The Indianapolis Colts (5-5) are coming off the bye week to host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-6) at Lucas Oil Stadium for a Week 12 matchup on Sunday.
The sportsbooks have the Colts sitting as slight home favorites and the experts around the league are mostly siding with Indy taking a victory against the NFC South opponent.
Here’s how the Colts Wire staff sees this Week 12 matchup shaking out:
Kevin Hickey: Colts 24, Bucs 20
There are some really interesting matchups in this game. The Bucs have one of the best run defenses in the NFL, and the Colts will be without center Ryan Kelly, who’s been having a strong bounce-back season. Conversely, the Colts have struggled to stop the run without Grover Stewart, but the Bucs have been one of the worst rushing offenses in the entire league.
Meanwhile, the Colts have had an inconsistent passing attack with Gardner Minshew under center, but the Bucs haven’t been able to stop anything through the air over the last two months or so. On top of that, Tampa Bay will be without starting cornerback Jamel Dean and star linebacker Lavonte David.
So this game likely comes down to whichever team takes advantage of those matchups the most. The Colts have struggled at home, winning just one of their five games at Lucas Oil Stadium. However, they’ll come out of the bye week with a little extra information on how to deal with the Bucs on both sides of the ball, and the duo of Michael Pittman Jr. and Josh Downs are able to shine in a home win.
Follow Kevin on Twitter (@KevinHickey11)
Cody Manning: Colts 24, Bucs 17
The Indianapolis Colts find themselves behind early in this contest with Mike Evans giving the secondary problems. The chemistry between him and Baker Mayfield lead to a couple of first-half touchdowns.
The Colts fight back in the second quarter with a strong rushing attack behind Jonathan Taylor. That sets up the play-action for the second half which allows Alec Pierce to feast on Tampa’s secondary to take the lead in the fourth quarter.
The Indy defense holds strong for the victory.
Follow Cody on Twitter (@CodyTalksNFL)
Meghan Hall: Colts 27, Bucs 21
This week, I expect the Colts to pick up another win. The Bucs are very banged up on defense and Indy should find opportunities to capitalize. Gardner Minshew will have to be calm in the pocket to deliver shots down the field and through the middle of a defense that is allowing at least 270 yards a game to opposing QB’s. The game will likely be a back-and-forth contest with huge chunk plays from both sides. But, despite a heavy barrage of points from the Bucs, the Colts find a way survive via a late Baker Mayfield interception.
Follow Meghan on Twitter (@ItsMeghanLHall)
Cody Felger: TBD
Season Standings
| Writer | SU | ATS |
| Kevin Hickey | 7-3 | 7-3 |
| Cody Manning | 7-3 | 6-4 |
| Meghan Hall | 6-3 | 6-3 |
| Cody Felger | 6-3 | 5-3 |
