The Indianapolis Colts (3-3) host the New Orleans Saints (2-4) at Lucas Oil Stadium this week. The game will begin Sunday, Oct 25 at 1:00 p.m. ET and can be seen on FOX.
Indianapolis dropped one to the Patriots 34-27 last week. Andrew Luck had a big game throwing the ball in the loss, completing 30 of 50 passes for 312 yards and three TDs. T.Y. Hilton contributed with 74 yards and a TD on six receptions. New Orleans is hoping for a similar result as last week when they beat the Falcons 31-21. Benjamin Watson had an outstanding performance for the Saints, totaling 10 catches for 127 yards and one TD.
Indianapolis is a five-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is 52 points.
Heading into Week 7 of league action, the Colts are 3-3 Straight Up (SU) and 2-4 Against The Spread (ATS). The game plan for the Colts is committed to passing. The Saints currently rank 31st in the NFL with 317.3 passing yards allowed per road game. If the game is close late, the Colts may have an edge. New Orleans finishes games poorly, giving up 9.7 points per game in the fourth quarter.
As for their opponent, the Saints have 2-4 SU and 3-3 ATS records this season. New Orleans has found a lot of success through the air. Its 302.3 passing yards per game ranks third in the NFL. Switching gears to the New Orleans defense, there are certain areas where it measures up well against the Colts. Avoiding fumbles will be crucial for the Colts against New Orleans’s defense, which has recovered the fourth-most fumbles on the season with one per game. The Saints can take advantage of Indianapolis’s susceptibility to starting the second half slowly. They allow an average of 6.3 points during the third quarter, ranking 26th in the NFL. New Orleans tends to run a lot of plays, averaging 68.7 offensive snaps for fifth-most in the league.
Predictions: SU Winner – Ind, ATS Winner – NO, O/U – Under
Notes
Indianapolis is 16-7 SU in its last 23 games.
Indianapolis is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Indianapolis’s last 13 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Indianapolis’s last 5 games at home.
Indianapolis is 11-4-1 ATS in its last 16 games at home.
Indianapolis is 2-6 ATS in its last 8 games when playing New Orleans.
Both teams are 1-0 SU when carrying a lead into the fourth quarter.
The Indianapolis passing attack is ranked 13th in the league, while the New Orleans pass defense is only ranked 24th. The Saints’ passing game is ranked third, compared to the 28th-ranked pass defense of the Colts.
