Indianapolis at New England

Daniel Jones isn't playing tonight, and neither is Drake Maye. That's the headline out of the Colts-Patriots preseason opener, and it tells me nearly everything I need about tonight's total. Anthony Richardson gets the start for Indianapolis and plays the entire first half as he fights Riley Leonard for the backup job, but Shane Steichen is sitting a slew of starters around him. Mike Vrabel already got his top group extended work in Tuesday's joint practice and has made clear tonight belongs to the fringe roster, turning the offense over to Tommy DeVito and rookie Behren Morton. Neither staff has a reason to push tempo or open up the playbook with backups running the show. Richardson still carries the erratic accuracy that's followed him for two seasons, now throwing behind a line missing its top starters. DeVito is a game manager, not a scoring threat, and Morton has barely taken reps with the ones. Two backup offenses playing behind backup lines in the season's first preseason week almost never find a rhythm, and neither coach is asking them to try. This isn't a game that needs a strong defensive plan to stay under the number; it just needs both sidelines to keep doing what they've already told everyone they're going to do. Take the UNDER tonight, and don't expect this one to sniff the total.