Week 6 Thursday Night Football Preview

The sixth week of the 2014 NFL season gets going tonight, as AFC South rivals square off on Thursday Night Football. TNF has been a huge downer each week to start the season, but fans will be hoping the sixth time is the charm.

The Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans go head to head to see who deserves sole possession of first place in their division. Both teams stand in at a solid 3-2 and would be in the driver’s seat to take the division with a win on prime time television tonight.

To get a better idea as to what to expect from tonight’s divisional showdown, let’s break down the key points for when these two teams face:

Who Would Get the Blowout?

TNF games have been infamous for being over by half-time. Whether it’s the short week, a talent gap or something we just can’t put our finger on, it keeps happening. Even if the game isn’t over right away, it somehow ends up being lopsided before it’s all said and done. If that happens again tonight, which side is it likely to fall on? Probably Indy. They simply have the better quarterback and better overall offense. If this game gets crazy, it’ll be because they run wild.

That’s probably not going to happen, though, shockingly. This is a divisional game and it’s tough to think Houston would lie down at home. This won’t be some defensive struggle, either, but instead we just might get our first quality NFL contest on TNF this year. Maybe.

Stopping Arian Foster

Foster has had his bouts with his hamstring this year, but he looked plenty healthy last week en route to 150+ rushing yards and two touchdowns. There is some mild concern that a mammoth-sized role will tear him down again much like it did last year, but so far, mostly good. In fact, Foster has 100+ rushing yards in three of four starts on the year. It’s likely he gets a fourth tonight.

Andre Johnson TD Watch

Even at 33 years old, AJ remains one of the better wide receivers in the game today. However, thanks to shaky play at quarterback, he hasn’t been put in position to dominate in 2014. Despite 27 catches through five contests, he has yet to score his first touchdown of the season. Is TNF the perfect time for that to happen?

Andrew Luck, Ablaze

Even when Luck isn’t on, he’s still on. Take last week against the Ravens for instance; Luck tossed two picks but still totaled 300+ yards and two scores. He’s done one or both in every single game this year. Is there any doubt he won’t do so again tonight against the Texans?