Guten tag, football enthusiasts. Wie gehts? Alles klar I trust on this excellent early start to week 10 coming directly from Germany. The Olympiastadion in Berlin to be precise where at 8.30am CST/9.30am EST and 2.30pm GMT the powerful Colts (7-2) face off against the Atlanta Falcons (3-5). The fifth game played on German soil and the first in the nation’s capital.
Pregame Key Moments
As sparkly jackets go that is an real standout from the Olympic figure skater on the coin toss. A minor slip from Sky Sports there as we hear “who won the toss?” from the presenter with an unfortunately hot mic.
Well, the Colts have won the toss and have chosen to get the ball first. The Colts' offense will be taking the field soon. Will the QB bounce back after a rough one in their last game?
Not to be outdone the vocalist performing the US national anthem has some of the biggest shoulder embellishments you are bound to notice. Loving the sartorial choices today. The game is about to start after a choir performance for the national anthem of Germany. Elegant.
Opening Period Action
Scoreless at 13:30 in the first
Here we go! And we have early drama after the Colts running back catches a screen pass, sweeps out for 15 yards to the right then fumbles … only for his center to recover the fumble with the ball retrieval. Colts are in Falcons territory already.
Colts 0-0 Falcons 10:51, 1st quarter
And the excitement continues as the Colts go for it on 4th down. The gamble fails to pay off as Josh Downs fails to catch a fastball from Jones. Prior to the failed attempt Jessie Bates put a huge hit on tight end Mo Alie-Cox. Atlanta's defense started strong as they try and snap their three-game losing streak. Following that, Sauce Gardner makes his first appearance!
Touchdown Recap
TOUCHDOWN! Colts 6-0 Falcons 8:36, 1st quarter
Did Kyle Pitts just drop a touchdown? The Falcons player makes a crucial error, he was very open but the ball just slips through his grasp. That play rather sums up the high draft pick's professional journey to date.
So far, so disappointing but it only deteriorates for the Falcons as they cough the ball back to the Indianapolis on the 23-yard mark. Michael Penix Jr is sacked and can’t keep hold of the ball.
A nifty 22-yard run from Ashton Dulin sets the running back up to roll in for the score on the next snap. The placekicker skews the extra point wide. Oops.
Falcons respond: 6-7 at 6:07
The quarterback recovers from the turnover by leading Atlanta on a long drive for a touchdown. Drake London makes some substantial catches to put them in the red zone then the seas part for the running back to run untouched into the end zone through the middle of the defense for a 13-yard gain. The running back finishes it off for a short scoring run of his own. Advantage Atlanta.
Other Week 10 Matchups
And for afters, the full slate starting at 12pm CST/1pm EST/6pm GMT (with home teams first) is as follows:
(5-4) Carolina Panthers v New Orleans Saints (1-8)
(5-3) Chicago Bears v New York Giants (2-7)
(3-5) Houston Texans v Jacksonville Jaguars (5-3)
(2-7) Miami Dolphins v Bills (6-2)
(4-4) Vikings v Baltimore Ravens (3-5)
(1-7) New York Jets v Browns (2-6)
(6-2) Tampa Bay Buccaneers v Patriots (7-2)
What a feast. My pick for the best game is the Vikings and Ravens playing out the top contest of the day.
