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Even though one team is 6-0, and the other is 3-4, Week 8 of Monday Night Football will feature two division leaders going head-to-head. The undefeated Carolina Panthers will be looking to extend their current 10-game regular season winning streak, while the Indianapolis Colts will be looking to regain their form from 2014. It looks like a mismatch on paper, but could the Colts pull off the huge upset?
If the Colts are going to leave Charlotte with a victory, offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton will have to figure out a way to get the running game going. Last week against the New Orleans Saints, the offense got too pass happy early on, which led to the Saints jumping out to a 27-0 lead. If the Colts’ offense can’t create any holes for Frank Gore, Chuck Pagano‘s team will drop to 3-5.
To go along with the Colts’ offense being too pass-happy are the struggles of Andrew Luck. Despite Luck battling a shoulder injury, Hamilton has continued to call for over 40 passing attempts a game, which hasn’t worked out well at all. It makes sense with the weapons the Colts have at receiver and tight end, but it’s just not working and changes have to be made to the overall game plan heading into Monday night.
Fully expect the Colts’ defense to load up the box in an attempt to slow down the Panthers’ No. 1 ranked rushing attack. Defensive coordinator Greg Manusky has had trouble coming up with a scheme to stop the run this season as the Colts rank 23rd in the league, allowing 122.7 yards rushing per game. Without bringing his safeties closer to the line of scrimmage, the Panthers’ offensive line should have its way with the Colts.
If Manusky deploys his safeties to assist with the running game, expect Panthers offensive coordinator Mike Shula to counter by exploiting the middle of the field with Greg Olsen and also taking shots deep with Ted Ginn Jr. With the improvements Cam Newton has made with his accuracy, the Panthers’ passing game is much more of a weapon than it has been in recent years.
One of these weeks, the Colts are going to put it all together and look like one of the best teams in the NFL. I just don’t believe it will be this week. The Panthers are a bad matchup for the Colts, especially on the road and in a loud and boisterous environment on Monday night. Newton and the Panthers will run their regular season winning streak to 11 and remain undefeated in 2015 at 7-0.
Prediction: Carolina 31, Indianapolis 20
Jason Fletcher is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @JasonFletcher25, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google+.
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