Indianapolis (5-7) at New England (3-9)
Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, CBS
BetMGM NFL odds: Colts by 2 1/2.
Against the spread: Colts 8-4; Patriots 4-7-1.
Series record: Patriots lead 53-31
Last meeting: Patriots beat Colts 10-6 in Frankfurt, Germany, on Nov. 12, 2023.
Last week: Colts lost to Lions 24-6; Patriots lost 34-15 at Miami.
Colts offense: overall (22), rush (17), pass (24), scoring (21).
Colts defense: overall (28), rush (27), pass (27), scoring (16).
Patriots offense: overall (32), rush (21), pass (32), scoring (31).
Patriots defense: overall (22), rush (18), pass (22) scoring (19).
Turnover differential: Colts minus-1. Patriots minus-7.
RB Jonathan Taylor. Colts coach Shane Steichen knows Taylor must become more involved and more productive if this offense is going to get restarted. He had only 11 carries last week against Detroit and has only 92 yards on 35 carries over the past two games. The solution: Giving Taylor a heavier workload over Indy's final five games.
QB Drake Maye. The rookie ranks second among AFC rookies with 286 rush yards. He is averaging 8.7 yards per rush (33 attempts). The highest rushing average for an NFL quarterback in a single season is 8.5 by Michael Vick in 2006 when he had 123 rushing attempts for 1,039 rushing yards with Atlanta.
Colts QB Anthony Richardson vs. Patriots defense. Steichen has incorporated more quarterback keepers and read options into Richardson's game since he reclaimed the starting job. At times, it has worked well to keep defenses off balance. But Richardson still needs to show he can throw the ball well consistently. Playing a middle-of-the-pack defense should be a more manageable test for the second-year quarterback than last week's game against the Lions.
Aside from the offensive line, the Colts appear to be relatively healthy. WRs Michael Pittman Jr. and Josh Downs both finished last week's game after leaving briefly with shoulder injuries. WR Ashton Dulin did not return after hurting his foot. But with LT Bernhard Raimann (knee) inactive last week and Pro Bowl center Ryan Kelly and RG Will Fries on injured reserve, the Colts have been starting three rookie lineman. One of them, C Tanor Bortolini, entered the concussion protocol Monday. If Bortolini doesn't play, veteran Danny Pinter would likely start. ... Patriots DE Deatrich Wise Jr., who is tied for the team lead with five sacks, has missed the past two games with foot injury.
Indy has won two of the three games since neither Peyton Manning nor Tom Brady were the starting quarterback for these franchises. ... Brady finished his Patriots career with eight straight wins over the Colts. ... This series has been full of streaky play. New England won six straight from 2001-2005. Indy won five of the next six from 2005-09. ... The Pats have dominated this series in the postseason, winning four of five playoff matchups. ... This will mark the first time since 2000 that Bill Belichick will not be coaching against the Colts in this series. ... New England and Indy played twice a year from 1970 through 2001 as AFC East foes. Indy moved to the AFC South during the NFL's realignment in 2002.
Indy has lost four of its past five overall and is 1-7 in its past eight at New England. ... This game begins Indy's final five-game stretch in which it faces four opponents with losing records, including the Patriots. ... Indy's defense leads the NFL in forced fumbles (13) and is tied for third in fumble recoveries (nine) this season. ... The Colts have not allowed a sack in three games this season, tied for the league high. ... Richardson has the lowest completion rate (47.1%) among the league's starting quarterbacks, but in games he's finished this season, two of his three highest passer ratings have come in the past two weeks. ... Richardson also has the third-highest total of TD runs (seven) by a quarterback through his first 12 games, trailing only Cam Newton (13) and Josh Allen (eight). ... Taylor needs 31 yards rushing to surpass Marshall Faulk (5,320) for third in franchise history. ... WR Michael Pittman Jr. has 11 receptions for 102 yards since missing the Week 10 game against Buffalo with a back injury. ... WR Alec Pierce continues to lead the league at 23.3 yards per catch. ... Colts LBs Zaire Franklin (123) and E.J. Speed (108) rank first and fourth in the NFL in tackles, though Indy is one of just six teams that has not had a bye yet. No teams have a bye on Thanksgiving weekend. ... Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson enters this week in 11th place in team history with 2,863 rushing yards and needs 55 yards this week against the Colts to move past LeGarrette Blount (2,917) into 10th place on New England’s career list. ... TE Hunter Henry enters this week with a team-leading 51 receptions for 535 yards. He ranks fourth in receptions and is tied for fifth in receiving yards among NFL tight ends. ... The Patriots scored on defense for the first time this season last week at Miami when CB Christian Gonzalez returned a fumble 63 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. ... LB Jahlani Tavai will look to extend his streak of eight straight games with at least five total tackles. ... LB Christian Elliss has a team-leading eight total special teams tackles.
It could be a good day to start Maye. He has played some of his best football this season at Gillette Stadium, throwing for 225 or more passing yards and two TDs in two of his past three home starts at home.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL