Broncos' free-fall similar to that of the 2003 Vikings On Oct. 19, 2003, Mike Tice's Vikings raised their record to 6-0. They lost their next four games en route to missing the playoffs at 9-7. On Oct. 19 of this year, the Broncos raised their record to 6-0. They've now lost their next four games and look like anything but a playoff team. If Denver does indeed miss the playoffs, it would join the 2003 Vikings and the 1978 Redskins as the only teams to start 6-0 and miss the playoffs. The difference is the Vikings weren't eliminated from the playoff hunt until Arizona's Nate Poole caught a last-second touchdown to beat the Vikings 18-17 in their season finale. The Broncos, who led San Diego by 3 1/2 games a month ago, are now a game back after Sunday's 32-3 loss to the Chargers. "I'm sick of it," Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton told reporters. "It's been a long time since we've won, so let's get back on the field and win a game. . . . It's just gotta stop." Sound familiar?

Patriots bounce back -- again Want a couple of relatively unknown stats that support the argument that Bill Belichick is the best coach in the NFL? Here's one: The Patriots have gone 48 games in a row without consecutive losses, the longest active streak in the league. Here's the other: The Patriots are 21-1 the week after a loss since 2003. Those who thought Belichick's botched fourth-and-2 decision against the Colts would linger against the Jets on Sunday simply haven't followed Belichick's track record.

Belichick: No team better than Saints For the second time in three weeks, the Patriots will play an undefeated team on the road in prime time when they travel to New Orleans (10-0) two weeks after losing 35-34 to Indianapolis (10-0). "I don't think there's any better team in football than the New Orleans Saints," Belichick said. "New Orleans I'd say is a little more balanced [than Indianapolis]. They're both pretty good. But New Orleans is real good on defense and they're real good in the kicking game. They have no weaknesses that I can see." The Saints are averaging a league-high 36.9 points and have an NFL-best 29 takeaways.

Still streaking You know the Colts have good karma when they beat the Ravens on the foot of a kicker released by the Ravens (Matt Stover). And they do so five days after Stover's replacement (Steve Hauschka) was released. The Colts have won 19 consecutive regular-season games. To break the record of 21 set by the 2006-2008 Patriots, the Colts must win at Houston and beat Tennessee and Denver at home over the next three weeks.

MARK CRAIG