Who Will Win: Colts or Packers
What would have been one of the most electric matchups between young quarterbacks ended up one-sided. With Jordan Love’s injury late in the game against the Eagles, the entire matchup chemistry has changed. The Colts are now the betting favorite in this matchup. Behind Anthony Richardson and Jonathan Taylor, we expect to see a fairly low-scoring game with plenty of rushing.
Overall, we agree with the books that the Colts will pull out their first-season win at home, especially playing against a week two replacement quarterback in Malik Wilis. The Colts should be able to take over this game offensively.
Who Will Score First
This is a tricky question for this game, considering both sides are well-matched. We’ll lean on the Colts here. The main reasoning behind this is just the quarterback situation. Anthony Richardson has already shown his connection and ability to move the ball down the field with this team, almost taking out the division’s favorite Houston team. The elite trio of offensive talent the Colts wields makes them a dangerous team every time they have the ball.
This game will truly be a wild card with Willis at the helm of the Packers. Considering his vastly different play style compared to Love. We’re likely to see him move outside of the pocket much more, but we don’t think that will assist in their scoring ability this game.
Will the Points Total be Over or Under 42
We’re heavily leaning towards the under here. This game will probably be decided by the run game on both sides, with both teams walking out blue-chip running backs in Taylor and Jacobs. We expect the clock to be moving and keep this game relatively short. If that happens, we could see this game end with relatively low scores. This game will have relatively few scores unless Richardson decides to air big like last weekend. That’s not even factoring in Willis again. The Packers’ offense could easily be dead on arrival. Especially with what we saw out of Jacobs last week, this could easily be a match-up where the Colts dominate from the first kick.
Players to Score a Touchdown
- Jonathan Taylor
- Jayden Reed
- Christian Watson
- Anonai Mitchell
Out of this assortment of guys, there is a clear favorite to score here. Jonathan Taylor will be the top choice to reach the end zone out of this group. However, if you’re feeling like taking a chance, Jayden Reed did have some explosive plays last week. It’s hard to say if that was a one-time deal or if he is turning into the WR1 on the roster. This week will be very revealing, especially with Willis, as to whether or not Reed is the real deal. But if you want to hedge on him being real, it might be worth the extra points taking Reed over Taylor. Otherwise, we’d say just go safe with it, pick Taylor.
How many passing yards for Anthony Richardson OVER UNDER 230 Yards
Richardson has a cannon for an arm, but that’s not his best feature. In his week 1 match-up, he only threw 19 times and connected on 9 of those attempts. However, he still managed to have 212 yards on just those 9 receptions. That’s an insane 23 yards per reception. Richardson will either launch it deep for a huge gain, or he will take it himself. So, with a line at 230 yards, we’d say go for the under. Not that we don’t think he can, but Richardson depends on those long bombs landing, which are just too inconsistent.
Which Player Will Have More Receiving Yards
- Michael Pittman Jr
- Jaylen Reed
- Alec Pierce
- Christian Watson
Surprisingly, we gravitate towards Alec Pierce for the most receiving yards. It was the best receiver on the Colts last week, bringing in several long bombs from Richardson. Pierce finished with 125 yards of offense, averaging 45 yards per catch. That insane production isn’t probably going to happen again this week, but regardless, he appears to have the best chemistry with Richardson at the moment. We would generally lean towards Pittman, but we want to see it before we do. Hopefully, we will see Pittman and Richardson connect a little more this weekend.
Other than that, we are not optimistic about the Packers’ passing game in this game. With a new quarterback and one who isn’t known for his passing chops, yeah, pass.
Who has More Rushing Yards
- Jonathan Taylor
- Josh Jacobs
This is a toss-up for all the wrong reasons after week 1. Jacobs did not look like the man you led the league in rushing a couple of seasons ago. However, neither did Taylor, who only earned 48 yards on 16 attempts. Both backs struggled to get down the field early. It may just be some early-season rust or, in the case of Jacobs, a new team adjustment. Whatever it is, though, we expect both teams to have a better showing from their backs this week. We could see Jacobs edge out Taylor on total yards solely because we expect a more conservative offense from Green Bay. With Richardson taking so many rushing attempts himself, it might make it hard for Taylor to catch up in attempts. We will have to go with Jacobs here.
