The Indianapolis Colts (3-5) are on the road Sunday for a Week 9 matchup against the Carolina Panthers (1-6) at Bank of America Stadium.
The sportsbooks have the Colts sitting as road favorites and the experts around the league are mostly siding with Indy taking a road victory.
Here’s how the Colts Wire staff sees this Week 9 matchup shaking out:
Kevin Hickey: Colts 23, Panthers 20
Even though the Colts will be down a few key pieces on both sides of the ball, they are still the better team on paper. That doesn’t always translate to a win, but it should be the expectation. The Panthers barely snuck out a win against the Houston Texans in Week 8 by shutting down the Texans rushing attack.
They won’t have as easy of a time doing that against Jonathan Taylor and Zack Moss, a duo that has begun to form into one of the best in the NFL. As long as Gardner Minshew limits the mistakes, the offense should be able to do plenty to set the pace.
The concerns on defense will come in the form of containing Adam Thielen, which won’t be easy with a patched-up secondary. But consistent pressure can be the key to making Bryce Young uncomfortable.
In the end, the Colts are able to stave off a final drive from the Panthers to end their three-game losing streak.
Follow Kevin on Twitter (@KevinHickey11)
Cody Manning: Colts 31, Panthers 27
The Frank Reich revenge game. The Carolina Panthers offense gets off to a hot start with Reich knowing Gus Bradley’s tendencies. Bryce Young carves up the secondary with the defensive front struggling to get early pressure on him.
The Indianapolis Colts are able to keep pace behind an explosive rushing attack with Jonathan Taylor and Zack Moss. This sets up the play action which leads to a big second-half performance by Alec Pierce.
The Indy defense puts the clamps down in the fourth quarter. The defensive front gets pressure on Young which sets up a big-time interception for Shaquille Leonard. The Colts take advantage to take the lead at the end of the game and close it out on defense.
Follow Cody on Twitter (@CodyTalksNFL)
Meghan Hall: Colts 21, Panthers 17
Before the season, this matchup would have been talked about on every major network. However, dynamics have changed with Richardson out for the season and the Panthers not winning very many games. I don’t expect this to be a knockdown drag-out fight, but I think the Colts get back in the win column as long as they protect the football and play with intensity.
Follow Meghan on Twitter (@ItsMeghanLHall)
Cody Felger: N/A
Season Standings
| Writer | SU | ATS |
| Kevin Hickey | 5-3 | 5-3 |
| Cody Manning | 5-3 | 4-4 |
| Meghan Hall | 4-3 | 5-3 |
| Cody Felger | 5-3 | 5-3 |
