair of fumbles, one which was returned for a touchdown. He completed 21-of-38 passes for 237 yards.
Oakland also lost on the road at Pittsburgh to open the season and has not won away from home since a 27-7 victory over San Diego on December 8, 2002.
The game is a reunion for Raiders defensive tackle
Warren Sapp
, who played under Colts coach Tony Dungy from 1996-2001 in Tampa Bay. He also faced Dungy last season while he still was a member of the Bucs.
Matchup to watch: Harrison, who has 26 catches for 252 yards and three touchdowns, against left cornerback
Charles Woodson
.
Series: Oakland leads, 7-2, including winning the last two contests here in 2000 and 2001.
Next week: Oakland hosts Denver, October 17 Indianapolis has its bye
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