Patriots-Colts Thursday Night Football Predictions
BOSTON (CBS) -- Ready or not, it's game day in New England.
The Patriots take on the Colts on Thursday Night Football, looking to build off their 38-7 drubbing of the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. The Colts meanwhile head to Gillette following a disappointing overtime loss to the Houston Texans, in which their head coach essentially gave Houston the game. Everything is stacked against them, with the Patriots 10-point favorites.
You never know what can happen on Thursday Night Football, but the Patriots haven't lost to Indianapolis in almost a decade. The WBZ-TV/CBS Boston sports team doesn't see that streak coming to an end this evening, with everyone predicting a fairly easy Patriots victory:
Steve Burton, WBZ-TV
The Patriots have eight players listed as questionable for this one, including Rob Gronkowski. Reports say he will play, so that's big for Tom Brady and the Pats offense. They also get Julian Edelman back, which is a huge spark for a team that just crushed the Dolphins.
The Colts, on the other hand, have seven players already ruled out for tonight, including star wide receiver T.Y. Hilton. This one shouldn't be close.
Patriots 31, Colts 17
Dan Roche, WBZ-TV
So much is in the Patriots' favor for this one. They somewhat righted their ship Sunday against Miami. They are playing at home where the defense can feed off the crowd. Tom Brady has enough weapons with Julian Edelman returning, Josh Gordon getting comfortable in the offense, and Gronk expected to play. The Colts are banged up right now with seven players out, including wide receiver T.Y. Hilton, and six others questionable (including Adam Vinatieri). Andrew Luck is coming off a career day in a 37-34 overtime loss to Houston where he threw for 464 yards and four touchdowns, but he had Hilton for much of that game. He's also 0-5 against the Patriots in his career, including the playoffs.
Patriots 35, Colts 21
Levan Reid, WBZ-TV
Rob Gronkowski is reportedly going to play on this short week, but who knows how healthy he is. But all hail the squirrel. Let's welcome back Julian Edelman!
The feeling is Jules, who has looked great in practice this week by the way, will help fill the Gronk void if needed. Plus, the Pats now have a semblance of a running game, and that is always a very positive strategy against the Colts.
Indianapolis will be without T.Y. Hilton and tight end Jack Doyle. Good Luck, Andrew. It won't be an easy victory, but the Pats will earn a weekend off.
Patriots 28, Colts 10
Michael Hurley, WBZ-TV
It feels like we might get an old-fashioned boring Thursday Night Football game. The Colts don't have much punch, and though the Patriots may be without a full-speed and full-power Rob Gronkowski, they're not nearly in a position where they'd have to start worrying about losing a game to the Colts.
The Patriots haven't lost to the Colts since 2009. Obviously, players and coaches change from year to year, but through it all, the Patriots being able to beat up on the Colts has been a constant.
That's not going to change. Not with a rookie head coach dealing with his first-ever short week, and having to travel to face Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. This one's over before it starts.
Patriots 27, Colts 10
Matthew Geagan, WBZ-TV
Julian Edelman is back. Rob Gronkowski is reportedly going to play. It's not a good day to be a Colt.
Indy is coming to Foxboro on a short week following a tough overtime loss. A rookie head coach is going against Bill Belichick. Andrew Luck doesn't have his No. 1 receiver or tight end.
It's Thursday night, so anything can happen. Anything but a Colts win, that is. Wild and crazy things tend to occur when the Pats play the Colts, whether it's an offensive linemen scoring touchdowns, controversial fourth-down tries, or whatever the heck that fake punt was that the Colts ran back in 2015. So at least we have that going for us, which is nice.
Patriots 27, Colts 13
Tune in to Patriots 5th Quarter on myTV38 for full postgame reaction and analysis, plus Bill Belichick and Tom Brady LIVE, following Thursday night's Patriots-Colts tilt.
