Vontae Davis Will Be X-Factor For Indianapolis Colts In Week 9

By Tyson Sweet @The12thDude on October 29, 2014

The Indianapolis Colts are coming off a game in which they were absolutely embarrassed by Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ aerial attack. Big Ben was able to throw for 522 yards and six touchdowns, and he did all that without throwing a single interception or losing the ball. In fact, Big Ben only had nine incompletions all game, despite putting the ball in the air 49 times. That is what you call a complete beat down, and that is the formula that Eli Manning and the New York Giants will look to replicate as best they can during their Week 9 matchup against the Colts.

That being said, the Giants won’t be able to do that same type of damage for a couple of reasons:

Firstly, the Colts were without their star cornerback Vontae Davis for most of the game after Davis left with a knee injury. At age 26, Davis has truly become one of the top cornerbacks in the NFL, so it stands to reason that the Steelers had it quite a bit easier once he left the game with an injury.

Secondly, the Giants’ passing attack is nowhere near the same level as Pittsburgh’s. Big Ben leads an offense that is ranked second in the league, just behind Andrew Luck and Co. The Giants, meanwhile, remain near the bottom. However, Manning has been efficient — he has 14 touchdowns to just five interceptions. They are capable of putting up bigger passing numbers if needed, and even though they can’t match Pittsburgh’s offense, they will likely give it their best shot.

The important matchup between the Colts and Giants will take place on Monday Night Football, which makes it even more likely that Davis will play since he has one more full day to recover from leaving with a knee injury this past Sunday. The MRI showed nothing significant, according to coach Chuck Pagano, so most fully expect him to be on the field.

Davis has the ability to force the Giants to try and run against the Colts’ defensive front-seven in order to open things up in the passing game. The Colts, however, have been pretty good against the run, so Davis could essentially force the Giants to fall right into their trap. Despite what happened last week, the Colts’ defense is very much improved, and Davis is Pagano’s best defensive player. Come Monday night, Davis will be the x-factor for the Colts.

Tyson Sweet is a sports writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @The12thDude, like him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google!