We’re down to the final weeks of the 2021 NFL season. Some teams are well on their way to the playoffs, while others are accepting their fate.
The New England Patriots need to beat the Indianapolis Colts in Saturday night's Week 15 game at Lucas Oil Stadium or they will no longer be the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
The Kansas City Chiefs are currently ahead of the Patriots with a 10-4 record after beating the Los Angeles Chargers in overtime Thursday night. If the Patriots beat the Colts, they also will be 10-4 but leapfrog the Chiefs in the standings based on the conference record tiebreaker.
A loss drops the Patriots to 9-5. They would still have the AFC East division lead in that scenario, but could drop to the No. 3 seed if the Tennessee Titans also beat the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.
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Perry: If the Patriots can survive Indy's "script" they should be in good shape
The Colts aren't likely to be an easy opponent for the Patriots. Indy has won four of its last five games and has plenty of motivation as it tries to hold on to a wild card playoff spot in the AFC.
The Patriots have been very good on the road, though, going a perfect 6-0 so far as the only undefeated AFC team away from home. New England has won seven consecutive games overall and its defense ranks No. 3 in yards allowed per game and No. 1 in points allowed per game.
This NFL legend will take part in pregame tradition before Colts-Patriots
New England Patriots
Patriots-Colts has been a very one-sided rivalry of late, with New England winning the last eight meetings. The most recent Colts victory over the Patriots came in the infamous "4th-and-2" game in 2009.
Here's a roundup of expert predictions for Patriots-Colts (with the predicted score, when given).
Phil Perry, NBC Sports Boston: Patriots 28, Colts 24
Mike Reiss, ESPN: Patriots 20, Colts 17
Rob Ninkovich, ESPN: Patriots
Jeremy Fowler, ESPN: Colts
Gregg Rosenthal, NFL.com: Patriots 27, Colts 24
Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times: Colts 28, Patriots 23
Albert Breer, Sports Illustrated: Patriots
Jenny Vrentas, Sports Illustrated: Patriots
John Breech, CBS Sports: Patriots 20, Colts 17
Nate Davis, USA TODAY Sports: Patriots 30, Colts 23
Bill Bender, Sporting News: Patriots 29, Colts 27
Emmanuel Morgan, New York Times: Patriots +2.5 (ATS pick)
FiveThirtyEight model: Colts 50 percent, Patriots 50 percent (pick 'em)
