Joey Harrington gives the Falcons the best chance to win right now as Byron Leftwich still appears both gimpy and rusty.  Harrington has been solid this season as he has completed 198 of 314 passes (63.1%) for 2,031 yards with 7 TD passes and 7 interceptions (79.7 QB Rating) so far this season.  Behind the porous offensive line of the Falcons, Harrington can move better than Leftwich right now and it shows in the performance of both players.  Leftwich has completed 32 of 58 passes (55.2%) for 279 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 interceptions (59.5 QB Rating) so far this season.

Things looked good last night in the first quarter as the Falcons raced out to a 10-0 lead….but then the roof caved in.  Joey Harrington did not play too well in this game as he completed 14 of 30 passes for 155 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 interceptions.  Warrick Dunn had a solid game with 17 carries for 70 yards (4.1 ypc) and Jerious Norwood also ran well as he rushed for 33 yards on 6 carries (5.5 ypc).  Roddy White appeared to be the only receiver on the Falcons that came to play as he caught 6 passes for 104 yards (17.3 avg) including a TD grab.  The Falcons finished up this game with 112 yards rushing on 30 carries (3.7 ypc) and they also completed 14 of 30 passes for 138 yards.

The defense of the Falcons played hard last night but they were overmatched.  Linebacker Michael Boley had an outstanding game as he had 10 tackles and 3 sacks.  Keith Brooking (6 tackles, sack) and DeAngelo Hall (5 tackles, interception) each also had solid games yesterday.  The Colts finished up with 118 yards rushing on 27 carries (4.4 ypc) and they also completed 22 of 32 passes for 247 yards,.

The Colts are looking to stay in first place in the AFC South and they need a win here to keep at the top.  The Falcons are just looking to win a game.

Peyton Manning hasn’t been himself this season because of all the injuries to the offensive line and Marvin Harrison.  With that in mind the Colts will likely keep the ball on the ground more than usual with Joseph Addai and Kenton Keith.  The run defense is the weakness of the Falcons defense as they allow 124.0 yards rushing per game and 4.3 yards per carry.  The Falcons will likely double Reggie Wayne (63 rec, 945 yards, 6 TDs) will could force Manning to throw to guys like Ben Utecht, Bryan Fletcher and Craphonso Thorpe and that’s not a good thing.  Look for Manning to attack the safeties of the Falcons with Dallas Clark whose having a good season.

The Falcons would also like to run the ball with Warrick Dunn and Jerious Norwood against the front seven of the Colts who are allowing 102.0 yards rushing per game and 3.9 yards per carry.  Don’t think that the Falcons won’t throw the ball however as Joey Harrington is likely to get the start.  He had an awesome game last season on Thanksgiving against the Lions last season and he will be looking to repeat that performance.

PREDICTION:  COLTS 24, FALCONS 20

The Falcons were downright pathetic in this football game.  For some reason the Falcons started Byron Leftwich at QB despite winning the last two games with Joey Harrington.  Leftwich played awful before he was replaced as he only hit 15 of 28 passes for 106 yards with 2 interceptions.  Joey Harrington replaced Leftwich and he played well as he hit 16 of 20 passes for 139 yards with 1 TD pass.  Warrick Dunn had a rough game as he carried the ball 15 times for 32 yards (2.1 ypc) and he also caught 8 passes for 40 yards (5.0 avg).  Michael Jenkins had a solid game with 9 catches for 73 yards (8.1 avg) and Adam Jennings only added 2 receptions for 11 yards (5.5 avg) but one grab was for a TD.  The Falcons finished up with 49 yards rushing on 19 carries (2.6 ypc) and they also completed 31 of 48 passes for 226 yards.

The Falcons defense was led by linebackers Keith Brooking (8 tackles, fumble recovery) and Michael Boley (7 tackles).  The Bucs finished up with 149 yards rushing on 31 carries (4.8 ypc) and they also completed 11 of 21 passes for 156 yards.

The Falcons got a nice road win on Sunday against the Panthers.  Joey Harrington had a solid game as he completed 19 of 26 passes for 192 yards with a TD pass.  Warrick Dunn had a solid game with 89 yards rushing on 26 carries (3.4 ypc) with a TD run and he also caught 3 passes for 51 yards (17.0 avg).  Roddy White was busy with 6 catches for 57 yards (9.5 avg) and TE Alge Crumpler who only caught 2 passes for 39 yards caught the game winning TD with only 33 seconds left in the game.  The Falcons finished up with 88 yards rushing on 28 carries (3.1 ypc) and they also completed 20 of 27 passes for 189 yards.

The Falcons solid defensive effort was led by rookie CB Chris Houston who had 8 tackles.  The Panthers finished up with 90 yards rushing on 28 carries (3.2 ypc) and they also completed 13 of 29 passes for 145 yards.