Falcons at Colts
THE STORY: The Indianapolis Colts have dominated the Atlanta Falcons over the years, winning 13 of 14 all-time meetings, and the Colts hope to harness that success into their first win of the season Sunday at Lucas Oil Field. Of course, Peyton Manning has overseen the last three of those victories and he will be relegated to the sideline. The Falcons' only win in the series came in 1998, a 28-21 win in Atlanta.
TV: FOX, 1 p.m. ET. LINE: Falcons -7, O/U 44.5
ABOUT THE FALCONS (4-3): Atlanta is a half-game behind New Orleans for the NFC South lead. The Falcons have won two straight and three of four, and RB Michael Turner's resurgence has played a big role. Turner has topped 100 rushing yards in back-to-back games and has five rushing touchdowns in the past four games. The Falcons hope to get WR Julio Jones back after missing two games with a hamstring injury. Jones' 25 catches are tied for the most among NFC rookies.
ABOUT THE COLTS (0-8): As the league's only 0-8 team, Indianapolis is in the running for the No. 1 draft pick and a chance to pick Stanford QB Andrew Luck, which looks more appealing the longer Manning is sidelined with his nagging neck problems. Things improved for the Colts last week, but only because they couldn't get worse. Coming off a 62-7 loss to the New Orleans Saints, the Colts fell in a 20-0 hole in the first half against Tennessee and dropped to 0-8 with a 27-10 loss. QB Curtis Painter put up solid numbers, passing for 250 yards and rushing for a career-high 79 yards, but he also threw two interceptions.
EXTRA POINTS:
1. The Falcons are 17-0 when QB Matt Ryan has a rating of 100 or higher.
2. Colts WR Reggie Wayne (822 receptions) needs six catches to pass Larry Centers for 19th most all-time.
3. The Falcons have won five consecutive November games dating to a 34-31 loss to the New York Giants in 2009.