What they're saying: Bills-Colts game predictions
Will the Bills get their fifth home win in 2017 when they host the Colts on Sunday? Find out what the national media thinks in this week's edition of game predictions.
The Indianapolis Colts actually match up pretty well with the Buffalo Bills. The Colts' biggest weakness is their pass defense, and the Bills don't necessarily have the offense to expose that. Indianapolis also has the size up front to slow down the run.
Running the ball is what Buffalo wants to do on offense.
On the other side, Jacoby Brissett is capable of making some big plays in the passing game. However, this is a good Buffalo defense. The Bills play a zone scheme that works well against a passing game like Indianapolis'. The Bills keep things in front of them and force opposing offenses to execute in increments all the way down the field.
Buffalo hasn't been great against the run, but running the ball isn't exactly a strength for the Colts. The Bills secondary will be able to limit big plays, while guys like Jerry Hughes
and Kyle Williams will make life tough on Brissett.
Expect the Bills to escape with a win and keep their playoff hopes alive.
Prediction: Bills 27, Colts 23
MDS’s take: It hasn’t exactly been a successful season in Buffalo, and yet here they are likely to win this week, improve to 7-6 and find themselves right in the thick of the wild card race down the stretch. The Bills are still playoff contenders and have a good chance of finishing 9-7.
MDS’s pick: Bills 28, Colts 20.
Florio’s take: The playoffs remain elusive, but the Bills are good enough to beat a team that has been in a full-season free fall.
Florio’s pick: Bills 24, Colts 14.
The Colts can't stop the run. The Bills can't stop the run. One team has LeSean McCoy , and the other has venerable Frank Gore. Should Tyrod Taylor miss the game for Buffalo, it won’t be easy with Nathan Peterman . But expect the hosts to keep it simple and feed McCoy often to keep their front from being exposed by Gore, Marlon Mack and some Jacoby Brissett. A lot of running, a lot of field goals, a little Bills victory.
PICK: Bills win 19-16.
| TEAM | W | L | T | OVERALL PCT | PF | PA | NET PTS | NET TD | HOME | ROAD | DIV | DIV PCT | CONF | CONF PCT | NON CONF | STREAK | LAST 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NE | 10 | 2 | 0 | .833 | 348 | 223 | 125 | 11 | 4-2 | 6-0 | 3-0 | 1.000 | 7-1 | .875 | 3-1 | 8W | 5-0 |
| BUF | 7 | 6 | 0 | .538 | 240 | 290 | -50 | -6 | 5-2 | 2-4 | 1-2 | .333 | 5-4 | .556 | 2-2 | 1W | 2-3 |
| MIA | 5 | 7 | 0 | .417 | 209 | 298 | -89 | -12 | 3-3 | 2-4 | 1-2 | .333 | 4-4 | .500 | 1-3 | 1W | 1-4 |
| NYJ | 5 | 8 | 0 | .385 | 266 | 311 | -45 | -8 | 4-3 | 1-5 | 2-3 | .400 | 5-5 | .500 | 0-3 | 1L | 2-3 |
Bills slip past Colts in overtime
Details on Buffalo's Week 14 win in overtime against AFC opponent the Indianapolis Colts.
Location: New Era Field, Orchard Park, NY
Regular season records: Buffalo (7-6), Indianapolis (3-10)
In a nutshell:
It may have been the snowiest home game in Bills history. A lake effect snowstorm brought both the Buffalo and Indianapolis offenses to a crawl for much of the day and it took overtime before a winner could be determined.Joe Webb hit Deonte Thompson for a 35-yard pass with two minutes left in OT to put the Bills in scoring territory. Three plays later LeSean McCoy on his 32nd carry ran 21 yards for the game-winning touchdown with 1:33 left for a 13-7 victory.
It may have been the snowiest home game in Bills history. A lake effect snowstorm brought both the Buffalo and Indianapolis offenses to a crawl for much of the day and it took overtime before a winner could be determined.
The Bills and Colts battled the snowy conditions as much as each other Sunday. Buffalo clung to a 7-0 lead for the entire second half, until Indianapolis scored with 1:16 remaining to pull to within one (7-6) and Adam Vinatieri made good on a 43-yard extra point after penalty to tie the game (7-7).
That was followed by a Joe Webb interception, which led to one last chance for the Colts in Buffalo territory with under a minute to play. However, a 43-yard field goal attempt by Vinatieri for the win with one second left was wide left forcing overtime.
Indianapolis appeared to have taken the lead on a two-point conversion pass from Brissett to Doyle after their touchdown drive, but it was negated due to offensive pass interference. The Colts were moved back 10 yards and chose instead to attempt an extra point relying on their 45-year old kicker who delivered.
Buffalo’s only touchdown in regulation came on an eight-yard pass play from Nate Peterman to Kelvin Benjamin at the end of the first half.
With snowfall coming down at a rate of two to three inches per hour during the game from a lake effect storm, both teams relied heavily on the run game as the wind was also blowing steadily at 15-25 miles per hour.
LeSean McCoy rushed for 156 yards on the ground with 48 coming on the team’s first-half touchdown drive. His 32 carries were a single-game career high.
With the win Buffalo remained in the hunt for an AFC Wild Card playoff berth at 7-6 with three games to play.
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Bills vs Colts - Week 14
How it went down:-The Bills got on the board first when Nate Peterman found Kelvin Benjamin for an eight-yard touchdown pass with 27 seconds left in the first half. Benjamin had two receptions for 29 yards on the scoring drive.
-The Colts waited until 1:16 remaining before they finished a possession with points, as Jacoby Brissett found Jack Doyle for a three-yard touchdown reception to cap a marathon-like 19-play drive. Adam Vinatieri then hit an unlikely 43-yard extra point after a penalty to tie the game (7-7).
-LeSean McCoy ran it in from 21 yards out with 1:33 left in overtime to lift the Bills to cap a five-play 65-yard scoring drive and win the game (13-7).
Subplots:-Nate Peterman made his second NFL start in place of the injured Tyrod Taylor , but the weather conditions rendered the passing game non-existent. He finished the game 5-for-10 passing for 57 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed four times for 10 yards.
-With 5:09 left in the third quarter, Peterman was injured on a scramble. When he lowered his head to lunge forward with two tacklers closing on him, it appeared one of the defenders went helmet to helmet with Peterman. He was visibly woozy as he was helped off the field.
-Joe Webb had to replace the injured Nate Peterman at quarterback after a helmet-to-helmet hit at the end of a scramble. Webb had four carries for 24 yards and a big 35-yard pass to set up the game-winning score.
-With 156 rushing yards, LeSean McCoy became the first Bill to eclipse 4,000 scrimmage yards in three seasons since Travis Henry in 2001-2003. He also went over 1,000 yards rushing for the season.
-Kelvin Benjamin returned to the lineup after a two-game absence due to a knee injury. He caught his first touchdown pass as a Bill on an eight-yard reception at the end of the first half. Unfortunately, he also re-injured his knee and left the game in the fourth quarter. He came back into the game briefly at the end of regulation.
-Right tackle Jordan Mills was injured on the same play as Peterman in the third quarter and limped off. He was replaced in the lineup by Conor McDermott . Mills did return to the game.
-Inactive for Buffalo on Sunday were John Miller , Seantrel Henderson , Cordy Glenn , Leonard Johnson , Tyrod Taylor, Khari Lee and Brandon Reilly .
Up next: The Bills host the Miami Dolphins on Dec. 17th for a 1 pm kickoff.
Mood.#GoBills
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