Zak Keefer

zak.keefer@indystar.com

Colts at Browns%2C 1 p.m. Sunday%2C Fox

There was a moment Sunday afternoon, his team having scored its third touchdown in a span of five minutes while Lucas Oil Stadium swelled into a state of deafening applause, when Indianapolis Colts coach Chuck Pagano turned to his offensive coordinator, Pep Hamilton, and voiced a minor grievance.

"You're scoring toofast," Pagano told him.

"He gave me a weird look," Pagano recalled Monday, smiling. "I told him I was just kidding. We'll take all those we can muster up."

It was a snippet into how downright scary Hamilton's unit can be. Just how big are the numbers the Colts offense is putting up this season? Keep this pace, and we're talking historically big.

Think 7,000 total yards.

Think 5,300 through the air.

Think 500-plus points.

Think of the third quarter of Sunday's 49-27 waltz past the Washington Redskins: The Colts had the ball a mere 1:44, ran five offensive plays, amassed 129 yards and scored 21 points. (To be fair, the defense accounted for one of the three touchdowns.) But Pagano was right: His team was scoring so quickly, so easily, that it was hard to keep up.

It was like watching a game of Madden when one side has all the cheat codes. The Colts possessed the football 12 minutes less than the Redskins Sunday yet won by 22.

It's an offense built on the big play and the strength and savvy of Andrew Luck's golden arm. At their current rate, the 2014 Colts will finish with numbers on par with some of the most explosive units ever – right in the conversation with the 2000 "Greatest Show on Turf" St. Louis Rams, the 2007 New England Patriots, the 1998 Minnesota Vikings and the 1984 Miami Dolphins.

But is this offense even the best in franchise history?

Cue the 2004 Indianapolis Colts shaking their heads.

Better than us?

Puh-leeeeeeze.

It's a worthy debate. A decade ago, Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison and Edgerrin James embarrassed defenses on a weekly basis. They were a sublime offensive trio performing at the peak of their powers, putting up video game numbers every Sunday, scoring, it seemed, whenever and however they pleased.

"It's hard to compare," James said when reached Tuesday. "I know times have changed, the game has loosened up with the rule changes. I don't want to take anything away from these guys, but we were doing it on the offensive side back then."

Doing it they were. The 2004 Colts scored 522 points; through 12 games, this year's 8-4 Colts are on pace for 509. Manning threw for 4,557 yards that season and a then-record 49 touchdowns (and did so in just 15 games; with the team's playoff spot locked up, Manning attempted just two passes in the season finale at Denver). Luck's on track for 5,334 yards – which would be the third-most in NFL history – and 45 touchdowns.

The receiving core then was an embarrassment of riches: Harrison, Reggie Wayne and Brandon Stokely each eclipsed 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns – the first time in league history three from the same team had done so. The tight ends were no slouch, either: Marcus Pollard caught six TDs that year and a young Dallas Clark had five. They averaged 32.6 points a game; this year's Colts are right behind at 31.8.

The largest discrepancy comes at the running back position: James was his usual stellar self in '04, rushing for 1,548 yards and nine touchdowns. Trent Richardson (445 yards and three TDs so far) might get half that this year.

As deep and diverse as the Colts are at receiver this season, the electric T.Y. Hilton – on pace for 1,526 yards – remains the only Colts' pass-catcher on track for a 1,000-yard season.

A deeper dive in the numbers reveals just how potent that '04 unit was. The Colts settled for only 25 field goals that year and punted only 54 times – the average for an NFL team since 2000 is 80. They lit up the scoreboard for games of 45, 49, 41, 41, 51 and 49 points. They scored 72 total points more than any Colts team in history. They won by an average margin of 10.7 points. They scored on 46 percent of their drives.

This year's team can certainly make an argument. Kicker Adam Vinatieri has attempted only 25 field goals in 12 games, and Pat McAfee's on pace for just 60 punts. They've put up games of 44, 41, 40 and 49 points. They're scoring on 45 percent of their drives. They're leading the league in every major offensive category.

"We got a lot of guys," said Wayne, the only participant of both offenses. "We are pretty loaded."

Sunday marked the team's ninth 400-yard game of the season, breaking the previous record set in … 2004. And, as illustrated against a hapless Redskins' secondary, the big play has become their signature: The Colts have recorded 62 plays stretching 20 yards or longer this season, by far the most in the NFL.

Four games remain, and like that '04 team, the Colts could have the division title and their playoff seed locked up before Week 17. The records set in '04 could survive.

James makes a valid point, though. NFL offenses have evolved over the last decade, and rule changes have played a significant role. The result: Teams are throwing more than ever and scoring more than ever. Just this season, three quarterbacks (Manning, Luck and Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers) are projected to throw for more than 40 touchdowns.

In the 2004 season, five quarterbacks threw for 4,000 yards. Last season, nine did so.

Which, of course, makes what Manning, James, Harrison, Wayne and Co. accomplished in 2004 all the more remarkable. And what this year's team is doing a little reminiscent.

"All I know is it's good to see the Colts putting points up like we used to," James said. "They got some weapons like we did back in the day."

Notes

The Colts on Tuesday agreed to terms with free agent offensive tackle Andrew McDonald, who played in two games for the Seattle Seahawks earlier this season. The team also waived tight end Weslye Saunders, hinting at the fact that injured tight end Dwayne Allen could be nearing a return to the field this week.

Call Star reporter Zak Keefer at (317) 444-6134 and follow him on Twitter: @zkeefer.