| Giants
(2-13) Colts (7-8)
Last
Sunday the Indianapolis Colts held a 38-7 lead over the Tennessee Titans midway
through the third quarter. The Titans came up with three touchdowns after that,
but it wasn't enough and they finished with a 38-30 loss to the Colts.
On
Sunday it looked to be a good sign that the Giants scored first in their game
with the Atlanta Falcons. After that, they failed to score again, and took a 34-7
loss to the Falcons. Indianapolis
Colts
The Colts won the AFC South division
title nine times from 2003-2014. In those 13 years, they went to the playoffs
12 times. Since then they have made it to the playoffs only two times as a wildcard
team, and winning the division title has eluded them. Andrew Luck took the Colts
to the playoffs in his 2012 rookie year, and then the next two. In 2018 Frank
Reich became the head coach, and the team won their wildcard game and lost next
in the division playoffs. Two years later they were back in the playoffs, and
lost in the wildcard game.
The Colts were caught by surprise when Luck suddenly
retired, and in a short period of time, the starting quarterbacks were Jacoby
Brissett, Brian Hoyer, and Philip Rivers. In 2020 Rivers led the team to another
playoff shot, and then he retired. The Colts acquired Carson Wentz from Philadelphia,
and after that season Wentz was traded to Washington, and they acquired Matt Ryan
from Atlanta. In 2022, with the team at 3- 5-1, Reich was fired and Jeff Saturday
was brought in as the interim head coach. Saturday came up with just one win,
and in 2023 offensive coordinator Shane Steichen took over the top spot. The Colts
used their fourth overall pick on Anthony Richardson, and signed on free agent
Gardner Minshew. Indianapolis
Colts Offense
Anthony
Richardson is in his second year, and his first year did not go well. It was a
good thing that the Colts had brought in veteran Gardner Minshew, because Richardson
started only the first four games before needing shoulder surgery. Minshew led
the team to a 9-7 record, and they had a shot at the playoffs up until the final
game. Richardson has played in 11 games this season, and this years veteran backup,
Joe Flacco, stepped in when Richardson was hurt after two designed runs in the
Steelers game .
Last week Richardson had nine carries for 70 yards, and one
touchdown, giving him his sixth rushing touchdown of the season. The dual threat
quarterback has run for 499 yards, averaging 5.7 yards a carry. Richardson has
thrown for 8 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions this season. The Colts like to run
the ball, and Richardson threw it just 11 times last week for one touchdown and
one interception. The team ran with the ball 50 times for 335 yards, and 4 touchdowns.
Jonathan Taylor did most of the work with his 29 carries for 218 yards, and 3
of those touchdowns.
Indianapolis
Colts Defense
The
Colts are giving up more overall yards per game than they did last year, and most
of that is with the rushing defense which allows 136.5 rushing yards per game.
They are giving up 23.9 points a game, which is an improvement over last year,
when it was 24.4. One of their biggest issues would be allowing teams to convert
on their third down attempts. That could be attributed to not being an aggressive
unit. Opposing teams know that the Colts are one of the lowest blitzing teams
in the league. That shows up in their sack total which was 51 last year, and is
sitting at 34 right now.
The sack leader on the team is defensive end Kwity
Paye with 7, followed by defensive tackle DeForest Buckner with 6.5. Linebacker
Zaire Franklin was second in the NFL last year with 179 tackles, and has kept
at that pace with 151 now. Cornerback Kenny Moore II has been with the team since
2017, and the team signed him up for three more years. He is the leader in the
secondary, and has three interceptions, along with safety Nick Cross, who also
has three. NY Giants Offense
Drew
Lock was the starting quarterback last week, and he'll be doing it again this
week against the Colts. Last time out Lock threw two interceptions which were
both returned for touchdowns, and he also fumbled the ball away. That's three
offensive drives you'd like to have back. Lock had one touchdown, and the Giants
scored just 7 points. That did not help them get past their point average of 14.3
a game, which puts the Giants last in the NFL Lock has had three starts, and has
completed 64 of 120 passes for 615 yards, and one touchdown.
The offensive
line will see some change as center John Michael Schmitz is out for the first
time this season, and he will be replaced by Greg Van Roten, moving over from
his right guard position. Hopefully the Giants can adjust as the Colts defensive
strength is up front, though they don't tend to pass rush. If Lock can feel more
comfortable with time in the pocket it will be a good opportunity for rookie Malik
Nabers to make a big impact. Malik Nabers is listed as questionable, but has been
practicing and is expected to play. Tyrone Tracy was limited in practice coming
off a game where he ran 7 times for 26 yards, and caught 4 passes for 43 yards,
including the Giants only touchdown. Giants
Defense
The Giants know what will be coming
at them this game. The Colts have a brutal rushing attack, and Colts running back
Jonathan Taylor was selected as the AFC offensive player of the week for his performance
against the Tennessee Titans. Taylor broke away for some real big plays in that
game, and the Giants have not done well with their tackling. On the year the Giants
are next to last in the league, giving up 142.6 rushing yards a game. Colts quarterback
Anthony Richardson knows how to run with the ball, and that's an added problem.
The only good news is that the Giants have made some adjustments over the past
few games. Two weeks ago, they held Ravens running back Derrick Henry to 67 yards,
and last week Falcons Bijan Robinson to 94 rushing yards. Defensive coordinator
Shane Bowen has seen Taylor play first hand in a number of games when he was the
defensive coordinator for the Titans. Also, Richardson has not been practicing
this week because of back and foot injuries, and he is listed as questionable.
Assuming he plays, they might limit Richardson's running plays to avoid taking
hits. The Giants are ranked in the top seven with their passing defense, and Richardson
hasn't developed those skills as well in the limited amount of games he's played.
If pocket passer Joe Flacco has to come in at some point, at least the Giants
will know better if they'll be defending a pass play or run play at the snap.
LATE
NEWS - Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson is out for the Giants
game. Overall
The Colts have had no AFC South Division titles,
and there's been just one playoff win since 2015. The division is off the table,
but a win against the Giants keeps the Colts alive for a playoff shot. The Giants
have a poor record, and are at the bottom of the NFC East division. They have
yet to win a game at home in MetLife Stadium. This would be the Giants last chance,
so both teams have reason to give it their all. NFC
East Games
Sunday at 1:00pm Colts (7-8)
at Giants (2-13)
Sunday at 1:00pm Cowboys
(7-8) at Eagles (12-3)
Sunday at 8:20pm Falcons (8-7) at Commanders (10-5)
The Eagles and Commanders are the NFC East teams favored to win in these games.
Check out.
Giants
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Next Games
Jan
2 Giants at Eagles
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