Indianapolis Colts vs. Atlanta Falcons Berlin Week 10 NFL Matchup Prediction, Picks and Parlasy

Berlin Blues: Indy Tries to Shake Off that Six-Turnover Nightmare in Germany

The Indianapolis Colts, who had been the only one-loss team in the whole AFC at this point in the first half of the football season, received a thrashing from the Steelers on Sunday. This was in the form of a 27-20 loss that had everything to do with the Colts beating themselves with no less than six turnovers on offense. Daniel Jones, who had been one of the cleanest quarterbacks in the whole league all year long, threw three interceptions that included two lost fumbles.

However, in what is undoubtedly the most peculiar week of the football calendar, they are destined to pack their bags again and head over to Berlin, Germany, where they will be competing against the Atlanta Falcons in the International Series match. This is not a simple task, considering this mortifying defeat in such a short span of time. They have to address this sloppy performance on the field in adverse conditions of transatlantic flights, jet lag, and a whole new environment. Head Coach Shane Steichen is well aware of this footballing offense, which looked nowhere near as usual in Pittsburgh, especially in running back Jonathan Taylor, who looked completely muzzled with a meager performance of only 3.2 yards per carry.

As for the Falcons, they are a fascinating misplaced mess. They are inconsistent, capable of moments of brilliance on the field, with a veteran quarterback who knows how to sling the rock. But their record is middling, and consistency is a foreign concept down in Atlanta. They have one of the stingiest run defenses, which means the Colts are going to need 'Danny Dimes' to get his head right and connect with Michael Pittman Jr. and Alec Pierce, who actually had solid 100-plus yard days against the Steelers' secondary. 

This game is historic—the first regular-season game in Berlin—but for the Colts, it's more about salvaging their season's reputation. If they fly all the way to Europe and put up another turnover-ridden performance, those "one-loss" memories are going to fade fast. They need a dominant bounce-back win to prove that the Steelers game was a total outlier and that they are, in fact, still one of the AFC’s elite.

I can see the Colts taking care of business, too. They're getting 5 ½ points on a -280 line, which should be a walk in the park or, as the Germans would say, ein spaziergang.