New Orleans Saints-Indianapolis Colts: Chase for Perfection May Hit a Road Block

Vince Lombardi once said, "perfection is unattainable, but if we chase perfection, then we can catch excellence."

If that's the case then the Colts and the Saints have already caught excellence.

All of this talk of perfection has gotten me thinking that there's not as much parody in the NFL as there once was. There's a reason why this is the first time in NFL history that two teams have made it this far in the season without a loss. The NFL has always had plenty of parody. Now the gap between the worst teams and the best teams is unbelievable.

The Colts extended their regular season winning streak to 23 last night by sneaking out of Jacksonville with a four-point win. Peyton Manning had to work his heroics once again in the fourth quarter for the Colts to stay perfect.

As for the Saints, they're sitting at 13-0 with a Saturday matchup against the Cowboys looming. This is probably the last true test the Saints will face during the regular season.

Everyone is ready to stomp all over the Cowboys since they're historically a bad team in December, but this is a trap game for the Saints. The Cowboys are sick and tired of being crapped on by the media, and Roy Williams expressed that earlier in the week.

Let's not forget that the Saints have had to come back numerous times this season against teams like the Panthers to stay perfect. The Cowboys are definitely not a championship team, but they're capable of beating the Saints. Yes, even in the Superdome where it looks like the Saints are unstoppable.

If both of these teams do finish the regular season undefeated, then don't automatically crown them conference champs just yet. Both conferences have very worthy opponents that could knock both Saints and the Colts into the loss column.

The Saints will have to get through either the Vikings or the Packers. These two defenses are among the best in the NFL and we've seen Drew Brees have a few rough games this season. Keep that in mind.

In the AFC, there's also two teams that the Colts should watch out for. The Chargers and Patriots. This may sound cynical, but I still haven't climbed on the Charger bandwagon.

They do this every year. They play great ball and have the sports analysts salivating over them, only to lose in the first or second round of the playoffs.

I'm not ready to climb off the Patriot bandwagon just yet. Don't count the Patriots out of the equation. They should've beaten the Colts already, and I think they could do it again. Tom Brady obviously has to get healthy, but he's got plenty of time for that.

There's no consolation prize for finishing the regular season undefeated. In fact, it's extremely overrated. It's an amazing accomplishment, but it doesn't make a team any harder to beat in the playoffs by being undefeated.