Denver » Luckily for the Denver Broncos, they had that four-game, midseason losing streak. Otherwise they would be joining the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints, both 12-0, in the distraction that is the quest for an undefeated season.

"I understand some of those questions might start to increase," said Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, "but I think one thing we have done is address the team we have coming up."

There is good reason to suspect Manning speaks sincerely. Experience has taught him the accomplishment of regular-season winning streaks can ultimately become hollow.

His Colts started 13-0 in 2005, 9-0 in 2006, and 7-0 in 2007. They won their final nine regular-season games last year and can set an NFL record with 22 consecutive regular-season victories by defeating the Broncos on Sunday.

In the midst of that winning streak, however, was a first-round playoff loss last season to San Diego. Despite those impressive regular-season runs, only in the 2006 season did the Colts win the Super Bowl.

Perhaps that explains why the Colts and Saints are about to take paradoxical approaches to their undefeated seasons, and why, two years after New England went 16-0, but lost the Super Bowl, there seems much less buzz this time around about a perfect season.

The Colts have strongly hinted that as soon as they clinch the AFC's No. 1 playoff seed, they will rest many key players in whatever regular-season games remain in order to get ready for the playoffs.

"It really doesn't mean anything unless you win the last game," said Eugene "Mercury" Morris, running back for the 1972 Miami Dolphins, who remain the only undefeated, untied team in NFL history to also win the league championship.

The Saints, meanwhile, already have declared they're going for perfection. Running back Reggie Bush first said an undefeated season was possible when the Saints were 6-0.

For the two remaining unbeatens, there still are seven more games to go, counting the playoffs. The Saints should understand they're currently only 63 percent through their quest. The goal must be 19-0, not 16-0.

"I think either way of going about it is fine," said Broncos coach Josh McDaniels, who was the offensive coordinator of that 2007 Patriots that took an 18-0 record into the Super Bowl, only to lose to the underdog New York Giants. The Patriots became the first team in the 16-game era of the NFL to finish the regular season undefeated. "In sports, those kinds of achievements and accomplishments are remembered," McDaniels said.

As for the diminished vibe around the NFL regarding the Colts and Saints' unbeaten runs compared to the Patriots' pursuit of perfection two years ago, there are other factors beyond the fact second acts rarely get the same attention. Neither team carries the baggage New England did.

"It's not adversarial," Morris said. "I don't have the same kind of attitude about what's happening now as I did with the Patriots, because it's a different circumstance."