TNF: Broncos vs Colts Prediction and Game Thread

The Colts head to Denver for Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime

Thursday Night Football, Week 5. Tonight the Denver Broncos host the Indianapolis Colts in an AFC showdown. The Broncos are 3.5 point favorites at home according to DraftKings Sportsbook.

These two teams both made moves to acquire accomplished veteran quarterbacks in the 2022 offseason. The Broncos made a trade for Russell Wilson, and the Colts made a trade to acquire Matt Ryan. Both teams expected the acquired veteran quarterbacks to stablize what had been a sore spot at the quarterback position and provide a level of play that might vault them into Super Bowl contention. Thus far things have not quite worked out that way. Fans for both teams are wondering if their newly acquired veteran quarterbacks are cooked.

The 2-2 Broncos come into this game off a 32 – 23 road loss to the previously winless Las Vegas Raiders. The 23 points the Broncos scored in that loss was the high point for the lifeless Broncos offense this season. Prior to the loss to the Raiders the Broncos had not scored more than 16 points in any game this season. Needless to say that was not the sort of offensive production the Broncos envisioned when they acquired Wilson. The narrative has swiftly flipped from “Let Russ cook” to “Is Russ cooked?” To make matters worse, the Broncos lost their star running back Javonte Williams for the season last week when he incurred a torn ACL injury.

Though the Broncos offense has struggled, the defense has been superb, keeping the Broncos competitive. The Broncos rank 4th in the NFL in yards allowed and 5th in points allowed. If the offense can get untracked this could be a very dangerous Broncos team going forward.

The 1-2-1 Colts come into this game off a 24 – 17 loss to the Tennessee Titans last week. The Colts offense has been a huge disappointment with Matt Ryan under center. They have scored just 57 points all season, ranking dead last in the NFL in scoring. The Colts have had problems passing the ball, they’ve had problems turning the ball over, and their running game has been terrible, even with All Pro running back Jonathan Taylor in the lineup. Taylor will miss this game with an injury, making a bad situation worse for the Colts. In addition, the Colts’ best defensive player, linebacker Shaquille Leonard, will also miss tonight’s game with an injury. Missing their best offensive player and their best defensive player does not bode well for the Colts’ chances in this game.

I’m taking the Broncos at home against a hobbled Colts team tonight. I have submitted my pick using the widget from our partners at Tallysight. You can follow all my picks throughout the season, as I prove for another season how I’m not made to be a gambler. Seriously, I cannot stress enough how bad an idea it would be to bet real money based on my picks. Don’t do it. Don’t even consider it. Make your own picks, and good luck. And if you do bet, consider using our friends at DraftKings Sportsbook.

Let us know your pick below, and use this thread to discuss the game.