Lions-Colts Capsule
DETROIT (7-9) at INDIANAPOLIS (8-8)
Sunday, 4:25 p.m. EDT, Fox
OPENING LINE - Colts by 5
SERIES RECORD - Colts lead 21-18-2
LAST MEETING - Colts beat Lions 35-33, Dec. 2, 2012
AP PRO32 RANKING - Lions No. 23, Colts No. 16
LIONS 2015 OFFENSE - OVERALL (20), RUSH (32), PASS (9).
LIONS 2015 DEFENSE - OVERALL (18), RUSH (19), PASS (14T).
COLTS 2015 OFFENSE - OVERALL (28), RUSH (29), PASS (22).
COLTS 2015 DEFENSE - OVERALL (26), RUSH (25), PASS (24).
STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES - Lions have lost four straight in series, going 0-3 vs. Peyton Manning, 0-1 vs. Andrew Luck. ... Detroit's last win over Colts was 1997 and only win in Indy was in 1991. ... Lions coach Jim Caldwell led Colts to Super Bowl in first season as NFL head coach, going 14-2 in 2009. ... Offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter wants Lions to play faster and has made no-huddle prime component. ... QB Matthew Stafford had career-high completion percentage of 67.2 percent last season and passer rating of 110.1 over Lions' final eight games, but offensive line allowed 44 sacks and Detroit rushed for league-low 83.4 yards per game. ... WR Golden Tate finished among league's top 10 receptions each of past two seasons (99 catches in 2014, 90 in 2015). ... WR Anquan Boldin needs 4 yards to pass Hall of Famer Andre Reed (13,198) for 16th on NFL's career list. ... Star WR Calvin Johnson retired from Lions in offseason. ... Colts have started 0-2 each of last two seasons and are 2-3 in last five home openers. ... QB Luck expected to make first regular-season start since Nov. 8, 2015. He threw 14-yard TD pass on final play of game to beat Lions in Detroit in 2012. ... DE Kendall Langford has been recovering from August knee surgery and hopes to extend consecutive games streak to 129. ... OLB Robert Mathis, 2013 NFL sacks champion, did not play in preseason but should start Sunday. ... K Adam Vinatieri begins 21st season at No. 3 on NFL's career scoring list, and at age 43 still is oldest player in league. Vinatieri now has spent more time with Colts (11 seasons) than Patriots. ... Vinatieri needs two field goal attempts to become fifth player in league history with 600, and three to tie Jason Hanson (601) for No. 4 all-time. ... Rookie C Ryan Kelly and rookie S T.J. Green, Colts' first and second-round draft picks, both expected to start. ... RB Frank Gore needs 35 yards rushing to pass Thurman Thomas (12,074) for No. 14 on league's career list and 81 to pass Franco Harris (12,120) for No. 13. ... Starting DE Art Jones will miss first of four games for violating NFL's performance enhancing substance policy. Fantasy Tip: Take any Detroit receivers. With Johnson gone, Tate and Marvin Jones will compete for passes that often went to Johnson - and they'll be facing injury-riddled Colts secondary. The Colts also struggled to defend tight ends last season and did not make any key moves to their front seven. So if Eric Ebron (lower right leg) is healthy enough to start for Detroit, he could be sneaky play.
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