Pressure's on For Manning and The Colts

Last week, no team was under more pressure to win than the Dallas Cowboys.  Wade Philips and Tony Romo needed wins for a team that hadn't won in the postseason in many years.

This week, the pressure falls at the feet of the Indianapolis Colts. 

The playoffs obviously carry a pressure all of their own, and this is not to say that any team out there feels no pressure at all (perhaps with the exception of the Jets).  The Colts simply did themselves no favors when they threw their hands up in Week 16 against the Jets and said, "Not only is 16-0 not important to us, we don't want any part of it."

It's true that winning the Super Bowl is the ultimate goal, but an undefeated season would have been the cherry on top, as well as a chance for Manning to further cement his legacy and put himself one step above Tom Brady in the "Greatest QB Ever" discussion. 

It's like walking into work, and seeing a $20 laying o the ground and no one around.  It's a bonus for you.  Except the Colts decided that the $20 wasn't important enough to bend over and pick up, because it might make them late for work and they lose their whole paycheck.

To continue the analogy, should the Colts come up short of a championship, it will be like you walking into work after skipping over the $20, only to find out you've been fired.  Yeah, $20 isn't much, but at least you have something at the end of the day.

That's why no team is under as much pressure to win this weekend than the Colts.