New Orleans Saints fans will enjoy a rare tranquil Sunday this week, with their team scheduled to host the Indianapolis Colts during “Monday Night Football” on the sport’s biggest stage. The Saints offense turned in their best game of the year a week ago, while the defense couldn’t keep up the pace, so there’s understandable anxiety going into the next week of the season. At least fans can enjoy a peaceful Sunday of stress-free games beforehand.
And they may be able to rest easy on Monday, too. The oddsmakers at BetMGM have updated the line for the Week 15 games, and the Saints are now favored by an even heavier margin: 9.5 points, up from 7.5 earlier in the week. The over/under remains set at 45.5, so the final total is an implied Saints 28, Colts 18.
That would mean a big turnaround for a Saints defense that was shredded by San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, and “the 15 running backs” that frustrated New Orleans, as defensive end Cameron Jordan put it. There’s no confusing a far-less-potent Colts offense for that unit, but it would still be encouraging to see Jordan and his teammates turn in that kind of encouraging performance.
Much of it hinges on whether superstar Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton will be able to play. He’s been frustrated by a calf injury for weeks now, but was able to return to practice on Thursday in a limited capacity. The speedster has averaged 15.9 yards per catch in his last five consecutive seasons, but is making gains through the air at the lowest average (10.8) of his career. As badly as the Saints need to show improvement on defense, he and the Colts could really benefit from a big game in front of a national audience to keep themselves in the playoffs race.
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