Young QBs Anthony Richardson, Drake Maye bring new look to Colts-Pats rivalry

Indianapolis (5-7) at New England (3-9)

Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, CBS

BetMGM NFL odds: Colts by 2 1/2.

Against the spread: Colts 8-4; Patriots 4-7-1.

Series record: Patriots lead 53-31

Last meeting: Patriots beat Colts 10-6 in Frankfurt, Germany, on Nov. 12, 2023.

Last week: Colts lost to Lions 24-6; Patriots lost 34-15 at Miami.

Colts offense: overall (22), rush (17), pass (24), scoring (21).

Colts defense: overall (28), rush (27), pass (27), scoring (16).

Patriots offense: overall (32), rush (21), pass (32), scoring (31).

Patriots defense: overall (22), rush (18), pass (22) scoring (19).

Turnover differential: Colts minus-1. Patriots minus-7.

RB Jonathan Taylor. Colts coach Shane Steichen knows Taylor must become more involved and more productive if this offense is going to get restarted. He had only 11 carries last week against Detroit and has only 92 yards on 35 carries over the past two games. The solution: Giving Taylor a heavier workload over Indy's final five games.

QB Drake Maye. The rookie ranks second among AFC rookies with 286 rush yards. He is averaging 8.7 yards per rush (33 attempts). The highest rushing average for an NFL quarterback in a single season is 8.5 by Michael Vick in 2006 when he had 123 rushing attempts for 1,039 rushing yards with Atlanta.

Colts QB Anthony Richardson vs. Patriots defense. Steichen has incorporated more quarterback keepers and read options into Richardson's game since he reclaimed the starting job. At times, it has worked well to keep defenses off balance. But Richardson still needs to show he can throw the ball well consistently. Playing a middle-of-the-pack defense should be a more manageable test for the second-year quarterback than last week's game against the Lions.

Aside from the offensive line, the Colts appear to be relatively healthy. WRs Michael Pittman Jr. and Josh Downs both finished last week's game after leaving briefly with shoulder injuries. WR Ashton Dulin did not return after hurting his foot. But with LT Bernhard Raimann (knee) inactive last week and Pro Bowl center Ryan Kelly and RG Will Fries on injured reserve, the Colts have been starting three rookie lineman. One of them, C Tanor Bortolini, entered the concussion protocol Monday. If Bortolini doesn't play, veteran Danny Pinter would likely start. ... Patriots DE Deatrich Wise Jr., who is tied for the team lead with five sacks, has missed the past two games with foot injury.

Indy has won two of the three games since neither Peyton Manning nor Tom Brady were the starting quarterback for these franchises. ... Brady finished his Patriots career with eight straight wins over the Colts. ... This series has been full of streaky play. New England won six straight from 2001-2005. Indy won five of the next six from 2005-09. ... The Pats have dominated this series in the postseason, winning four of five playoff matchups. ... This will mark the first time since 2000 that Bill Belichick will not be coaching against the Colts in this series. ... New England and Indy played twice a year from 1970 through 2001 as AFC East foes. Indy moved to the AFC South during the NFL's realignment in 2002.

Indy has lost four of its past five overall and is 1-7 in its past eight at New England. ... This game begins Indy's final five-game stretch in which it faces four opponents with losing records, including the Patriots. ... Indy's defense leads the NFL in forced fumbles (13) and is tied for third in fumble recoveries (nine) this season. ... The Colts have not allowed a sack in three games this season, tied for the league high. ... Richardson has the lowest completion rate (47.1%) among the league's starting quarterbacks, but in games he's finished this season, two of his three highest passer ratings have come in the past two weeks. ... Richardson also has the third-highest total of TD runs (seven) by a quarterback through his first 12 games, trailing only Cam Newton (13) and Josh Allen (eight). ... Taylor needs 31 yards rushing to surpass Marshall Faulk (5,320) for third in franchise history. ... WR Michael Pittman Jr. has 11 receptions for 102 yards since missing the Week 10 game against Buffalo with a back injury. ... WR Alec Pierce continues to lead the league at 23.3 yards per catch. ... Colts LBs Zaire Franklin (123) and E.J. Speed (108) rank first and fourth in the NFL in tackles, though Indy is one of just six teams that has not had a bye yet. No teams have a bye on Thanksgiving weekend. ... Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson enters this week in 11th place in team history with 2,863 rushing yards and needs 55 yards this week against the Colts to move past LeGarrette Blount (2,917) into 10th place on New England’s career list. ... TE Hunter Henry enters this week with a team-leading 51 receptions for 535 yards. He ranks fourth in receptions and is tied for fifth in receiving yards among NFL tight ends. ... The Patriots scored on defense for the first time this season last week at Miami when CB Christian Gonzalez returned a fumble 63 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. ... LB Jahlani Tavai will look to extend his streak of eight straight games with at least five total tackles. ... LB Christian Elliss has a team-leading eight total special teams tackles.

It could be a good day to start Maye. He has played some of his best football this season at Gillette Stadium, throwing for 225 or more passing yards and two TDs in two of his past three home starts at home.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson hands off to running back Jonathan Taylor (28) during the first half of an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Miami Dolphins linebacker Emmanuel Ogbah (91) goes after New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson (5) pulls away from Detroit Lions defensive end Josh Paschal (93) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Technology stocks helped pull stocks lower on Wall Street Wednesday, handing the market its first loss in more than a week.

The S&P 500 fell 0.4%, even though more stocks in the index notched gains than ended lower. The loss snapped a seven-day winning streak for the benchmark index.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3%, its first loss after five gains. The Dow and S&P 500 remain near the all-time highs they set on Tuesday.

The Nasdaq composite, which is heavily weighted with technology stocks, fell 0.6%.

Losses for tech heavyweights like Nvidia, Microsoft and Broadcom were the drag on the market. Semiconductor giant Nvidia fell 1.2%. Its huge value gives it outsized influence on market indexes. Microsoft fell 1.2% and Broadcom finished 3.1% lower.

Several personal computer makers also helped pull the market lower following their latest earnings reports.

HP sank 11.4% after giving investors a weaker-than-expected earnings forecast for its current quarter. Dell slid 12.2% after its latest quarterly revenue fell short of Wall Street forecasts.

Gains for financial and health care companies helped temper the market's losses. Berkshire Hathaway rose 0.9% and Merck & Co. added 1.5%.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 22.89 points to 5,998.74, while the Dow dropped 138.25 points to 44,722.06. The Nasdaq fell 115.10 points to 19,060.48.

Traders also had their eye on new reports on the economy and inflation Wednesday.

The U.S. economy expanded at a healthy 2.8% annual pace from July through September, according to the Commerce Department, leaving its original estimate of third-quarter growth unchanged. The growth was driven by strong consumer spending and a surge in exports.

The update followed a report on Tuesday from the Conference Board that said confidence among U.S. consumers improved in November, but not by as much as economists expected.

Consumers have been driving economic growth, but the latest round of earnings reports from retailers shows a mixed and more cautious picture.

Department store operator Nordstrom fell 8.1% after warning investors about a trend toward weakening sales that started in late October. Clothing retailer Urban Outfitters jumped 18.3% after beating analysts’ third-quarter financial forecasts. Weeks earlier, retail giant Target gave investors a discouraging forecast for the holiday season, while Walmart provided a more encouraging forecast.

Consumers, though resilient, are still facing pressure from inflation. The latest update from the U.S. government shows that inflation accelerated last month. The personal consumption expenditures index, or PCE, rose to 2.3% in October from 2.1% in September.

Overall, the rate of inflation has been falling broadly since it peaked more than two years ago. The PCE, which is the Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation, was just below 7.3% in June of 2022. Another measure of inflation, the consumer price index, peaked at 9.1% at the same time.

The latest inflation data, though, is a sign that the rate of inflation seems to be stalling as it falls to within range of the Fed's target of 2%. The central bank started raising its benchmark interest rate from near-zero in early 2022 to a two-decade high by the middle of 2023 and held it there in order to tame inflation.

The Fed started cutting its benchmark interest rate in September, followed by a second cut in November. Wall Street expects a similar quarter-point cut at the central bank's upcoming meeting in December.

“Today’s data shouldn’t change views of the likely path for disinflation, however bumpy," said David Alcaly, lead macroeconomic strategist at Lazard Asset Management. "But a lot of observers, probably including some at the Fed, are looking for reasons to get more hawkish on the outlook given the potential for inflationary policy change like new tariffs.”

President-elect Donald Trump has said he plans to impose sweeping new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China when he takes office in January. That could shock the economy by raising prices on a wide range of goods and accelerating the rate of inflation. Such a shift could prompt the Fed to rethink future cuts to interest rates.

Treasury yields slipped in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.25% from 4.30% late Tuesday. The yield on the two-year Treasury, which more closely follows expected actions by the Fed, fell to 4.22% from 4.25% late Tuesday.

U.S. markets will be closed Thursday for Thanksgiving, and will reopen for a half day on Friday.

A sign marking the intersection of Wall Street and South Street is shown in New York's Financial District on Tuesday, Nov. 26 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

FILE - People pass the New York Stock Exchange on Nov. 5, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

People walk past the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday, Nov. 26 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

A person walks in front of the Tokyo Stock Exchange building at a securities firm Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)