New York Jets vs Indianapolis Colts: NFL Monday Night Football Predictions, Stream & Preview
The New York Jets and Indianapolis Colts square off in Week 2 of Monday night Football. This may be a rematch of Super Bowl III, but the teams are vastly different. Andrew Luck and Ryan Fitzpatrick will do their best Joe Namath vs. Johnny Unitas impersonations.
Let's preview the game and pick a winner.
New York Jets (1-0)
The Jets opened their season with a huge win at home over the Cleveland Browns, 31-10. As we all know, Geno Smith will not be playing because of a broken jaw, and Fitzpatrick will be starting once again. In that game, Fitzpatrick had 179 passing yards with two touchdowns. Chris Ivory had a stellar game on the ground with 91 yards rushing.
The Jets did win in Week 1 and they do have a superior record, but they are the underdogs in this game. Cornerback Antonio Cromartie is still listed as "questionable" for Monday's game, but he still remains hopeful that he will play. If the Jets don't have Cromartie, Darrelle Revis will have a huge responsibility without him, which he is fully capable of handling.
The Miami Dolphin lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Buffalo Bills lost to the New England Patriots this week. Meaning, the Jets have great opportunity to move ahead of the Dolphins and Bills in the AFC East standings with a win.
The Jets have won the last two games against the Colts, including a 35-9 annihilation in 2012 during Luck's rookie campaign.
Indianapolis Colts (0-1)
The Colts didn't exactly impress their fans in Week 1 against the Bills. Albeit on the road, the Colts lost to Rex Ryan's squad, 27-14. Luck had a disappointing game with two interceptions and a 38.7 QBR. Tyrod Taylor outplayed Luck in that game by a pretty wide margin.
The Colts were busy this offseason adding key pieces. Former San Francisco 49ers running back Frank Gore is now carrying the ball, and it's time for him to get going. Andre Johnson, who had just 24 receiving yards in Week 1, has to be a bigger part of this offense. T.Y. Hilton is hurting, but is expected to play on Monday night.
This Colts team has been criticized by many for their average play outside of the AFC South. The Colts play in a terrible division every year against the Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans, but when they play outside their division, they tend to struggle a bit. Last season the Colts were 6-0 when facing AFC South opponents, but just 5-5 outside the division.
If the Colts are going to get the No. 1 seed in the AFC with home-field advantage, they have to start playing better outside the division.
Schedule
The Colts and Jets will play each other on Monday, Sept. 21 at 8:30 p.m. EDT on ESPN. The game will be played at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. You can watch a live game stream here.
Prediction
The Colts are coming off a loss whereas the Jets are coming off a win. Regardless, this is a big game for the Colts to prove their doubters wrong. It's time for Johnson and Gore to get going to create a balanced offense. If the Colts can't beat Fitzpatrick at home, they're not going to stop the elite quarterbacks in the AFC, especially on the road.
Colts win 24-20
Follow Damon Salvadore on Twitter @DamonSalvadore1