The New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts meet Sunday in NFL action from Lucas Oil Stadium. The Saints are currently 3-4 on the season so far. New Orleans fell to Jacksonville last Thursday in their most recent outing. As for Indianapolis, they’re 3-4 overall as well following a close loss to the Browns. Check back all season long for free NFL picks at Sports Chat Place.

New Orleans Saints 

The Saints got off to a nice start this year despite not generating a ton of offense. The first two games were wins 16-15 over the Titans and 20-17 versus the Panthers, then came a pair of low-scoring losses 18-17 versus Green Bay and 26-9 against the Buccaneers. New Orleans would blow out the Patriots 34-0 the next week but then fell 20-13 to the Texans. 

Last Thursday versus the Jaguars, New Orleans continued their skid. The Saints managed points in every quarter (but also gave up points in every quarter) during a 31-24 loss. QB Derek Carr finished with 301 yards, one TD and one pick, while Alvin Kamara led the rush with 62 yards. Kamara was tops in receiving as well on 91 yards from 12 catches. 

New Orleans Saints Team Facts

• The Saints have won each of their last 10 Week 8 games.
• The underdogs have covered the spread in 11 of the Saints’ last 12 games.
• The Saints have won the first quarter in each of their last four October games as road underdogs.
• The Saints have lost the first half in each of their last five games against AFC South opponents.
• The Saints have scored the first touchdown in four of their last five road games.

Indianapolis Colts

Over on the Colts’ side, they’ve been a mixed bag this year as well. Indianapolis went 3-3 our their first three games, beating the Texans 31-20, the Ravens 22-19 (OT) and the Titans 23-16. The losses otherwise during that span came versus the Rams 29-23 and the Jaguars in two games 31-21 and 37-20. 

Indianapolis faced a 27-21 deficit going into the second half of their matchup versus the Browns on Sunday. The Colts scored another 17 points from there but it wasn’t enough in a 39-38 defeat. Gardner Minshew finished with 305 yards, two scores and an interception (and two rush scores). Jonathan Taylor added 18 carries for 75 yards and a TD, while Josh Downs had 125 receiving yards with a score. 

Indianapolis Colts Team Facts

• The Colts have won each of their last six home games when playing with a rest disadvantage.
• The road team has covered the spread in each of the Colts’ last eight Week 8 games.
• The Colts have lost the first quarter in five of their last six games as favorites.
• The Colts have lost the first half in each of their last nine games as favorites.
• Each of the Colts’ last four games against NFC opponents have gone OVER the total points line.

Matchup/League Facts

• The Colts rank T2nd in the NFL in Q4 win percentage this season (71.4).
• The Colts have recorded the equal-most losses in games when recording more total yards than their opponent this season (2).
• The Saints rank 2nd in the NFL in average punt return this season (18.3 yards).
• The Saints have recorded the equal-most losses in games when recording more total yards than their opponent this season (2).

ANDREW’S FREE PICK 

I’ll probably go with the Colts. Granted, neither one of these teams is playing well right now, but we should have a pretty competitive and interesting matchup here. Indianapolis was actually pretty good on defense in the Browns game, giving up just 316 total yards (166 passing), 4.4 yards per play and 18 first downs. The offense gathered 456 yards (288 passing) on the other side but also coughed up four turnovers (three fumbles) and the team had eight penalties overall. The good news is that it was the first time the Colts have posted more than 23 points since September 17. 

As for the Saints, they had major issues on third downs (3-of-18) versus the Jaguars despite holding the ball for 36:10 in their latest loss. New Orleans has been highly erratic when it comes to scoring; they’ve hit 20 or fewer points in five of seven games so far. This matchup could go a lot of different ways and should be a close finish. I think the Colts power out the cover at home in the end, though.