Dwight Freeney explains why he’s betraying Colts and rooting for Bills

Adam Weinrib

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - NOVEMBER 25: Dwight Freeney #93 of the Indianapolis Colts rushes against the Buffalo Bills during the game at Lucas Oil Stadium on November 25, 2012 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Colts won 20-13. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

Colts legend Dwight Freeney is rooting against us on Saturday.

If the Colts have lost Dwight Freeney, of all people, we might be entering a stark, new reality of Bills bandwagoning we were not prepared for.

Indianapolis heads to Buffalo this weekend as a significant underdog, prepared to play in front of 6,000+ stark, raving members of Bills Mafia thanks to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s recent change of heart.

Among them, at least in spirit, will be Freeney, a member of the Colts’ Ring of Honor and a defensive icon of the Manning Era.

Unfortunately, he’s chosen to root for his old pupils who’ve since departed Indy for Buffalo over the current roster. Jim Irsay is probably thrilled.

Colts legend Dwight Freeney tells @JasonWolf he's rooting for the Bills today b/c of Jerry Hughes and Mario Addison.

Hughes:
— Colts' 1st round pick in 2010.
— 5 sacks in 3 years in Indy
— 51 sacks in 8 years with the Billshttps://t.co/LFOnpYIdeH
— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) January 9, 2021

Here’s Freeney’s explanation, which may or may not satisfy you (it won’t):

"The reason? His friendship with Mario Addison and Jerry Hughes.“Those are my guys,” Freeney, a member of the Colts Ring of Honor, said this week in a phone interview with The Buffalo News. “These are the dudes who I brought up in the game a little bit, so I always have this fatherly like, ‘Godfather’ type of thing with them, thinking about their successes.”"

Clearly some people believe in us, even if Freeney got off the bus too early so he could break through some tables with Jerry Hughes.

William Hill has taken a $220,000 bet on the Colts +6.5 against the Bills.@Covers_Vegas first.
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) January 9, 2021

Let’s take that guy’s energy into kickoff instead of following a relic from a bygone era, shall we?

Peyton Manning’s years in Indianapolis were awesome, but we didn’t all go buy Broncos hats when he departed — well, most of us didn’t.

All due respect to Freeney and his friend Jerry Hughes, but rooting for former Colts over the literal Colts isn’t what we expected for this wild weekend. Something tells me Jim Kelly won’t be rooting for his old backup Frank Reich in this contest, no matter how hard Reich lobbies for the endorsement.

Colts must take advantage of these two weaknesses vs Bills

The Bills might seem invincible amid their six-game winning streak, but the Colts can make things interesting if they exploit these two weaknesses.

Adam Weinrib

Adam Weinrib is a Content Director on the FanSided network, and has been the co-editor at Yanks Go Yard and Dodgers Way for 4 years. He also co-hosts The Baseball Insiders Podcast twice weekly, alongside FanSided MLB insider Robert Murray, as well as the Yanks Go Yard Podcast. Previously, he was a Senior Editor at 12up.com, and has been covering MLB and NFL for eight years. Previously, he was a headline and features contributor at ClickHole and Onion Sports, as well as the Associate Producer of the ESPN 30 for 30 film "Believeland". An avowed fan of the New York sports teams -- specifically the Yankees -- as well as the North Carolina Tar Heels, you can find Adam complaining mid-game on Twitter, as well as on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn if the game goes really poorly.