Patriots vs. Colts: TV Info, Spread, Injury Updates, Game Time and More

Still on the hunt for his passing-of-the-torch moment against Tom Brady, Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts welcome the New England Patriots to town on the Week 11 edition of Sunday Night Football.

Both teams enter the affair on prime time after bye weeks and as divisional leaders. The last time the Colts took the field, it was a dominant showing against the New York Giants. New England has been hot since early October, having now won five straight.

The names change slowly, but once again these two AFC powers are not only evenly matched and may meet again later down the road, but continue to churn out epic rivalry showdowns to remember.

With Brady and Luck involved, it is difficult to expect anything less.

The Third Time Is a…

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Much has been written, whispered and the like about Luck's encounters with Peyton Manning, and rightfully so. But Luck has encountered Brady twice to disastrous results, a trend that some would consider a serious measuring stick.

Luck has two losses against the Patriots, including last year's playoff debacle. He has seven interceptions over the course of those games. Brady? Three touchdowns and no picks—and the two wins.

As SportsCenter illustrates, there is a mutual respect between the two quarterbacks:

Still, that respect does not stop Luck from going back and attempting to right his wrongs.

"You think about it," Luck said, per Kevin Bowen of Colts.com. "Especially when you come back from the offseason and you're watching cutups of games, what went wrong. You do see the cutups and think, 'OK, what could we have done differently?'"

	REC	YDS	AVG	TD
T.Y. Hilton	56	937	16.7	3
Reggie Wayne	42	504	12.0	2

Really, it is hard to imagine what Luck can do differently at this point. He has thrown for 3,085 yards and 26 touchdowns to nine interceptions this season while completing 63.6 percent of his passes.

Luck's abilities through the air have made the lives of veteran wideout Reggie Wayne and T.Y. Hilton much easier, not to mention masked the inefficiencies of the league's 14th-ranked rushing attack that is sporadic at times.

After a strange Week 4 collapse and the last time the Patriots actually lost, Brady has been back to elite form with or without tight end Rob Gronkowski playing a notable amount of snaps, amassing 2,392 yards and 22 touchdowns to three interceptions on a 64.1 completion percentage.

Whether they want to be or not, the quarterbacks are the focal point of Sunday's marquee matchup. Given their respective bodies of work and say in how the game plays out, it is quite fitting the two are shoved into the spotlight together.

Those In the Way

Believe it or not, there are other players and units on display Sunday night.

New England once again poses a serious threat to Luck, but this time because the defense is one of the league's better units against the pass.

That sort of thing happens when a name such as Darrelle Revis is involved. The New England secondary is a few weeks removed from holding Manning himself to just 438 yards and a pair of touchdowns and interceptions, pretty good numbers considering he turned right around and tossed five scores the week after.

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New England also does a sound job of putting pressure on passers, although leading sack artist Chandler Jones (4.5) may not be good to go. Still, a note from ESPN Stats & Information suggests things around Luck are slowly degrading in this area:

"In the first 7 weeks of the season, Andrew Luck was pressured on 18.5 percent of dropbacks, the 6th-lowest percentage among qualified quarterbacks. Since Week 8 (facing the Steelers and Giants), Luck has been pressured on 27.8 percent of dropbacks, 20th among quarterbacks."

The Indianapolis defense is something that has held Luck back this season. The unit ranks 27th this year with an average of 263.6 yards surrendered through the air, something the staff attempts to mask through consistent pressure, per ESPNBoston.com's Mike Reiss:

If a barometer exists for where Luck is at in his career, it is his ability to take down a top defense while making up for his.

For Brady, Manning has already been checked off the list this season. Luck is next, so long as he can keep his composure under immense pressure.

When: Sunday, November 16, 8:30 p.m. ET

Where: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana

Watch: NBC

Betting Info: (via Odds Shark)

• Over/Under: 58
• Spread: Indianapolis (-3)

Team Injury Reports

Player	Pos.	Status
Brandon LaFell	WR	Questionable
Chandler Jones	DE	Out

Player	Pos.	Status
Erik Walden	LB	Questionable

Injury info will be updated once released, via ESPN.com.

Prediction

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That note about Revis and Co. holding Manning to just two scores is quite scary. 

Not that Luck cannot be trusted to overcome a strong defense, but his own has held him back plenty this season in the face of great competition. In fact, the Colts defense has surrendered 30 or more points three times this season—against Denver, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh—and all three times the Colts have lost.

Brady is going to get his 30 points against a weak secondary. Luck simply cannot do it on his own, although he will be asked to once again.

For now, Brady once again fends off the inevitable.

Prediction: Patriots 35, Colts 28

Note: Stats courtesy of NFL.com. All advanced metrics via Pro Football Focus (subscription required).