
History is not on the Falcons’ side.
The Atlanta Falcons close the book on their AFC games with a meeting against the Indianapolis Colts. To say the Colts have had Atlanta’s number would be a massive understatement, as Indy is 15-2 all time against the Birds.
If you’re doing the math at home, that’s a win percentage of 11.8%, meaning that the Colts are the team against whom the Falcons have had the least amount of historical success ever.
The first matchup between these teams was in Atlanta’s inaugural season in 1966, and right away the Colts rattled off 10 consecutive wins before the Falcons finally broke through in their magical 1998 season, with Chris Chandler out-dueling a rookie Peyton Manning.
The Manning-led Colts restored balance with three consecutive double digit victories before Atlanta got a blowout win in 2011, in a game where Curtis Painter started for Indy. That was the one where rookie Julio Jones went for 131 receiving yards and two scores.
Since then, the Colts have squeaked out two more wins by three points as the Falcons have beaten them just one time in Indianapolis and one time in Atlanta.
Last Meeting
Coming off of an exciting Sunday Night Football victory against the Philadelphia Eagles, the 1-1 Atlanta Falcons were looking to really kickstart their 2019 campaign against a 1-1 Colts team that was still absolutely reeling from the shocking news of franchise quarterback Andrew Luck’s retirement announcement in the preseason.
Jacoby Brissett had stepped in as the new sheriff for Indy, and he led the hosts to a 20-3 halftime lead with the Colts defense shutting down Atlanta’s offense despite missing reigning defensive player of the year Darius Leonard.
The Falcons kicked it into high gear after the interval with their first two second half drives (including one that lasted for 10 minutes) ending in Austin Hooper touchdowns to make it 20-17, before the Colts answered back behind a Marlon Mack score.
Atlanta brought it back to within a field goal behind a Julio Jones touchdown with 4:11 left, but that was their last play on offense as Brissett led an ensuing clock killing drive where the defense could not get off the field. To make matters worse, star safety Keanu Neal was lost to a season ending Achilles injury, his second major injury in two seasons.