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Indianapolis Colts vs. Atlanta Falcons

by Kris Lazaro

11/21/07

The NFL network’s first Thursday game of the year kicks off this Thanksgiving, pitting the AFC South leading Indianapolis Colts against the struggling Atlanta Falcons of the NFC South. Las Vegas opened the Colts as a 13 point road favorite, with the line being bet down all the way to 11 points at the time of writing.

The author feels that this is the game for the Colts to break out of their slump. After playing New England toe to toe a few weeks back, the Colts seemed to have lost their edge. Losing to San Diego on a fluke missed Vinatieri field goal 21-23 and eeking out a 13-10 win against the lowly Kansas City Chiefs at Indianapolis will surely help the Colts be a little more motivated against the Falcons this Thursday. The loss of defensive end Dwight Freeney will hurt the Colts later on in the season, but this Thursday’s tilt will alleviate some of the fears of Colts fans.

Colts -12
Falcons +12

Manning and company should have a field day against the Falcons defense, a defense allowing 321.8 yards per game and 197.8 yards in the air. Though Manning has lost some of his receiving corps from years’ past, he still has wide receiver Reggie Wayne and running back Joseph Adai to complement his aerial attack. With this game being played in a dome, the author suspects the Colts to have their way against a very bad Falcons team.

On the other side of the ball, quarterback Byron Leftwich will have his hands full against one of the NFL’s best defenses. Second only to Pittsburgh in giving up points and yards, the Colts defense is currently at its finest (at 266.3 and 15.9, respectively). Add to this fact that the Falcons only average 14.2 points per game, the Falcons will need a heavy dose of running back Warrick Dunn, if they expect to be even close to the Colts.

The author predicts a comfortable wire to wire victory for the Colts. The Colts open up a two touchdown lead and never look back.

Game prediction: 49-14 Colts.