2023-10-29 13:00:00
This is the end of a long string of games both on the road and once morest the AFC for the New Orleans Saints, as they play their fifth road game in seven weeks and fourth consecutive interconference game, as they travel to Indianapolis for the first time since 2015 to play the Colts.
And for the remainder of the season – all nine games – the Saints will play teams from the NFC, including four games once morest the NFC South.
For the Colts, this is the start of three of four interconference games, and it is the fourth of five home contests they will play.
How regarding this series as a whole? As we say each week with an interconference matchup, there isn’t a whole ton of history, but any Saints fan knows the most important game ever played in team history was once morest these Colts. What else is there to know?
Who has the series lead? How can we watch? How have the two starting quarterbacks done once morest this opponent? What’s the line? What will the teams be wearing?
All these questions answered (and more) in our weekly history and trends column. Here we go …
SAINTS at COLTS
TIME/TV: Sunday at noon at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The game will be broadcast on FOX on a regional basis with an announcing team of Kevin Kugler and Mark Sanchez with Laura Okmin as the sideline reporter. The WWL radio team is Mike Hoss and Deuce McAllister.
LINE TREND: The money looks to be mostly on the Saints, as this line at Caesars Sportsbook has been trending toward New Orleans since the middle of the week, and it hasn’t moved much back toward Indy since. The Saints were a 1-point underdog as late as Wednesday morning, and as of late Saturday, they were a 2.5-point favorite. The money line has the Saints at -130 to bet straight up, while the Colts are at +110. The over/under total is 43.5. What did I pick in this one? Check out my NFL Week 8 picks column.
WEATHER FORECAST: Good thing there’s a roof on Lucas Oil Stadium. The weather outside the stadium will not be pretty, as it is expected to rain most of the day with highs in the mid-50s.
UNIFORMS: The Saints are wearing their road white jerseys with black numbers and white pants with their traditional gold helmet and white socks. The Colts are wearing their home blue jerseys with white numbers and white stripes on the sleeve. They also will wear their usual white helmets with the horseshoe logo on each side. They are scheduled to wear white pants and blue socks.
REFEREE: Craig Wrolstad is the lead official, and he has been in that role since 2014. New Orleans is 7-3 all time and has won five in a row when he officiates their games, while Indianapolis is 6-4.
TEAM INFO, STREAKS
SAINTS (3-4, 2-2 on the road)
The Saints are ranked 17th in the NFL in overall offense (yards gained per game) and 21st in points scored. They are 22nd in rushing offense and 12th in passing. … The team is fourth in overall defense and sixth in points allowed. They are 12th once morest the run and fourth once morest the pass.
This is the first time since 2004 New Orleans has played four consecutive interconference games. They went 2-2 over that stretch the last time it happened alternating victories each week – winning at Oakland, losing at San Diego, defeating Kansas City and losing to Denver. That is the only other time in team history the Saints have had such a stretch in their schedule.
It used to be a normal occurrence when the Saints would collect more than 400 yards of total offense. No longer. However, it appears that’s not such a bad thing. In fact, it has happened just seven times since Drew Brees retired, and New Orleans has just a 1-6 record in such games, including losses in both of the past two weeks.
Last week marked the sixth time in the short Dennis Allen era the Saints have lost at least two games in a row. However, the previous four times it happened, New Orleans followed a two-game losing streak with a victory, as they have only lost three consecutive games once – in Weeks 2 through 4 last season.
COLTS (3-4, 1-3 at home)
Indianapolis is ranked 10th in the NFL in overall offense (yards gained per game) and sixth in points scored. They are ninth in rushing offense and 10th in passing. … They are 22nd in the NFL in overall defense and 30th in points allowed. The Colts are 21st once morest the run and 19th once morest the pass.
Like the Saints, the Colts have fared better on the road – winning two of three road games and just one of four at home, including last week’s brutal 39-38 loss to Cleveland, in which they led on two separate occasions in the fourth quarter and had a couple very questionable officials’ calls.
Last week’s 456 yards of total offense was the most for Indianapolis since they collected 517 in the season opener last year at Houston – a span of 22 games. It was the highest offensive output they had in a home loss since losing to the Texans, 37-34, in overtime in Week 4 of the 2018 season.
Gardner Minshew is the 10th different quarterback to start for the Colts since the start of the 2018 season and is the fifth different starter at the position in 24 games.
SAINTS vs. COLTS SERIES
All-time: The Saints lead the overall series, 9-5, including the Saints’ 31-17 victory in Super Bowl XLIV on Feb. 7, 2010. Also, New Orleans has now won the past four games in a row (three in the regular season), although the Baltimore Colts won the first game ever played between the two, 30-10, on Dec. 10, 1967 (Saints inaugural season), at Memorial Stadium.
Last meeting: New Orleans won, 34-7, on Dec. 16, 2019, in New Orleans. The last time the Colts won came in the 2007 season opener, as Peyton Manning and Indianapolis broke open a 10-10 halftime tie by scoring 31 second-half points to win 41-10.
All-time in Indianapolis/Baltimore: Series is tied at 3.
All-time in New Orleans: The Saints lead, 5-2.
SERIES BY THE NUMBERS
27.8: The average margin of victory for the winning team in this series in six regular-season games this century. (Saints are 4-2.)
9: Number of games (out of 14) in the series, including playoffs, that have been decided by two touchdowns or more.
37: Years since these teams have entered a game once morest one another with both having losing record.
139: The difference in the teams’ passing yards in the series with a nearly 6,000 combined pass yards between them.
MEMORABLE GAMES IN THE SERIES
Feb. 7, 2010 (Saints 31, Colts 17): There may be a more memorable game or two in Saints history, but this clearly is the most important. (Yes, even more important than the Atlanta game in 2006 that reopened the Dome.) Anyone reading this paragraph knows what happened: with the Saints trailing 17-16 in the fourth quarter, Drew Brees hit Jeremy Shockey for a touchdown, which was followed by a two-point conversion to Lance Moore (that needed to go to replay review).
Then, with the greatest defensive play the Saints have ever had, Louisiana native Tracy Porter intercepted Peyton Manning and went 74 yards for the Pick 6 that sealed the team’s only Super Bowl victory.
Oct. 23, 2011 (Saints 62, Colts 7): It’s by far the largest margin of victory in Saints history (13 points more than second most), as Drew Brees connected on three touchdown passes in the first quarter and finished 31-of-35 for 325 yards and five total scoring passes in front of a national Sunday night audience in the Superdome. Curtis Painter and Dan Orlovsky (no wonder why he doesn’t like the Saints … just kidding) combined to throw for just 102 yards for Indianapolis.
QUARTERBACKS IN THE SERIES
GARDNER MINSHEW is 0-2 vs. NEW ORLEANS
Jan. 1, 2023 (in Philadelphia): L, 20-10. 18-32, 274 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT.
Oct. 13, 2019 (in Jacksonville): L, 13-6. 14-29, 163 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT.
TOTALS: 32-of-61 (.525 completion percentage), 437 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT.
DEREK CARR is 3-3 vs. INDIANAPOLIS (all with Raiders)
Nov. 13, 2022 (in Las Vegas): L, 25-20. 24-38, 248 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT.
Jan. 2, 2022 (in Indianapolis): W, 23-20. 24-31, 255 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT.
Dec. 13, 2020 (in Las Vegas): L, 44-27. 31-45, 316 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT.
Sept. 29, 2019 (in Indianapolis): W, 31-24. 21-31, 189 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT.
Oct. 28, 2018 (in Oakland): L, 42-28. 21-28, 244 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT.
Dec. 24, 2016 (in Oakland): W, 33-25. 21-31, 232 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT.
TOTALS: 142-of-204 (.696 completion percentage), 1,484 yards (247.3 per game), 13 TD, 4 INT.
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