Stampede Blue
The Colts return home but have their work cut out for them.
The Indianapolis Colts return home to face off against one of the best, if not the best, teams in the NFL. The Detroit Lions came on strong last year and haven’t slowed down at all racing out to a league best 9-1 record. It has been eight years since the Lions visited Lucas Oil in which they were able to kick a late field goal to secure the win. Both teams are coming off wins this week, but FanDuel Sportsbook is giving the Lions a sizable advantage in the spread at 7.5-points. This season, the Lions have been good enough to earn a spread like that, even on the road.
The money line sits as +310 with the over/under at 50.5.
The Colts turned back to Anthony Richardson against the New York Jets, and the decision couldn’t have been rewarded much better. Not only were the Colts able to get the win, but Richardson had his best game of the season. He completed 66% of his passes with 272-yards and three touchdowns. There were still some miscues and misses, but compared to the rest of the season, it looked like night and day. The majority of his passes were on time and target. He still had some high ones and short misses he probably wished he had back, but he and the offense moved up and down the field to put up 28-points. That is the second most all year and the most with Richardson under center. If the Colts can get more of that, they will be in good shape.
Meanwhile, the Lions beat the brakes off the Jacksonville Jaguars. Mac Jones and the Jaguars got off to a 3-0 start, but that was as good as it got. The Lions scored 21-points in the second quarter alone and another 24 unanswered in the second half. A final of 52-6, shows just how dominant the Lions are and how explosive their offense can be. Yes, it was the Jaguars, but putting 52 on a team is no joke. Jared Goff has fully come into his own with Detroit and was able to put up 412-yards and four touchdowns. Add nearly 200-yards on the ground and no one was stopping the Lions offense on Sunday. They will be a handful for the rest of the teams on their schedule going forward.
The Colts and Lions are expected to put up some serious points next week. Expect some big plays and lots of highlight reel action. I anticipate seeing Anthony Richardson air it out a little more than last week. Some of those attempts will be because he got that first game back under his belt. The other reason might be that the Colts will need to keep pace with the Lions offense. The Colts have to find a way to keep things close and put together some sustained drives. Giving Jared Goff and the Lions too many opportunities...
