The Indianapolis Colts will be going international on Sunday as they travel to Germany to face off against their out-of-division rival the New England Patriots. These two franchises were in the same division, the AFC East, all the way up until 2001 before league expansion. Through the years, there have been some phenomenal games played between these two teams, most notably during the Peyton Manning and Tom Brady era, but this time around it will be a battle between Gardner Minshew and Mac Jones.
Indianapolis is coming off an easy 27-13 win against the Carolina Panthers, a game that kept the 4-5 Colts alive for potential playoff contention, and now they have an opponent in New England who is struggling and is a prime opportunity for this team to get back to .500.
New England is coming off a 20-17 close loss to the Washington Commanders, and that is just another loss in their struggle to get through this season. The once-great Patriots come into this game 2-7, and they have not been able to find their footing whatsoever, especially on the offensive side of the ball.
Mac Jones has been an issue for this team, and talk of turning to Bailey Zappe, Malik Cunningham, or Will Grier has been floated around as of recently. At this point, the number one pick is in play, and Bill Belichick could be coaching his final season with the team. There were some rumors that a loss to Indianapolis could be his final game as the head coach of the New England Patriots, and how poetic would it be for this longtime rival to end the run of who could be the greatest coach of all time.
Let’s take a look at what needs to happen for the Colts to make that a possibility.