We have had NFL 2022 action on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and we will get it on Boxing Day as well with the Monday Night Football crew heading to Indiana for the clash between the Indianapolis Colts and the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Colts are playing out time on their season after their disastrous collapse last week so this is a much bigger match for the Chargers, who have already seen rivals for the wildcard spot lose this week meaning they can close in on a postseason place here.
Indianapolis Colts
A season that has never really got started for the Indianapolis Colts hit a new low last week when they surrendered the biggest lead in NFL history to lose to the Minnesota Vikings. That will have sent shockwaves through the Colts building and already a change has been made with Nick Foles taking over from Matt Ryan as the quarterback for this match. There is no injury with Ryan so the fallout from last week has already begun.
Surrendering a 33-0 lead was one thing last week but it might be the worst thing to happen to the Colts was star running back Jonathan Taylor picking up what could be a season ending injury. The biggest surprise about their collapse last week was just how their defence fell apart. Admittedly it is a tough gig playing when there is little at stake but this is a defence which statistically ranks third in the league so to cough up the plays they did might speak volumes.
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Los Angeles Chargers
While one team was surrendering meekly last week, the other was battling hard to keep their playoff hopes in their own hands. On the bare form you would suggest that the Bolts needing a last-gasp field goal to beat a Tennessee Titans who are in a real slump at the minute isn’t a great thing but at this stage of a season any win is welcome, especially when you’ve had to deal with the running threat of Derrick Henry.
The positive of last week was that Justin Herbert was able to get the ball to three very good quality receivers. You wouldn’t say he had the best game, it certainly wasn’t the cleanest, but he did enough when it mattered to get the job done. His form could be key because this defence is continuing to flatter to deceive, particularly against the run, and so it might be that the Chargers need to win one or two shootouts between now and when their season is done.
Betting
I think the likelihood is that the Los Angeles Chargers win this match but I would be amazed if there isn’t some sort of positive reaction from the Indianapolis Colts after that surrender last week. The fact this match is on primetime will probably assist them in mustering up a bit of fight to at least show their fans that they care. Nick Foles also has the chance to show he is still relevant as a quarterback so if the Chargers do win I certainly don’t think they’ll win going away but the fact they are playing for so much would make me side with them if I had to.
If the Chargers do win this match then I would imagine that Austin Ekeler could be a key man. He is a running back by trade but I think he could be more important in the passing game here. There is surely no way this Colts defence allow themselves to be passed on down the field like they were in that second period last week so Herbert might need to check the ball down to his running back to get the chains moving. As it happens the weakness in the passing defence of the Colts is to running backs, with Dalvin Cook going for more than 100 yards in the air against them last week. Ekeler has been a regular in the passing game. He has caught seven or more passes in eight out of the 14 matches this season which makes me think he’ll be a focus of the game. He has a 32.5 receiving yards line which he has covered in 10 out of 14 matches and with the Colts struggling to control running backs in the passing game I think Ekeler can extend that to 11 in 15 here.
Tips
Back A.Ekeler – Over 32.5 receiving yards for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with Bet365
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