The Indianapolis Colts return home this weekend as they take on the underwhelming divisional foe, Tennessee Titans. The Titans have absolutely nothing to play for and the Colts are holding to a sliver of playoff hope but did not get any needed help from Denver on Thursday Night Football. The Colts won the last meeting in Week Six with a 20-17 victory, but these two teams are very different this time around. It was Joe Flacco under center ten weeks ago while Will Levis still had the starting job for Tennessee. Let’s break down what I will be watching this week.
Anthony Richardson Consistency
I don’t intend to keep beating on this topic, but it drives the Colts’ content, and for good reason. Richardson is coming off another below-average performance against Denver last week. Was he the reason we lost that game? Absolutely not, but he was not impactful on the outcome. He was terrific on the ground but, again, struggled through the air with another completion percentage under 50 percent.
You will find a trend in this article about the lower-end competition this week as he will be expected to play at a higher level. We know that Richardson has played well against poor competition, and I don’t expect that to change this week. At this point, Richardson should focus on fundamentals and his overall accuracy. He seems to have his confidence back and the locker room is behind him again. Focus on getting the win of course but the growth of his abilities still needs to be the focus this week.
Colts Defense Against Mason Rudolph
The one aspect of this team that seems to at least be staying on par with progress is the defense. The offense has seen regression this year, but the defense has held steady after early concerns. Gus Bradley has kept this defense intact and is playing better as the season has progressed. Far from fantastic but have really kept the wobbling from snapping.
This is a far different team from the last outing in Week Six. The Titans have benched starter Will Levis and will start veteran backup Mason Rudolph this week. He has seen action in five games this season, so there is plenty of tape on him to gameplan for. Titans fans could argue that this team has a better chance of winning with Rudolph under center. They might be correct. The top receiver from the last time they both played was DeAndre Hopkins and he is no longer with the franchise. Stay the course and continue to see if this defensive staff can give some momentum to keeping their jobs into the offseason.
Team Is Getting Healthy Again (Sorta)
While it appears to be “too little too late,” it’s important for some of the youth on this football team to get back on the field. It looks like C Ryan Kelly and WR Ashton Dulin will return this week, which I did not think we would see either of them back this season. With that being said, WR Alec Pierce and LB EJ Speed were announced on Friday to be OUT for Indy’s upcoming matchup.
Some other key potential reinforcements might be back this week with rookie linebacker Jaylon Carlies and cornerback JuJu Brents. I know what you are thinking, let them get healthy for next season as the odds are nearly impossible for the Colts to make the postseason. Wrong. Both need to play and especially JuJu Brents. Of the 31 games that Brents has been on the roster, he has played in 10 of them.
No matter who you believe is going to be making the decisions next season from a coaching or personnel perspective, both players need reps. Getting reps against a lower-level team in the NFL is a prime position for Carlies and Brents to get back on track with this football team.
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