Just when the Indianapolis Colts finally look to have turned the corner on their disappointing season, they get another dose of bad luck. For the second time this season, quarterback Andrew Luck is set to miss time due to injury and will miss their trip to Atlanta to face the floundering Falcons.
The Falcons suffered the indignity of losing to Blaine Gabbert-led San Francisco 49ers prior to their bye, and will be eager to bounce back from their awful last few weeks against the Luck-less Colts at home.
Read on for a preview of the Colts vs. Falcons. And for more Week 11 action, check out our previews of the Bills vs. Patriots and Packers vs. Vikings.
[sc:Football ]Indianapolis Colts vs. Atlanta Falcons Preview
Where: Georgia Dome, Atlanta
When: Thursday, November 22, 1:00 PM ET
Line: Indianapolis Colts (+6) at Atlanta Falcons (-6); total: 47.5 – view all NFL lines
TV Broadcast: CBS
Betting on the Indianapolis Colts (5-4)
The Indianapolis Colts finally looked more like the team many expected at the start of the season as they handed the Denver Broncos their first loss of the season. However, that win came at quite a cost, as Andrew Luck suffered a lacerated kidney and will miss the Colts’ trip to Atlanta.
[sc:NFL240banner ]That means 40-year-old backup QB Matt Hasselbeck will once again be called upon to deputize for Luck against the Falcons. Hasselbeck has already started twice this season while Luck was out with a shoulder injury. Those two starts – against the lowly Jaguars and Texans – produced two wins, with Hasselbeck completing nearly 63 percent of his passes and throwing three touchdowns with zero interceptions.
A big part of the Colts’ success against the Broncos was due to new offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski’s scheme, which aimed to get rid of the ball more quickly. That new scheme should play right to the strengths of Hasselbeck, who was getting the ball out with similar speed in his two starts.
Running back Frank Gore had a rough time going against the very tough defenses of the Panthers and Broncos in back-to-back weeks, but he should be able to run the ball more freely against a mediocre Falcons run defense. Gore stepped up big time with a season-high 98 rushing yards and a touchdown in a 27-20 win over Houston – the Colts’ last road game without Luck.
The Colts defense also played one of its best games against the Broncos. It intercepted Peyton Manning twice and limited Denver to a pitiful 2.5 yards per carry on the ground. Don’t be surprised to see the Colts do a decent enough job on the Falcons’ Devonta Freeman, who has shown signs of slowing down over the past few weeks.
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Betting on the Atlanta Falcons (6-3)
After a very promising 5-0 start to the season, the Atlanta Falcons have gone into free-fall. The Falcons have lost three of their last four games – they’ve also gone 0-5 ATS in their last five – and very easily could have lost all four as they somehow managed to score just 10 points against the Titans.
Atlanta managed to come back from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter against the Buccaneers, but eventually lost in overtime. But the piece de resistance to this very troubling spell was losing to Blaine Gabbert and a 49ers running back corps fresh off the scrap heap.
The Falcons defense hasn’t been incredible – the pass rush in particular has disappointed – but it has held up its end of the bargain, limiting its last three opponents to 15.7 points per game.
The problem has been the offense, which, despite having two of the most dynamic offensive players in the league in Julio Jones and Devonta Freeman, has simply been unable to put up points. They’re averaging just 16.8 points per game in the last four games and have gone just 4-of-11 in their trips to the red zone during that time.
Freeman is coming off his least-effective game on the ground, garnering just 12 yards on 12 carries against the 49ers. However, he should get back on track against a Colts defense that lost a key part of its defensive line with the injury to rookie Henry Anderson.
A return home should also be a big help to the Falcons. They’re averaging close to 30 points in their first four games at the Georgia Dome, the fourth-best home scoring average in the NFL.
Writer’s Prediction
The Colts (+6) compound the Falcons misery as Hasselbeck leads them to a 24-21 road win.
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