The Indianapolis Colts shook off a slow start Sunday afternoon as they destroyed the Carolina Panthers, 31-7, in front of a sellout crowd at Bank of America Stadium in downtown Charlotte.

Peyton Manning set a franchise record as the Colts moved to 7-0 again. The Colts became the first team since the 1929-31 Green Bay Packers to win their first seven games for three straight seasons.

Things will be much tougher for the Colts next week as they host the New England Patriots in a national televised game on CBS. Kickoff for the game is slated for 4:15 pm Eastern time from the RCA Dome.

“Everybody’s been talking about it for a long time, except us,” Peyton Manning said. “I guess now it’s safe to talk about it.” 

Manning shook off a slow start as he throw for 255 yards and a pair of touchdowns as he broke Johnny Unitas’ team record for career scoring passes in his first trip ever to North Carolina to play the Panthers. The Panthers were the last team Manning never beat before Sunday’s game.

The Panthers executed their game plan to perfect early as they took the opening kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead. DeShaun Foster capped the 18-play, 11 plus minute drive with a 3 yard TD run.

The opening possession tied a franchise record for plays in a scoring drive for the Panthers. The 11 plus minute drive was the longest this year in the NFL. 

The Colts took their first lead at 10-7 on a two yard run by Joseph Addai in the second quarter and they outscored them 21-0 the rest of the way as the defending champions showed they no longer are a finesse team. Addai finished the game with 100 yards rushing and three touchdowns (2 rushing, 1 receiving).

The Colts are the first team in NFL history to win on the road on Monday night and follow that up with another road victory Sunday over a team coming off its bye week.

The Patriots tuned up for next week’s showdown in Indianapolis by destroying the Washington Redskins, 52-7, Sunday afternoon from Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.

Tom Brady continued his ridiculously high level of play as he accounted for five touchdowns in the rout. Brady threw for 306 yards and three TD passes as the Patriots improved to 8-0 for the first time in franchise history. Brady also scored on a pair of short TD runs (2 and 3 yards) for the Patriots.

Halfway into the season, Brady already has a career-high 30 scoring passes. He extended his NFL record to eight games at the start of a season with at least three touchdown passes.

Washington avoided the shutout when Jason Campbell connected on a 15-yard scoring strike to TE Chris Cooley with 3 minutes left in the game.

By then most fans had left the stadium and changed into Red Sox gear as they rushed home to watch a possible World Series clinching game four Sunday night in Colorado.

The Patriots are playing at a level higher now than when they won three Super Bowl titles in a four year span starting with the 2001 campaign.

They’ve scored at least 34 points in each game and have won by at least 17 points. They’ve outscored opponents by an average of 40.5-15.1. The Colts margin is 32-14.6.

While the Patriots fans can look forward to next week’s showdown in Indianapolis, Washington fans have to be happy now that Joe Gibbs can concentrate on football full-time now that his NASCAR driver Tony Stewart has been eliminated from the chase.

The Redskins effort Sunday was pathetic to say the least as they rolled over and played dead from the opening kickoff as Tom Brady defeated the last team he had never beaten before Sunday.

Both Manning and Brady now have defeated every team in the NFL. Brett Favre can join that club next week if he leads the Packers to a road win over the Chiefs in Kansas City.