Horseshoe Huddle Roundtable: Colts vs. Buccaneers | Week 12 | Predictions & Picks
One week after rolling to a dominant win over the Buffalo Bills on the road in a game in which few gave the Indianapolis Colts a chance to beat arguably the best team in the AFC, the road remains tough for the Colts in Week 12.
On the same day in which franchise icon Robert Mathis is inducted into the Colts' Ring of Honor, Indianapolis welcomes back a familiar foe in Tampa Bay's Tom Brady, who makes his first appearance in Indianapolis since 2015 (a New England Patriots' 34-27 win in Week 6 that season). Brady and the Bucs ride into town in a bit of a slump having lost two of their lats three, though Tampa Bay beat the New York Giants 30-10 on Monday Night Football in Week 11.
With a high-flying passing attack and a fearsome defense, the Buccaneers pose a real challenge to the Colts in Week 12. Can Indianapolis run the football with consistency against the best run defense in football? Can Indianapolis's defense force Brady into a number of mistake like they did to Buffalo's Josh Allen in Week 11?
Horseshoe Huddle's Zach Hicks, Andrew Moore, Jake Arthur and Josh Carney all took a shot at predicting the outcome of the Week 12 matchup between the Colts and Buccaneers.
Zach Hicks (@ZachHicks2) (6-3): The Colts are coming off of one of their more dominant wins in recent history. Unfortunately, they get a quick turnaround against the defending Super Bowl champs. With the Bucs’ elite run defense and high level passing game, the Colts are going to need Carson Wentz to have a big game if they want to win this one. Overall, I just don’t think Wentz can out-duel Tom Brady.
Pick: Buccaneers 31, Colts 28
Andrew Moore (@AndrewMooreSI) (8-1): Not only is beloved former Colt Robert Mathis going into the Ring of Honor on Sunday, Colts archenemy Tom Brady leads the Tampa Bay Buccaneers into Lucas Oil Stadium. With a playoff atmosphere certain, expect the Colts to rely once again on superstar running back Jonathan Taylor as they try to “Run The Damn Ball” against the top rush defense in the NFL. While a high scoring affair is likely in order, I believe it'll be up to Carson Wentz to lead a game-winning drive late to secure the victory. Will he be able to do so? I hope he proves me wrong.
Pick: Buccaneers 30, Colts 27
Jake Arthur (@JakeArthurNFL): (7-2): N/A
Pick: N/A
Josh Carney (@ByJoshCarney) (7-2): The Colts sure proved me wrong in Week 11, so much so that I'm the conductor of the train moving forward, at least in the roundtable pieces here at Horseshoe Huddle. Tampa Bay is in a real funk as of late. The win over the Giants is one that I can write off as nothing more than something they should have done. Playing a hot team like the Colts though? That's a real challenge. The Buccaneers have a great run defense, but the Colts have one of the best rushing attacks in football. Something has to give. I like the Colts' chances in this one, along with Michael Pittman Jr. having a chance to go off against a depleted secondary.
Pick: Colts 33, Buccaneers 27
Have thoughts on the predictions from Horseshoe Huddle's experts regarding Colts-Buccaneers? Drop a line in the comments section below letting us know how you feel!
Follow Josh on Twitter @ByJoshCarney.
