Looking at the Colts defense

AP Photo/Bill Kostroun

We all know about Andrew Luck, one of the best young quarterbacks in the league right now, and the offense of the Indianapolis Colts (#1-ranked passing offense with 337.8 yards a game), but what about their defense? Well, that's been a different story.

Let's start with the pass defense, which is ranked 27th in the league with 263.6 Yard Per Game allowed. I want to start here because I expect Tom Brady and Co. to attack the Colts through the air, especially given their success in the passing game over the last 5 games. Tom Brady has 18 touchdowns to only 1 interception in that stretch, and the lone interception came against the Denver Broncos a couple of weeks ago. I think that'll continue on Sunday night. The Colts have also only forced 6 interceptions while Brady has only thrown 3 all year, and I don't see that changing.

The Colts are much better against the run, ranked 9th in the league at 98.1 YPG so far this year. The Patriots are 19th in the league in rushing yards per game, so I think they will have some trouble running the ball. Like I said above, though, I think the Pats will have plenty of success moving the ball through the air against a Colts passing defense ranked near the bottom of the league. I think the Pats will be able to do just enough in the run game to set up the play-action, which is what will beat the Colts on Sunday Night Football. I fully expect this game to be a shootout with the Colts offense being so good, but ultimately the Patriots will get the better of Luck and Indy.