It hasn’t happened in 88 seasons. 

But it will this Sunday in Indianapolis .  Two teams with records of 7-0 or better will meet for the first time in NFL history – the New England Patriots (8-0) at the Indianapolis Colts (7-0). 

“It will be a circus,” says Colts head coach TONY DUNGY.     

Wrong, Coach.  It’s already a circus!  It is hard to recall a regular-season game that was talked and written about two weeks before it was played.  But that’s what has happened for Pats-Colts (CBS, 4:15 PM ET). 

“A Week Before Showdown with New England , Colts Must Beat Panthers on Short Week,” said the Associated Press on October 25. 

Usually, stories about a team’s next opponent don’t start until perhaps the Wednesday before the game.  Not this week. 

“Don’t Try to Stop Us; It’s Officially Time to Start the Hype Machine,” said the Indianapolis Star this Monday.  “Dream Game Finally Here,” blared the Boston Herald the same day.      

The matchup has all the attributes of a classic: last season’s Super Bowl winner against the team that has won it three times in the decade…the league’s top two teams in net points…quarterbacks tied for the most wins since realignment in 2002 – TOM BRADY and PEYTON MANNING (67 apiece)…and opponents that have met seven times in the past four years, including three times in the playoffs.    

Everybody will be ready.  “You play football for competition, the level of intensity,” says Patriots defensive lineman RICHARD SEYMOUR.  “When you have a chance to play against the best team in football, you get excited about it.” 

As the NFL reaches the mid-point of its season in Week 9, here are some of the key games: 

 STORYLINE:  The Perfect Bowl! 

The Dome will be rocking!  What can New England do to take some of the decibels out of those voices?  What it has done in all eight of its 2007 games -- score on its first drive, the only team in the NFL to do so in every game this year.  The Patriots have scored an opponent-deflating 79 points in the first quarter this season, while giving up only seven points in the period. 

Of course, that’s a huge hurdle for any opponent, but if anybody can parry such an opening salvo, it’s Indianapolis .  Last season in the AFC Championship Game, it went into the half down 21-6 to New England before outgaining the Patriots 311-149 in total yards in the second half during an 18-point comeback for a 38-34 win. 

But who knows what will happen Sunday with these two opportunistic teams?  They are tied for the league lead in turnover differential with a plus-11.   

One of the key battles will come between New England ’s receivers and Indy’s No. 1 NFL pass defense, led by havoc-causing S BOB SANDERS.  The Patriots have two receivers in the top five in NFL catches – WES WELKER (tie, No. 2, 56) and RANDY MOSS (No. 4, 47).  They have combined with DONTÉ STALLWORTH for a total of 20 TD receptions.

 The Colts hope to get WR MARVIN HARRISON (knee) back this week to prevent the Pats from ganging up on REGGIE WAYNE (fourth in the NFL with 668 yards).   New England has added to its arsenal with the return of RB LAURENCE MARONEY (75 yards last week).  The Colts, on the other hand, have the league’s top TD rusher, JOSEPH ADDAI (7).  These guys always seem to have the answers! 

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PATS-COLTS FACTOID 

NFL NETWORK TREATS IT LIKE A MID-SEASON SUPER BOWL:  NFL Network will broadcast 36-and-a-half hours of coverage surrounding this Sunday’s Patriots-Colts game, a record for the network for a non-Super Bowl game.

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 STORYLINE:  Turn-it-around clubs square off. 

If any teams prove that things can get better, it’s these two.  Last year, the Packers were 8-8.  With their overtime victory over Denver Monday night, they are now 6-1.  This year, the Chiefs lost their first two, and now have won four of their last five.  Both are in first place in their divisions, with the Chiefs tying San Diego at the top. 

Kansas City, sixth in the league in sacks (21), will present Green Bay QB BRETT FAVRE – he of the 82-yard overtime TD pass Monday night – with a staunch defense.  The Chiefs are the toughest team in the league inside the 20, allowing touchdowns only 26.7 percent of the time opponents penetrate the zone. 

Kansas City CB TY LAW knows it won’t be easy keeping that ranking with Favre on the field.  “He throws the ball so hard, you have to be ready,” says Law.  “He has one of the strongest arms I’ve ever seen.” 

STORYLINE:  A cold night in Philly in November.  Must be time for hard-edged NFC East football. 

For these two teams for the next two-to-three weeks, it’s going to be nothing but.  The Cowboys, coming off their bye, start a three-game NFC East swing, with the first two on the road, and the Eagles play at Washington in Week 10. 

“We know the challenge that’s ahead of us,” says Cowboys TE JASON WITTEN. 

It starts Sunday night against a seemingly rejuvenated Eagles team that always seems to turn it up a notch at this time of year (Philly has the NFL’s second-best November-to-season’s end record since 2000, 43-18, .705).   

The Eagles come off a 23-16 win over Minnesota in which DONOVAN MC NABB seemed like the pre-knee-surgery QB people remember.  He threw for 333 yards, moved well, and even ran for a QB draw.  Joining the festivities was RB BRIAN WESTBROOK with 92 total yards and WR REGGIE BROWN with a career-high eight catches for 105 yards.             

The defenses should play a big part in this one.   Dallas QB TONY ROMO will have watch out for tenacious Eagles DE TRENT COLE, who leads the league in sacks with 9.0, with four coming in the last three games.  For Dallas , the return of strongside LB GREG ELLIS has aided weakside LB DE MARCUS WARE.  They have combined for eight sacks in the past four games.     

 STORYLINE:  The  No-Love-Lost Bowl. 

“The feeling’s mutual: they don’t like us, and we don’t like them,” says Pittsburgh WR HINES WARD of AFC North-rival Baltimore .  “There’s no need to hide it.  They know it and we know it.” 

The Steelers definitely know it after being swept by the Ravens last year.   Baltimore ’s league-best defense limited Pittsburgh to one TD in the two games (winning 27-0 and 31-7), while posting 14 sacks to the Steelers’ none. 

OK, that was last year.  Now the Steelers rank third in the NFL in net-point differential (plus-93) behind only the Patriots and Colts and boast the top rushing game in the league, led by WILLIE PARKER.  With five 100-yard games so far -- the most by anyone this season -- Parker sits second in the league in rushing yards (726).  Third?  WILLIS MC GAHEE of the Ravens with 639.   

And who’ll prevail?  Pittsburgh has not allowed a 100-yard rusher in a league-best 28 consecutive games…the Ravens limited Parker to two of his three lowest rushing outputs last year – 22 and 29 yards. 

Monday night celebration:  The Steelers, in their throwback uniforms with yellow helmets, will salute their All-Time Team in this, their 75th season.