It’s never too early or too late to call a game a “must-win” game. The winner of this game will have at least a share of the AFC South. If the Colts lose, it will essentially eliminate their chances of winning the division. For those keeping track, the Colts have not won the AFC South since the 2014 season. The Colts are in a decent spot for a Wild Card playoff spot if they can get a couple of wins between now and November. The schedule really lightens up the back end of the season. Grabbing this one before this kicked-up schedule would go a long way for their playoff chances. So, let’s discuss how they can get this needed win on Sunday.
Two Key Players (Likely) To Return
If you happened to watch Thursday Night Football, you saw the Rams get their two starting receivers back (Kupp and Nacua). It completely changed the play calls and the overall efficiency of their offense. Barring any surprises, the team should get RB Jonathan Taylor and DT DeForest Buckner back for the biggest game of the season so far.
These two players will open up the coaching staff’s playbook on both sides of the ball. The Colts have survived without Taylor, but this offense goes through him and without him, it became more reliant on Anthony Richardson. On defense, Buckner’s return will hopefully allow them to get back some pass-rush help. Joe Mixon ran all over this defense in Week 1 for 159 yards on 30 carries. This run defense has been inconsistent all year and the Colts will need a better performance from the defensive line if they hope to have any chance of victory on Sunday.
Improvement From Anthony Richardson
Another inconsistent effort from Anthony Richardson last week kept the doubters talking last week. His ground game was another great showing but his accuracy again the seed of doubt into the fanbase. In Week 1 against this same Texans team, it wasn’t much better finishing 9/19 for 212 yards. He did have the 60-yard bomb to Alec Pierce in the first quarter that broke the internet.
The season has been a roller coaster for Richardson. He has had moments where he looks like he is the player we all want him to become. Other times he looks like a total bust. There is no question he needs reps and time to develop but this will be another great barometer of where his development is headed.
If you watched more film from last week, his decision-making is continuing to improve it’s the accuracy that has been the difficulty. Miami gave him some different looks and pressures that were a bit unexpected. Shane Steichen took the blame for it last week and said he needed to be better. He is correct but Richardson must be better too. These two teams know each other very well and this staff at some point must show some progress from Richardson. What better week to start than this week?
Sustained Drive Touchdowns
I know this seems obvious but last week the Colts had only one touchdown drive and it was off a turnover on a short field. In Week 1, the Texans dominated the time of possession 2:1. They were able to do this by continuing to pound the football with Joe Mixon.
The Colts so far this year have had strong starts with the “scripted” first drive plays and then they seem to get some scarcity on the offense after that. Richardson’s inconsistency has played a huge role in this. They must sustain some long drives throughout the game and keep this Texans offense off the field. CJ Stroud had his worst performance of the season last week in Green Bay and one would expect, even without star Nico Collins, that he would rebound from that performance. We will find out this Sunday in Houston if the Colts can keep their division hopes alive.
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