Taking place across the 10-game Saturday NFL preseason slate, the Atlanta Falcons will take on the Indianapolis Colts.
Both these teams are still searching for their first preseason victory. The Atlanta Falcons fell 27-7 at the hands of the Denver Broncos, while the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots fought to a 13-13 tied in their preseason opener.
Looking at the odds for this matchup, the Colts enter as 3.5-point favorites and hold -175 odds of winning outright on DraftKings Sportsbook. The Falcons hold +145 odds of pulling off the upset with the game total set at 36.5 points.
Falcons vs. Colts prediction, pick
Atlanta Falcons preview
The Falcons were blown out by the Broncos in their first preseason matchup by a final score of 27-7. Atlanta was held scoreless until late in the third quarter, when a 17-yard touchdown drive was set up by a Broncos’ fumble in their own territory. The Falcons put up just 192 yards of total offense, with the offense struggling in just about every notable category.
Former eighth overall pick Michael Penix Jr. has yet to be cleared for full contact and did not step foot on the field for the opener, nor will he for the remainder of the preseason. Tua Tagovailoa got the start under center, but completed just three of his five pass attempts for 22 passing yards and a fumble. Neither Cooper Rush nor Jack Strand impressed in their Falcons debuts either. Rush completed just seven of his 19 pass attempts for 62 passing yards and a pair of interceptions. Strand was limited to six completions on his 12 attempts for 50 passing yards, but did add the lone touchdown on the ground.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski will be facing his former team in the matchup after spending the last six seasons as head coach in Cleveland. But he told reporters the starters are not expected to see the field in this matchup, and depth will be more of the priority of the evaluations following a few days of joint practices against this Browns’ team. There are still quite a few positional battles to note. The quarterback position is just about entirely up for grabs, Trey Sermon is looking to establish his place in the running back room, the wide recover depths chart is not yet fully established, and there are a few battles in the defensive secondary.
Indianapolis Colts preview
The Colts finished in a 13-13 tie during their first preseason matchup against the Patriots. New England leaped out to a 10-0 lead in the matchup before Indianapolis gradually clawed back into it to tie the game, and a potential game-winning field goal by the Patriots was off the mark. Starting quarterback Daniel Jones continues to recover from his torn Achilles, and the team is holding him out until the regular season kicks off.
Former fourth overall pick Anthony Richardson got the start in the preseason opener, as he desperately searches for his footing in the league. The Florida product completed 11 of his 14 pass attempts for 145 passing yards and an interception, while adding 53 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown on the ground. Riley Leonard also took snaps, completing 10 of his 21 passes for 89 passing yards and an interception of his own. These two are expected to split the entirety of the game with each taking a half for this matchup.
Indianapolis is following suit and planning on resting the majority of their starters for this matchup. Competition at the wide receiver position is stiff, with the depth chart fairly open beyond Alec Pierce and Josh Downs. Tight end, linebacker, and defensive end are also in the midst of fierce positional battles. While the names may not be quite as familiar as you would hope, this is a game that carries plenty of weight for the players fighting for the final roster spots, and expect the level of intensity to reflect this.
Falcons vs. Colts best bet
Neither of these teams showed much promise in their preseason debut, and the outlook shouldn’t be much better heading into this game. Both sides will be resting some key names, and each was bothered by ineffective quarterback play as the root of their offensive issues.
My lean is toward the under in this matchup given the lack of talent and chemistry that both sides will be leaning on. But I am backing the Colts to produce the outright victory and cover the -3.5-point spread in this matchup.
The Falcons will be handing the ball to undrafted rookie Jack Strand for a full half of football. While he showed the most promise at the quarterback position in the preseason opener, this is a low bar to clear, and this is still a steep leap in competition for the former DII standout. He threw for just 50 yards in the opening preseason game, and don’t expect the quality of weapons around him to make life much easier. While Rush has a higher floor for what is expected, given his eight seasons of NFL experience, his limitations have also been put on display.
On the other side of the matchup, Anthony Richardson plays a backyard style of football that is a clean fit for this type of preseason setting. He did a nice job utilizing his physical tools to pick up yards and score a rushing touchdown in the opener. Richardson and the Colts seem equally eager for a fresh start, but the best case for both sides is to showcase his abilities. Leonard does not have as tantalizing physical tools, but made appearances in five games last year and is also capable of taking off and using his legs.
Expect the quality of quarterback play to favor the Colts in this matchup and for this to be the difference in this game. The Atlanta offense looked completely lifeless, and expect this to carry over into this matchup. There should not be very high expectations for the quality of performance for either side. But Richardson provides an X-factor that is worth keeping tabs on, given his desire for a trade and the organization’s lack of longterm belief in him. Except a clear effort to be made to showcase his skillset and put him in favorable positions, with this resulting in a Colts’ victory. Even as he still is learning how to play the quarterback position, there are physical tools he possesses that you cannot teach, and expect him to shine in this type of setting.
