The Colts will meet up to play the struggling 2-7 New England Patriots in Frankfurt, Germany this weekend. The Patriots lead the series against Indy 49-29 and 4-1 in the playoffs. While these matchups, once upon a time, were lopsided and dominated by the Pats, this new era of Patriots is currently the worst team in the AFC.

Several factors are contributing to the Patriots woes this season, but the main issue is the offense led by QB Mac Jones, who has already been benched once this season. The defense, however, for the Patriots is still a Bill Belichick led defense that is still making plays. Unfortunately for them, the offense has not been up to par and blame could be pushed to Mac Jones and the offensive coordinator, Bill O’Brien.

To give a glimpse into this offense’s rankings, the Patriots have scored more than 21 points only once in a win against the Buffalo Bills. Other than that win, they scored 20 points in a losing effort to the Eagles and have not put up 20 or more points in any other game. To make matters worse for this offense, they have killed themselves with turnovers.

The recipe for success in this league is clear – take care of the football on offense and create turnovers on defense. As solid as the Patriots defense has been, all things considered with the offense, they have struggled to create turnovers of their own. The Colts and Gardner Minshew got their act together last week against the Panthers in terms of taking care of the football, but a Bill Belichick defense is still a different kind of defense to go up against.

The Final Down

The Colts are coming off a good defensive performance against a struggling Carolina panthers offense and will have another opportunity to exploit a struggling offense in the Patriots. The Colts offense has shown moments of explosion and has the capability of 30+ points per game. However when Gardner Minshew is asked to throw the ball a ton, turnovers ensue.

The key for the Colts to leave Frankfurt with a win is 1). Run the football and commit to the run, 2). force Mac Jones to throw down the field – allowing the edge rushers time to get home, and 3). Get Michael Pittman Jr. and Alec Pierce involved early with screens and jump passes, but Minshew has to avoid the turnovers.

The Colts will need to get off to a quick start as they cannot play from behind and hope to pull out the victory. The Patriots defense will play them tough but ultimately, the Patriots offensive woes will be the reason the Colts come out with the win.

Colts – 24

Patriots – 16