The Colts have lost two games in a row and three of their last four games.  They need to get things turned around soon because the only way they are likely getting into the playoffs is if they win the AFC South.  The Cowboys are 2-1 under new head coach Jason Garrett as they have outscored the opposition 95-69 under him.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Colts have the ball:  The Colts are going to come out passing this weekend against a weak Colts’ secondary which is giving up 244.0 yards passing per game.  Opposing QBs have a 101.4 QB Rating against the Cowboys and Peyton Manning needs to get back on the right track.  The Colts won’t be running the ball much as Donald Brown has not impressed too much as of late.

When the Cowboys have the ball:  The Cowboys would be smart to keep the ball on the ground more than usual against a Colts’ D that is allowing 136.0 yards rushing per game and 4.9 yards per game.  If Jon Kitna has time to throw the ball, he’s going to do some major damage against a Colts’ secondary that isn’t that good.  Jason Witten, Dez Bryant, Roy Williams and Miles Austin are going to cause mis-matches in the Colts’ secondary.

PREDICTION:  COLTS 34, COWBOYS 30

The Colts hope that home cooking will get them back on the right track.  The Colts are 4-0 at Lucas Oil Field where they have outscored opponents 110-57.  But, it won’t be easy this weekend against a Chargers team that has beaten them 4 of the last 5 times these teams have met.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Colts have the ball:  The Colts are without a doubt going to come out throwing the ball this Sunday Night.  The Chargers are a heavy blitz team that has 32 sacks already this year.  If the Colts’ O-Line gives Manning time to throw the ball he will make them pay for blitzing.  If somehow the Chargers are getting to Manning, it could be a long night for the Colts.  Donald Brown doesn’t lend much ground support so the success of the offense hinges on Peyton Manning and his receivers.

When the Chargers have the ball:  Philip Rivers is the best QB in the NFL right now as he already has 23 TD passes this year and the Chargers are averaging 306.5 yards passing per game.  The only way the Colts can stop him is by not letting him throw the ball and that will be up to Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis.  If Rivers has time to throw the ball he’s going to be effective because he has big receivers to throw to in Vincent Jackson and Malcolm Floyd.  The Chargers will also run the ball sign with Mike Tolbert against a Colts’ D that is allowing 136.7 yards rushing per game and 5.0 yards per carry.

PREDICTION:  CHARGERS 30, COLTS 23

This is a nightmare matchup for the Colts right now as they have been a mess on the road this year.  The Colts are 2-3 on the road this year.  The Patriots are 4-0 at home this season and they have outscored their opponents 127-92.  This game could be a shootout for the ages.  Here’s a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Colts have the ball:  The Colts should come out throwing the ball in this game against a Patriots’ D that is allowing 277.8 yards passing per game this year.  The Colts are likely going to spread his receivers out and let Peyton Manning pick the Patriots’ D apart.  The Colts might want to consider running the ball just a tad more than usual in this game as the Patriots are allowing 113.0 yards rushing per game and 4.2 yards per carry so far this year.

When the Patriots have the ball:  The Patriots will likely try to throw short passes and run the ball in a attempt to control the clock which should be successful.  BenJarvus Green-Ellis has been a pleasant surprise for the Patriots this year and he will take aim at a Colts’ D that is allowing 133.2 yards rushing per game and 5.0 ypc.  Tom Brady doesn’t have a favorite receiver and that’s going to put a ton of pressure on the Colts’ secondary.

PREDICTION:  PATRIOTS 38, COLTS 27

The Colts have been dominant at home this year as they are 3-0.  They have outscored opposing teams 87-40 at home this year.  The Bengals come into this game on a five game losing streak.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Colts have the ball:  The Colts should come out throwing the ball to try to jump to a quick lead and kill the will of the Bengals.  The Bengals only have 7 sacks so far this year so Peyton Manning should have plenty of time to survey the field and get the ball to the open man.  If the Colts build a lead in this game, that’s when they will turn to the running game to grind out the clock with Donald Brown getting most of the work.

When the Bengals have the ball:  The Bengals don’t likely want to get into a fire fight with the Colts so they will likely come out feeding the ball to Cedric Benson.  The Colts are allowing 140.9 yards rushing per game and 5.1 yards per carry so that would be a sound strategy.  The Colts will have to get to Carson Palmer because he’s still a good QB and he has nice targets in Chad Ocho Cinco, Terrell Owens, Jordan Shipley and Jermaine Gresham.

PREDICTION:  COLTS 33, BENGALS 20

The Colts appear back on track as they have won 3 games in a row.  The Eagles had a bye last week giving them two weeks to get ready for the Colts.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Colts have the football:  The Eagles are going to come after Peyton Manning with the blitz as that is what they do.  The Colts have only given up 7 sacks this year while the Eagles have 21 of them.  Peyton Manning usually carves up teams that come after him.  The Eagles are giving up 206.1 yards passing per game this year but they also have 11 interceptions so Manning is going to have to be careful with the ball.  It looks like Donald Brown is going to have to carry the load in the running game this Sunday and he should be able to get his fair share of yards against a Eagles’ D that is allowing 109.9 yards rushing per game and 4.0 yards per carry.

When the Eagles have the ball:  The Eagles are like a Sandlot team with Michael Vick at QB.  He likes to send everyone deep and then take off running.  I expect him to do that quite a few times tomorrow.  The Colts are allowing 133.1 yards rushing per game and 4.9 yards per carry so look for Lesean McCoy and Michael Vick to come after them on the ground.  Vick has been throwing deep a lot and why not when you have speed burners like DeSean Jackson & Jeremy Maclin.

PREDICTION:  EAGLES 34, COLTS 27

The Colts are out for revenge in this game as the Texans beat them 34-24 earlier this year in Houston.  The Colts are a different team at home as they play some D there.  The Colts are 2-0 at home this year as they have outscored the competition 57-23.  The Texans are a good road team as they are 2-0 away from home outscoring the opponents 61-51.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Colts have the ball:  The Colts have a ton of injuries heading into this game as Joseph Addai, Dallas Clark and Austin Collie will not be playing on Monday Night.  That means the Colts are going to be depending on guys like Mike Hart, Donald Brown, Jacob  Tamme, Anthony Gonzalez and Blair White.  Somehow though all things become possible with Peyton Manning.  Don’t forget he still has Pierre Garcon & Reggie Wayne and the Texans are giving up 306.2 yards passing per game.

When the Texans have the ball:  The Colts better go all out to stop RB Arian Foster or the Texans are going to beat them again.  All he did in the first meeting was rush for 231 yards and 3 TDs.  The Texans aren’t just a running team by any means as Matt Schaub has developed into one of the best QBs in the NFL.  He has a lot of serious weapons in the passing game like Andre Johnson, Kevin Walter, Owen Daniels and Jacoby Jones. 

PREDICTION:  TEXANS 34, COLTS 30

The Colts have had trouble on the road where they are 1-2 on the year.  The Redskins have played very tight games at home where they are 2-1, outscoring their opponents by a combined score of 56-50.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Colts have the ball:  The Redskins’ D is giving up 298.0 yards passing per game this year so Peyton Manning is likely licking his chops.  The Redskins have 12 sacks this year so they are going to try to get pressure on Manning to attempt to force him into making some mistakes.  Teams that blitz usually pay a high price against Manning so look for him to be very effective in this game tomorrow night.  This might be the game that Manning looks to Reggie Wayne as the main man with Austin Collie a little banged up.  Joseph Addai is a little big banged up so don’t be surprised if Mike Hart plays a big role in the Colts’ offense tomorrow night.

When the Redskins have the ball:  The Colts’ defense looked good last weekend against the Chiefs…..but Donovan McNabb is no Matt Cassel.  The Redskins want to come out running the ball a bit more than usual with Ryan Torain as the Colts’ D is allowing 142.2 yards rushing and 4.8 yards per carry so far this year.  With the safeties having issues this year for the Colts look for McNabb to target TE Chris Cooley a lot in this game.  He will also look deep to Anthony Armstrong, Santana Moss and maybe even Joey Galloway in this game as long as he has time to throw the ball.  The key for the Redskins will be keeping DEs Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis away from Donovan McNabb.

PREDICTION:  REDSKINS 30, COLTS 27

The Chiefs come into this game as the only undefeated team in the NFL.  The Colts are coming home where they are 1-0 on the year.  Something has to give and here are the matchups in this game:

When the Colts have the ball:  The Colts gameplan has to be to come out throwing the ball.  They need to get a quick lead against the Chiefs and take them out of their offensive gameplan to protect the defense.  The Chiefs have 8 sacks this year so I look for them to blitz a lot in this game.  I see Dallas Clark having a big game as the Chiefs will likely have rookie  safety Eric Berry covering him.  Reggie Wayne will also probably have a good game on Sunday.   The Colts would also like to get Joseph Addai and Donald Brown involved in the offense if they get a quick lead in an effort to keep the Chiefs’ offense on the sideline.

When the Chiefs have the ball:  Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones are going to be the focal point of the Chiefs offense this Sunday.  The Chiefs are averaging 160.7 yards rushing and 4.6 yards per carry so I fully expect them to challenge the Colts D which is allowing 149.5 yards rushing per game and 5.0 yards per carry.  The Colts also must worry about rookie TE Tony Moeaki who has been Matt Cassel’s favorite receiver.  This is a bad matchup for the Colts defense as the Chiefs’ strengths on offense match up perfect with the weaknesses of the Colts.

PREDICTION:  COLTS 30, CHIEFS 24

The Colts swept the Jaguars last season but it wasn’t easy as they only outscored them 49-43.  The Colts want to keep rolling as they have won their last two games by a combined score of 65-27.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Colts have the ball:  The Jaguars are giving up 289 yards passing per game so far this year and opposing QBs have a 106.3 Rating against them.  With that in mind I fully expect the Colts to come out throwing the ball on Sunday.  Peyton Manning completed 51 of 68 passes (75%) for 609 yards with 5 TD passes and 2 INTs against the Jags last season so he probably can’t wait until Sunday.  The Jags do have 7 sacks this year so maybe they can get to Manning and rattle him a bit like the Texans did.  I don’t think that will be the case however as Dallas Clark, Reggie Wayne and Austin Collie are going to be too much for the Jags to contain.  I also think that the Colts will try to get something going on the ground with Joseph Addai and Donald Brown as some point this Sunday.

When the Jaguars have the ball:  The Jaguars only hope in this game is to run the ball against the Colts who are allowing 141.3 yards rushing and 5.0 yards per carry so far this year.  Maurice Jones-Drew played well against the Colts last year as he rushed for 207 yards on 48 carries (4.3 ypc) with 2 TD runs and he also caught 10 passes for 56 yards (5.6 avg) with a TD grab.  The Jaguars will likely keep the passing game to the short variety as they will have a problem giving David Garrard time to throw the ball.  He has already been sacked 9 times this year and Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney have 7 sacks between them.

PREDICTION:  COLTS 30, JAGUARS 24

Everything almost looks too good for the Colts in this game.  The Broncos will be without their top RB (Knowshon Moreno) and CBs Andre’ Goodman and Champ Bailey are banged up.  Here is a look at the matchups:

When the Colts have the ball:  The Colts mixed it up really good last week using both the run and the pass to move up and down the field almost at will against the Giants.  They would like to keep the same mix of play calling this weekend in Denver.  That means that Joseph Addai and Donald Brown will be taking aim at a Broncos’ D that is allowing 121.5 yards rushing and 4.5 yards per carry so far this year.  The Colts will also spread out the field and throw the ball to Dallas Clark,  Reggie Wayne, Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon which will cause the Broncos’ secondary a lot of problems seeing how they are banged up right now.  Throw in the fact that Joseph Addai and Donald Brown will be up against converted DEs at OLB (Robert Ayers and Jarvis Moss) when the Colts throw to them and this game is a recipe for disaster for the Broncos’ D.

When the Broncos have the ball:  The Broncos like to throw the ball but they can’t possibly fight the urge to run it against a Colts’ D that is allowing 188.5 yards rushing and 5.6 yards per carry.  The Broncos have not been able to run the ball too well this year but they will likely be giving the ball to Laurence Maroney (a newcomer) early and often in this game.  If the Broncos have luck in the running game that might slow to Colts pass rush a little bit which would buy Kyle Orton more time to throw the ball.  He has a 103.9 QB Rating so far this year to go along with his 602 passing yards so he has been very effective.  Demaryius Thomas, Eddie Royal, Brandon Lloyd and Jabar Gaffney give him a solid set of WRs so the Colts’ D will likely have their hands full this weekend.

PREDICTION:  COLTS 41, BRONCOS 31