The 4-5 Indianapolis Colts are coming off a bye week but won 27-24 over the Denver Broncos on November 8 and the Colts are tied with Houston for the lead in the AFC South. Having Indianapolis Colts veteran quarterback Matt Hasselbeck under center instead of the younger Andrew Luck should be more of a downgrade than it actually has been this 2015 National Football League regular season, and one can argue that the Atlanta Falcons are catching a pretty nice break.
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Atlanta’s defense must find some pass rush to make life hard for Hasselbeck, who still has skills. This one was on the offense, which totally bogged down in the second half. Adam Vinatieri gave the Colts their first lead of the game on a 43-yard field goal with 52 seconds remaining.
Matt Ryan is the leader of this offense, and is underachieving this season.
Then the Falcons lost four of their next five games. You can’t let that play affect the remainder of the game because you have a lot more going on. Just like that, after trailing by 14 points on two occasions, the Colts had tied it up. This marks the first of a two-game home stretch, with the Minnesota Vikings visiting the dome next week. It was the 26 game-winning kick in the final minute of regulation or overtime of his illustrious career, and came in his 300 regular-season game.
The Colts just may have found their long-sought return specialist. “Don’t judge the scoreboard and our defense did a great job of keeping us in it”. If the defense continues to keep games close by forcing turnovers, the Colts have an excellent chance to win the majority of the six remaining games. Of course, he was supposed to knock it down. Two of their touchdowns went to fullback Patrick DiMarco.
Check out our National Football League odds page for instant line updates on every game. In other words, Hasselbeck gets it out of his hands in no time.
Freeman was running very well before he left Sunday’s game. Ryan just jabbed the ball at running back Tevin Coleman instead of sticking in his stomach and pulling it back out.
Hasselbeck is no Luck and the team will welcome the younger passer back with open arms when healthy. “Everything that we want to accomplish is still out there, the playoffs and possibly trying to win our division and go to the Super Bowl”. In Andrew Luck’s seven starts, he’s been pressured 111 times, a 15.85 average.
NOTES: Atlanta WR Julio Jones finished with 160 yards on nine catches….
Atlanta got off to a fast start by winning all of their first 6 contests.
There was no shortage of big penalties from both teams. But Freeman must bounce back from a dismal performance two weeks ago against San Francisco when he had 12 yards on 12 carries. With the Falcons backed up near their own goal line, Ryan executed a play-action fake. A late hit against Hasselbeck by Paul Soliai pushed the Colts into Atlanta territory. He completed 23-of-32 passes for 213 yards.
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The Atlanta offense couldn’t do anything after that, managing only 67 yards and as many turnovers as first downs (three each). Atlanta was winning games in the fourth quarter, taking care of the football, and were moving the football methodically through the air and convincingly on the ground. Robert Mathis’ playing time and effectiveness were limited by muscle cramps in his right arm.
