The unbeaten Indianapolis Colts have been eagerly awaiting their annual November showdown with the New England Patriots. But the Colts are a little less eager now than they were on Halloween.

Since the end of October, the Colts have lost four defensive starters, include three in the secondary, because of injuries. That's not where you want to be light heading into a shootout with Tom Brady.

The Colts and Patriots rank 1-2 in the NFL in passing, and Brady has been on fire of late with three consecutive 300-yard passing games and nine touchdowns in that stretch.

But instead of facing a veteran secondary that won a Super Bowl – Kelvin Hayden and Marlin Jackson at corner and Bob Sanders and Antoine Bethea at safety – Brady will see rookies Jerraud Powers and Jacob Lacey at corner and Melvin Bullitt and Bethea at safety Sunday. Also missing is linebacker Tyjuan Hagler, who went on injured reserve two weeks ago with a ruptured biceps.

The Colts have already lost 25 games by starters because of injury this season. With Hagler, Jackson and Sanders all on injured reserve, that's a minimum of 24 more games the Colts will lose because of injury. That's 49 games if the Colts stay completely healthy the rest of the way. Indianapolis lost 50 games by starters because of injury all of last season.

Injuries have affected much of the league. The 4-4 Chicago Bears are not playing the slam-the-door-shut defense their fans have come to expect. They rank 15th in the NFL in defense and 21st against the run. But the Bears have been without Pro Bowl middle linebacker Brian Urlacher since opening day because of a dislocated wrist.

The Washington Redskins can't run the ball or protect quarterback Jason Campbell. Little wonder: Two starting offensive linemen are on injured reserve, guard Randy Thomas and tackle Chris Samuels.

The Seattle Seahawks are 3-5 without Pro Bowlers on both sides of the ball. Middle Linebacker Lofa Tatupu and left offensive tackle Walter Jones are gone for the season with injuries.

A lineup of players who will finish the 2009 season on injured reserve. All started games this season except for three: HB Leon Washington, who was part of a two-running back rotation with the Jets; CB Walt Harris, who tore up his knee during San Francisco's off-season program; and G Shawn Andrews, whose back flared up in training camp.

Wide receiver Chris Chambers will play the Oakland Raiders for the second time in three games and the third time this season today. Chambers opened the season with the San Diego Chargers and played against the Raiders in Weeks 1 and 7. He didn't have a catch on opening day in a 24-20 victory at Oakland, then chipped in one reception for 20 yards in a 24-16 victory over the Raiders in San Diego on Nov. 1. But the Chargers waived Chambers after that game and he was claimed by the Chiefs. He caught two touchdown passes in his Kansas City debut last Sunday, and now it's back to Oakland for a rare third game against the same team in the same season. Two of his 18 career 100-yard games have come against the Raiders.

The NFL assigned just two three-game road trips this season, and the Seattle Seahawks embark on theirs today. The Seahawks play their next three games at Arizona, Minnesota and St. Louis. It is Seattle's first such trip since 2000. The New York Giants also were scheduled a three-game trip earlier this season and swept Dallas, Tampa Bay and Kansas City in Weeks 2-4. There have been 101 three-game trips in the NFL since 1990, and the Giants were only the eighth team to return 3-0. The overwhelming majority of teams taking those three-game trips lose more than they win. Sixty-six of the 101 travelers lost at least two games on those trips. That doesn't bode well for the Seahawks, who hit the road on the fringe of playoff contention with a 3-5 record.

Colts TE Dallas Clark has caught 22 passes in November. That's more catches in two weeks than veteran wideouts Isaac Bruce, Ted Ginn, Roy Williams and Deion Branch have all season.

The New England Patriots were out of sync early as QB Tom Brady was finding his legs after a year's absence from the field. Then Pro Bowl WR Wes Welker missed a couple of games in September with a knee injury. But one of the NFL's best passing attacks was able to work out its kinks in October and came flying into November. Brady has thrown nine touchdown passes in his last three games. The Patriots visit the unbeaten Colts today. Indianapolis is a three-point favorite but without three starters in the defensive backfield. Two rookie corners loom as a mismatch against Brady. Go with the Patriots in the upset.