Colts vs. Patriots: Game predictions

The Colts play against their arch rivals tonight in Foxboro. GM Chris Ballard said the rivalry is “back on”. Will it be tonight though?

The Colts have struggled so far this year. They are off to a 1-3 start. The Patriots have struggled relatively too, only starting off at 2-2. But Indianapolis is desperate for a win and out for revenge against Josh McDaniels. Will they get it?

Based off of current play, the Colts have a chance. They have held a lead in the second half or later in every single game thus far. They just haven’t been able to close. The Colts have the talent to stay with New England throughout the game.

The problem is, most of that talent is injured and won’t play. T.Y. Hilton, Jack Doyle, and Marlon Mack are all out tonight. Those are the Colts’ three best skill players. Without them, it could be tough for Andrew Luck to move the ball with any consistency.

On defense, they are depleted as well. They are missing 3 of their top 4 corners, and could be without safety Clayton Geathers as well. Darius Leonard is also questionable with an ankle injury. None of that is good when you’re about to face Tom Brady.

Not only are you facing Brady, but you’re facing a ticked off wide receiver. Julian Edelman will play his first regular season game since 2016 after tearing his ACL in preseason last year and serving a 4 game PED suspension this year. He will be angry and ready to go.

Prediction: Colts 20 Patriots 38

I just don’t see how the Colts win this game. Almost half of their starting roster is out with injuries. They simply just don’t have the depth to compensate for that. I wouldn’t be surprised if it ends up uglier than this. The only reason I don’t think it will is because Luck will find a way to manufacture points.

This has the makings of an ugly game. Losing this game would drop the Colts to 1-4 and almost certainly out of the playoff hunt.