During the NFL season, The Post’s Anthony Sulla-Heffinger will break down five storylines to watch for each week.
Rivalry Renewed
The New England-Indianapolis rivalry was one of the better battles over the past decade, and after taking a second year-long hiatus (2008 doesn’t count because of Tom Brady’s knee injury), it will be renewed this Sunday when the Colts head into Foxborough for a showdown with Brady and Belichick. Watching arguably the best two quarterbacks of our era go toe-to-toe was always a treat, and now we get to watch a new era of the Colts-Patriots rivalry begin. Andrew Luck looks to be only a couple of years away from us talking about him in the same breath as the Bradys and Mannings of the league, and a road win at Gillette Stadium this week would push him even further down that road.
Foles Hope
Poor puns aside, I don’t see any reason to believe that the Eagles will fare any better with Nick Foles under center than they did with Michael Vick. The team’s problems are much bigger than just a change in quarterback. The defense can’t cover anyone, the offensive line is putrid and LeSean McCoy is wasting away, not having run the ball more than 25 times in a single game this season. Andy Reid may have lucked into a free pass for the rest of the season with Vick going down with a potentially season-ending concussion, but Foles is not the answer in Philadelphia, even if he leads the Eagles to victory against the Redskins this weekend.
RG-C
I’m going to keep with the NFC East and the poor puns for my third thing to watch. The Redskins coaching staff named Robert Griffin III a captain today, which ranks among the smartest things it has done this season. Griffin III has shown all of the qualities of a team leader this season and, more than anything else, earned that C with stellar play and toughness on the field. What’s great about this is that he didn’t just get a C thrown on his jersey because Dan Snyder decided to trade the farm to move up and get him. He earned it.
Former Post intern Brandon Katz caught a glimpse of rookie running back Alfred Morris’ car, a 1991 Mazda. Considering that he’s the new captain, couldn’t RGIII spring and get his back a nicer ride for his team’s leading rusher?
Forte-fied Attack
With Jay Cutler unlikely to play this Monday after suffering a concussion in the Bears’ 13-6 loss to Houston, Chicago will need to revert to its old habits on Monday night against the 49ers. That means a heavy dosage of Matt Forte and the running game. Forte had a rough game against the Texans, racking up 36 total yards, but he is still relatively fresh at Week 11. The former Pro Bowl running back has just 145 total touches and is averaging just over 19 per game. Forte will need to get at least 30 touches for the Bears to have a chance at beating San Francisco.
Steel Reserve
Do you know the last time Byron Leftwich started a game in the NFL? Sept. 20, 2009 is the answer. Leftwich was a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and his team lost 33-20 to Buffalo. My next question is do you remember the last time Byron Leftwich won a game he started in the NFL? Oct. 8, 2006, as a member of the Jaguars in a 41-0 thrashing of none other than the Jets. Leftwich is getting his first start in over three seasons, hoping to get his first win in over six years, against a team that just won 55-20 and had its punter rush for a touchdown. Pittsburgh is hoping that its track record of playing without Ben Roethlisberger continues. The Steelers are 7-4 when Roethlisberger has been out with an injury since 2005.
asulla-heffinger@nypost.com