The Colts got a nice win at home last weekend, 20-13 over the Bills.  The Lions lost a heartbreaker, 34-31 in O.T. on Thanksgiving against the Houston Texans.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Colts have the ball:  The Colts are going to come out throwing this weekend, in what looks to be a high scoring game.  If the Colts’ O-Line can give Andrew Luck, he’s going to make some plays down the field against the pretty awful secondary of the Lions.  WRs Reggie Wayne, T.Y. Hilton, Donnie Avery and TE Dwayne Allen are all in line to have solid games for the Colts this Sunday.  RBs Vick Ballard and Donald Brown should have success on the ground when the Colts decide to try to trick the Lions’ D.

When the Lions have the ball:  The Colts could be in trouble in this game if they can’t get to Matthew Stafford.  The secondary just doesn’t match up well with WR Calvin Johnson.  They will likely double cover him, but he’s still going to get his catches and yards this Sunday.  WR Ryan Broyles and TE Brandon Pettigrew are also going to have to concern the Colts’ secondary too, as they have really played well for the Lions lately.  The Lions also have a good power runner in Mikel Leshoure and a solid all-around back in Joique Bell for the Colts’ D to worry about.

PREDICTION:  LIONS 27, COLTS 23

It was thought that 24-year old Cody Fleener would be the main TE in 2012, as he played with Andrew Luck at Stanford, but that just hasn’t been the case so far this year as 22-year old Dwayne Allen has outplayed him so far this year.  Allen has played in 11 games for the Colts so far this year and he has caught 34 passes for 385 yards (11.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  He has caught 34 of 49 (69.4%) passes thrown in his direction by Luck so far this year.  He also has 7 catches of 20 yards or more and 22 of his catches have resulted in first downs.  Fleener has had injury issues in his rookie season.  Fleener has played in 7 games for the Colts so far this year and he has caught 21 passes for 222 yards (10.6 avg).  He has caught 21 of the 36 passes (58.3%) thrown in his direction by Luck so far this year.  Fleener has 3 catches of 20 yards or longer so far this year and 10 of his catches have went for first downs.  Fleener better make up for lost time when he finally gets healthy, as Dwayne Allen has outplayed him so far this year.

The Colts have signed 27-year old DT Kellen Heard.  He has played in 8 games already this year, with the Rams, and he has 5 tackles and 2 tackles for a loss.  Heard has now played in 23 games in his first two years in the NFL and he has 26 tackles, 2 sacks, 3 tackles for a loss and 1 forced fumble.  Heard might have to get on the field right away for the Colts due to recent injuries on the D-Line.

The Colts have placed 27-year old DT Fili Moala and 23-year old DT Josh Chapman.  Moala played in 8 games for the Colts this year and he had 14 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 tackle for a loss.  He has now played in 48 games in his first four years in the NFL and he has 69 tackles, 2 sacks, 8 tackles for a loss, 1 fumble recovery and 2 passes defensed.  Rookie Josh Chapman didn’t get into any games due to a knee injury.  Moala’s injury is a torn right ACL.  This is really going to hurt the depth of the interior of the Colts’ D-Line.

The Colts played just good enough in all three phases of the game to beat the Bills today.  Andrew Luck was so-so as he completed 20 of 37 passes for 240 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  he also carried the ball 6 times for 20 yards (3.3 ypc) today.  Vick Ballard led the way on the ground with 41 yards rushing on 13 carries (3.2 ypc).  Donald Brown finished up with 10 carries for 26 yards (2.6 ypc) in this game.  WR Reggie Wayne led the way in the passing game for the Colts with 8 grabs for 102 yards (12.8 avg).  TE Dwayne Allen (3 rec, 36 yards) and WR T.Y. Hilton (3 receptions for 33 yards with a TD grab and 4 punts returns for 111 yards with a 75 yard TD return) also had solid games.  The Colts finished up with 87 yards rushing on 29 carries (3.0 ypc) and they also completed 20 of 37 passes (54.1%) for 225 yards as they had possession of the ball for 31:38.

The defense was pretty solid today despite having some issues against the run.  LB Jerrell Freeman led the way for the Colts with 16 tackles, 1 sack, 3 tackles for a loss and 1 QB hit.  Safeties Antoine Bethea (6 tackles) and Tom Zbikowski (5 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 pass defensed, 1 fumble recovery and 1 interception) also had solid games for the Colts today.  The Bills finished up with 135 yards rushing on 23 carries (5.9 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 33 passes for 169 yards.  The Colts are now 7-4 on the year.

The Colts got punished 59-24 by the Patriots in New England last weekend.  The Bills beat the Dolphins 19-14 in Buffalo last week.  The Colts are a different team at home this year, where they are 4-1 on the year.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Colts have the ball:  The Colts are going to come out throwing the ball this Sunday.  I’m sure the Colts don’t mind getting into a shootout with the Bills this Sunday.  If Luck has time to throw the ball, he’s going to have a big game as the Bills are giving up 234.1 yards passing per game so far this year and they had already given up 19 TD passes against only 8 interceptions.  I look for Luck to spread the ball around to Reggie Wayne, Donnie Avery, T.Y. Hilton and Dwayne Allen to keep everyone happy.  Vick Ballard is also likely to get a lot of work against a Bills’ D that is giving up 153.3 yards rushing per game and 5.2 yards per carry so far this year.

When the Bills have the ball:  The Colts are going to have to go all out to stop RB C.J. Spiller, as he is a game breaker.  The Colts are also going to have to get the pass rush going or Ryan Fitzpatrick is going to torch their secondary, which is the weakness of the D right now.  Fitzpatrick will likely spread the ball around to WR Donald Jones, WR Steve Johnson and TE Scott Chandler to keep the D guessing.

PREDICTION:  COLTS 30, BILLS 27

23-year old rookie QB Andrew Luck needs to forget all about last weekend’s debacle in New England.  The Colts are still 2-1 in November so far and they have scored 74 points this month.  Luck has completed 75 of 124 (60.5%) passes in November so far, good for 994 yards with 4 TD passes and 4 INTs.  He has also carried the ball 9 times for 20 yards (2.2 ypc) with 2 TD runs so far this month.  Luck has now played in 10 games overall this year for the Colts and he has completed 235 of 412 passes (57%) for 2,965 yards with 12 TD passes and 12 INTs (77.2 QB Rating).  Luck has also carried the ball 35 times for 163 yards (4.7 ypc) with 5 TD runs so far this year.  The Colts are only going to get to the playoffs if Luck can lead them there.

The Colts stunk it up in all three phases of the game yesterday against the Patriots and the scoreboard reflects how awful they played.  Andrew Luck looked like a deer in headlights for the most part as he completed 27 of 50 passes for 334 yards with 2 TD passes and 3 INTs (2 were returned by TDs by Patriots’ corners Alfonzo Dennard (87 yarder) and Aqib Talib (59 yarder).  Luck also lost a fumble in this game.  Vick Ballard led the way on the ground for the Colts with 16 carries for 72 yards (4.5 ypc) in this game.  Delone Carter (2 carries for 21 yards with a TD run) and Donald Brown (4 carries for 17 yards and 2 grabs for 6 yards) also pitched in for the Colts in this game.  WR T.Y. Hilton (6 rec, 100 yards, 2 TD grabs), WR Reggie Wayne (7 rec, 72 yards) and TE Dwayne Allen (6 rec, 69 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Colts.  The Colts finished up with 119 yards rushing on 24 carries (5.0 ypc) and they also completed 27 of 50 passes (54%) for 329 yards as they had possession of the ball for 32:55.

The defense and special teams were pretty stinky too.  LB Jerrell Freeman (12 tackles), safety Antoine Bethea (8 tackles) and CB Darius Butler (6 tackles) led the way for the Colts on D in this game.  Julian Edelman of the Patriots returned a punt 68 yards for a TD against the Colts in this game.  The Patriots finished up with 115 yards rushing on 25 carries (4.6 ypc) and they also completed 24 of 35 passes (68.6%) for 331 yards.  The Colts are now 6-4 on the year.

Both of these teams have a lot to prove this Sunday.  The Colts beat the Jaguars 27-10 in Jacksonville last week.  The Colts have now won four games in a row, all over lousy teams.  The Patriots beat the visiting Buffalo Bills 37-31 at home last weekend.  The Patriots are on a 3-game winning streak and they have not beat a good team in that streak either.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Colts have the ball:  The Colts have run the ball better as of late and they will try to do so again tomorrow, but the Patriots have an outstanding front seven on D.  So, the Colts might as well just come out throwing the ball and take their chances with Andrew Luck against a Colts’ D that is giving up 285.3 yards passing per game so far this year.  If the Colts can protect Luck, he is going to have success throwing the ball to Reggie Wayne, Donnie Avery, Dwayne Allen and T.Y. Hilton.  He will have to be careful with the ball as the Patriots have 10 interceptions and CB Aqib Talib will be playing for them this weekend.

When the Patriots have the ball:  The Patriots are going to cause big matchup problems for the Colts tomorrow.  Stevan Ridley and Danny Woodhead are going to give the Colts big time issues, because the front seven is going to be almost solely responsible for slowing them down….because the DBs are going to have their hands full worrying about stopping Tom Brady and his receivers.  The Colts need to get after Tom Brady, or they are in big trouble as they are thin at CB for this game due to injuries.  Rob Gronkowski, Wes Welker and Brandon Lloyd are likely going to find a lot of open spots against the Colts’ secondary.

PREDICTION:  PATRIOTS 37, COLTS 24

24-year old OLB Jerry Hughes is finally showing that he can play in the NFL in 2012.  In his first two years with the Colts, he has played in 24 games in which he has 21 tackles, 1 sack and 1 tackle for a loss.  But, injuries have opened up more P.T. for Hughes in 2012 and he is making the most of it.  Hughes has played in all 9 games for the Colts so far this year and he has 23 tackles, 4 sacks and 2 tackles for a loss.  The Colts need Hughes to keep up the good work the rest of the way in 2012.