Colts will beat Falcons
November 21, 2015
On Sunday, the Indianapolis Colts will visit the Atlanta Falcons. The Colts are first in their division, AFC South, at a 4-5 record. Atlanta is second in NFC South at 6-3 and is second in their division.
Andrew Luck leads the Colts in passing with 1,881 yards, completing 162 passes out of 293, and has 15 touchdown passes on the season.
Former San Francisco running back Frank Gore leads the team in rushing. He’s had 148 carries this season with 599 yards and four touchdowns. Currently, Gore is averaging four yards per carry.
Unsurprisingly, T.Y. Hilton leads the team in receiving. Hilton has 43 receptions for 703 yards with three touchdowns this season. He is averaging 16.3 yards per catch.
For Atlanta, quarterback Matt Ryan has 2,702 passing yards, going 239 completions for 357 attempts.
Running back Devonta Freeman, who was surprisingly contained for most of the game against San Francisco, has 721 yards on 164 carries. Freeman has nine touchdowns on the season and is averaging over four yards per carry.
Julio Jones, arguably the best receiver this season, has 80 receptions for 1,029 yards, averaging 12.9 yards per catch. Jones has six touchdowns on the season.
For this game, I’m taking the Colts. Yes, their record is worse, but they are looking hot right now. They just pulled off a major upset, beating the then-dominant Broncos, and preventing Manning from breaking the all-time passing yards record. Brett Farve held it before, and Manning only needed three more yards to break it. But the defense stepped up, with a late interception, and from there the Colts ran down time and came out victorious.
Atlanta has a winning record, but if they can’t beat a struggling and messy 49ers offense, how are they supposed to beat Andrew Luck and the Colts? The Colts are better than the 49ers this season (I hate to say it), and if the 49ers can beat them, who says the Colts can’t? Shaun Draughn was able to pick up good yardage against Atlanta’s defense, and Gore will find even more opportunities.
Update: Colts 24, Falcons 21