Insider: This is what a Super Bowl contender does

• Patriots at Colts%2C 8%3A30 p.m.%2C Nov. 16

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — They would like to think of themselves as contenders, aspirants to the game's most elusive prize.

The Indianapolis Colts did not embark on this promising season looking to merely make the playoffs or show promise for the future. They instead are seeking a shiny trophy to match the one they won after the 2006 season on that rainy night in Miami.

No, the Colts could not win the Super Bowl on Monday night. They could only beat the New York Giants – make that the injury-plagued, can't-catch, can't-block, Giants. And the Colts did just that, soundly and handily, 40-24 at MetLife Stadium.

Come January, this game will be long forgotten. But that does not make it forgettable. See, the Colts, if they are the team they believe they are, must dismiss inferior opponents in this fashion. This is what superior teams do to clubs that have as many challenges as the Giants.

Championship-minded teams do not allow subpar opponents to build momentum and gain confidence.

Contending teams certainly should not give up 51 points and 639 yards to the Steelers, as the Colts did a week ago Sunday night.

What contending teams should do is fully exploit a weak opponent. The Colts tried their best to make this interesting, messing around to the tune of 1-for-9 third-down efficiency in the first half. Quarterback Andrew Luck, as good as he was in throwing for 354 yards, was not always sharp and had some missed communications with his receivers.

But, as the night wore on, the Colts showed their true identity.

The third quarter, when they scored 21 points, was where it happened.

"We wanted to go down and put seven (points) on the board," Luck said of the opening possession of the second half, when the Colts drove 84 yards on eight plays, topping the drive with T.Y. Hilton's mid-air thievery of cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. Hilton literally took the ball away from the defender as the pair came crashing toward the earth.

The Colts had sputtered so often in the first half, settling for field goals on three occasions and keeping the game unnecessarily tight.

"I was kind of pissed off every time we were kicking field goals," Hilton said.

But eventually, the sizable gulf between these teams showed. No team that is short three cornerbacks should be able to contain Hilton and Reggie Wayne. And no team that is as lacking in receiving talent as the Giants – especially without injured Victor Cruz – should be able to successfully challenge the Colts' Vontae Davis, who is in the midst of a monster, Pro Bowl-worthy season.

And then there are the self-inflicted wounds, with the Giants producing a never-ending series of errors throughout the night.

"We're not helping ourselves," quarterback Eli Manning bemoaned afterward.

Let's be clear about something: To point out that the Giants are perfectly dreadful in their current state is not to demean the Colts for beating them. Rather, it's an acknowledgement that the Colts are simply further along, closer to where the Giants have been in recent years – two championships since 2007 – and they walked the walk on Monday.

The Colts will go into their bye week at 6-3, and that's big. They play the New England Patriots in two weeks, in another prime time matchup, and they will be tested in that game. But going into the bye after a resounding win is the best thing that could have happened after the ugliness in Pittsburgh.

"We just needed a win," Pagano said. "It was dominant for a portion."

Wayne, in talking to his teammates Sunday night, told them he had only lost a game heading into a bye week on two occasions. And both times, it made for long weeks.

"Losses before a bye week stink," Luck said, recounting the conversation.

The Colts could have spent the next two weeks thinking about two straight losses. But they righted their wrongs in New Jersey Monday night. Now they have a two-game lead in their division. They are three games over .500.

"We don't need help from anybody," Pagano said. "We control our destiny."

The Colts looked like their goals of winning a title were more reasonable than the previous week.

They looked like a team with their level of aspirations should.

Follow Star reporter Stephen Holder on Twitter: @HolderStephen.

Patriots at Colts, 8:30 p.m., Nov. 16