The 2003 Championship is complete. Patriots Owner Robert Kraft unveiled the 2003 Championship banner (which looks like the 2001 banner only with the Super Bowl XXXVIII logo), declaring the end of the 2003 Dream and the beginning of the 2004 Quest.

And to get the quest started on the right foot, the Patriots beat the Indianapolis Colts 27-24 in a thrilling game that was daunted by heavy rain, humidity, wind, Elton John with the Boston Pops, and John Madden still making bad coaching decisions from the booth.

With a drive to the endzone with under a minute to play, Peyton Manning dropped back to pass on third down, when Willie McGinest once again read the play correctly, darted for Manning and sacked him for a 13-yard loss, getting Indy out of decent field goal range. Mike Vanderjagt waltzed into extend his field goal streak to a league record 42 - and missed. So solly Mistah Horsehead. Indy and Manning lose their fifth straight in Foxboro, and the Patriots extend their win streak to 16.

"We made so many mistakes," said safety Rodney Harrison. "We're tired, we're happy, we're glad it's over."

Rookie first-round pick Vince Wilfork forced Edgerrin James to fumble on the 1-yard line, recovered it, and gave the Patriots the ball back, snuffing out a potential score for Indy.

"You just can't make mistakes," James said. "You can do 10 things right and on the 11th do something wrong, and it's like you did everything for nothing."

Tom Brady was 16-19 for 335 yards, 3 TDs (to Deion Branch, Daniel Graham, and David Patten) and 1 INT, his first at home since 2002, and setting an NFL record 288 consecutive completions at home without an interception.

"You win and you move on," said Brady. "We've got a lot of work to do."

Corey Dillon only had 15 carries, but garnered 86 yards, including a nice 38 yard run, averaging over 5 yards a carry.

The Patriots travel to Arizona for the Cardinals' Home Opener that will include a tribute to the late Pat Tillman.

Weekend Break Down

DENVER 34, Kansas City 24 - FINAL: The running back show of Priest Holmes and Quentin Griffin.

PHILADELPHIA 31, N.Y. Giants 17 - FINAL: Hey, Tom Coughlin! Welcome back to the NFL! Man, I can't imagine the coronary he had during this one.

Jacksonville 13, BUFFALO 10 - FINAL: Poor Buffalo, can't even win at home. Nothing like last year's opener, huh guys? Jax wins on the last play of the game with an airborne touchdown.

Atlanta 21, SAN FRANCISCO 19 - FINAL: The Michael Vick Show gives Jim Mora, Jr. his first win.

MINNESOTA 35, Dallas 17 - FINAL: The Parcells and Testeverde Show gets off to a slow start, which Duante Culpepper shined tossing five, count 'em 5 touchdowns!

WASHINGTON 16, Tampa Bay 10 - FINAL: Welcome back, Joe Gibbs.

ST. LOUIS 17, Arizona 10 - FINAL: The Battle of the Big Backs, Marshall Faulk out duels Emmitt Smith.

PITTSBURGH 24, Oakland 21 - FINAL: Rich Gannon is showing his age with this one. 305 yards, 2 TDs, but a pair of INTs and a fumble to go with it.

N.Y. JETS 31, Cincinnati 24 - FINAL: Carson Palmer's debut is spoiled by Curtis Martin rushing for nearly 200 yards.

Seattle 21, NEW ORLEANS 7 - FINAL: Seattle improves while the Saints are the same old team from Nawlins.

San Diego 27, HOUSTON 20 - FINAL: Wow! The Chargers weren't supposed to win any games this year.

CLEVELAND 20, Baltimore 3 - FINAL: Hey, Deion, welcome back to the NFL!

Detroit 20, CHICAGO 16 - FINAL: Big win for Detroit. First road win in two years! Incredible!

Tennessee 17, MIAMI 7 - FINAL: The Hurricane Ivan Bowl gives Miami all kinds of problems, not to mention the home loss.

NEW ENGLAND 27, Indianapolis 24 - FINAL: The Kickoff Game ends in thrilling sense, with the Indy "Money" Kicker flunks out in the clutch play. The Champs pull out a win for the their 16th straight.

Green Bay at Carolina, 9 PM Tonight ABC

Oddities of Next Week's Matchups

Indianapolis at Tennessee, 1 PM. AFC South Matchup. Both the Colts and the Titans will battle for the top spot this season.

Washington at N.Y. Giants, 1 PM. NFC East Matchup. Tom Coughlin could have another heart attack of a loss.

New England at Arizona, 4:15 PM. Pat Tillman's Number 40 jersey is to be retired.

Chicago at Green Bay, 1 PM. NFC North Matchup.

Pittsburgh at Baltimore, 1 PM. AFC North Matchup.

Notes & Quotes

Wow, this one was a lot of fun.

They played their game. They're good. They won. They played well offensively and defensively.

- Deion Sanders after the loss.

Signs of the Apocalypse

Everyday I walk towards downtown on Congress Street and see this woman coming towards me smoking a cigarette. She dresses in a banker's attire, and looks like a corpse. I assume she is kept alive just to smoke that cigarette.

Top Ten List of the Week

1. The Return of Football.

2. Hey, how's the weather in Florida these days?

3. Corey Dillon didn't carry that much Thursday night, but it sure is nice to see a Patriots running back get big chunks of yardage and average over 5 yards a carry. And how is he welcomed in Foxboro? The chants of "Corey" in the first quarter should have answered that.

4. Nice to see The Deion Return have such an impact on today's NFL.

5. Things are getting worse in Miami. They needed two quarterbacks to lose this week, and former third stringer out of Philly is getting the nod next week.

6. So, which team is masquerading as the Red Sox this year? They just keep winning when they are usually losing.

7. Get well soon, Mike Patrick of ESPN. Patrick is recovering from heart surgery, and we're stuck with Mr. Excitement, Pat Summerall. Good God, Mike, get better soon!

8. Jake Plummer proved Sunday during the third quarter just how mediocre of a quarterback he is. 2 INTs within four minutes for 10 points for the Chiefs. He just beats himself.

9. Speaking of the Broncos - and Chiefs. Priest Holmes and Quentin Griffen rushed for three touchdowns a piece. Wow!

10. Bravo to the Lions for finally winning a game on the road.

ejh