The Indianapolis Colts and New York Jets were at opposite ends of the perception spectrum coming into the regular season, with the former being among the AFC's elite teams alongside the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos and the latter fighting to avoid being one of the league's worst. But after one week, the Jets have a win and the Colts do not.
Jets vs. Colts 2015: Time, TV schedule and how to watch ‘Monday Night Football’ online
The New York Jets are set to take on the Indianapolis Colts. Can Andrew Luck avoid leading his team to an 0-2 record on Monday?
Indianapolis fell at the hands of Tyrod Taylor and the Buffalo Bills in Week 1. They didn't just lose -- they were dominated on both sides of the ball, only putting up points in the second half but never properly threatening a comeback. Andrew Luck threw the ball almost 50 times, completing 26 of 49 passes for 243 yards with two touchdowns and also two interceptions.
He didn't get any help from his running game -- Frank Gore only managed 31 rushing yards and Luck himself was second with 20 yards. Wide receiver T.Y. Hilton had 88 receiving yards and Donte Moncrief had 46 yards and a touchdown. But Buffalo's defense consistently stopped them for most of the game, and Buffalo's offense was productive in the air and on the ground, with 147 total rushing yards.
The Jets were also prolific at running the ball in their opener, putting up 154 total rushing yards against the Cleveland Browns. Chris Ivory had 91 of those yards and a pair of touchdowns, with Bilal Powell adding 62 yards of his own. With Ryan Fitzpatrick still starting in place of an injured Geno Smith, it's no secret that the Jets will try their best to do what Buffalo was able to do on the ground.
But the Colts are a much different team than the Browns and one awful Week 1 loss in which they didn’t look like themselves won’t suddenly make their opponent a favorite to win this game. New York still has Fitzpatrick at quarterback, which isn’t an inspiring choice, and the Colts are still the Colts. Fitzpatrick completed 15 of 24 passes for 179 yards and two touchdowns with an interception in Week 1.
That was enough to outgun Josh McCown and Johnny Manziel, but if Luck returns to the form everyone expects of him this season, the Jets will have a tough time keeping up. Many expected the Colts to reach the Super Bowl this season, but that will be a tall order if they fall to both the Bills and the Jets in consecutive weeks. In fact, experts thought the Colts had essentially the easiest opening schedule of any team, playing the Bills, Jets, Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans before taking on the New England Patriots in their sixth game.
With late-season games against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Denver Broncos and Atlanta Falcons, the Colts can't afford to lose these kinds of games. Meanwhile, the Jets are more than happy to play spoiler and establish themselves as a potential force in their division and the NFL as a whole.
How to Watch
When: 8:30 p.m. ET
Where: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis
TV: ESPN
Announcers: Jon Gruden, Mike Tirico, Lisa Salters
Online: NFL Game Pass, WatchESPN
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