Pats DBs Terrence Wheatley, left, and James Sanders celebrate after breaking up a pass.

The Providence Journal / Glenn Osmundson

INDIANAPOLIS — The Colts may have won one unfortunate “competition” even before the game began — the one to see which team was hurting more in the secondary.

Indianapolis placed corner Marlin Jackson on season-ending injured reserve last week, after suffering an apparently freak knee injury in practice on Wednesday. Then last night, the team played without its other starting corner, Kelvin Hayden, and reserve corner Dante Hughes.

Hayden (knee/hamstring) did not participate in practice Thursday or Friday, and was listed as questionable for the game.

Without Jackson and Hayden, Indianapolis’ starting corners were Tim Jennings and Keiwan Ratliff. Ratliff was re-signed by the team last week.

New England played without corner Lewis Sanders (hamstring) for the second straight game and third time this season. Ellis Hobbs (shoulder), while hurting, did play.

But the Colts’ woes in the secondary may have meant more snaps with the defense for Jamie Silva.

Silva, the East Providence native, has been part of the Colts’ 53-man roster since Week Three, but has not yet recorded a defensive tackle. He does have six special-teams tackles thus far, but also was flagged for a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty in Green Bay.

Signed by Indianapolis as an undrafted rookie, Silva began the season on the Colts’ practice squad but was promoted when Bob Sanders was injured against Jacksonville on Sept. 21.

For those wondering, Silva still hasn’t cut his hair, and his locks cover the name on the back of his jersey.

Clashes with Colts will continue

Coach Bill Belichick joked last week that it seemed like the Patriots and Colts were still division rivals because they had met each other often.

Despite ceasing to be AFC East rivals in 2002 when the Houston Texans came into the league, the NFL divided the now-32 teams into eight divisions, and Indianapolis joined Houston, Tennessee and Jacksonville in the new AFC South.

Despite that, New England and the Colts have faced each other every regular season from 2003 through this year.

And that streak will continue next season.

In 2002, the NFL went ahead and determined the league schedule for nearly a decade, and only two games each year were left up in the air. Those were the games that pitted New England against a team from another division that finished in the same spot it did (i.e., if the Pats won the AFC East, they faced the winner of the AFC South).

That’s what happened this year, as the Patriots’ schedule called for them to face their standard divisional opponents, the teams from the AFC West and NFC West, travel to the winner of the AFC South and host the winner of the AFC North, which is why Pittsburgh will be back in Foxboro at the end of the month.

The AFC South is one of the other divisions New England plays next season, so the Colts and Pats will play again next year.

New England also faces the NFC South. It will host whichever team from the AFC North corresponds with their divisional finish and travels to the AFC West club whose divisional finish matches their own.

After that, who knows? The schedule beyond 2009 has not been determined.

Indy in need of a win

Indianapolis entered the game having lost two straight and trying to fight through a logjam of mediocre teams to get back into the playoffs. The Colts started the night 4 ½ games behind unbeaten Tennessee in a division they’ve ruled for half a decade, and head into the toughest part of the schedule with a slumping offense.

The Colts felt a win over their rivals may be just what they need to get righted.

“NFL football is really still all about November and December,” coach Tony Dungy said. “If you’re playing well at that time of year, then that is what counts. The Giants proved that last year. Pittsburgh did a couple of years ago. You don’t want to dig yourselves in too much of a hole, but certainly the season isn’t over on Sept. 30 or Oct. 30 even.”

Journal wire service stories were included in this report.

smanza@projo.com