Back at home after two weeks on the road, the 3-3 Indianapolis Colts will take on the 2-3 Miami Dolphins, who are coming off their bye week, here in Week 7.
Overall, it’s been a very boom or bust for the Indianapolis Colts offense. They have been one of the best at generating big plays, which does lead to points, but they’ve also struggled to sustain drives as well.
The answers to these three questions below will go a long way in determining how this unit performs on Sunday against the Dolphins.
How does Anthony Richardson look?
Anthony Richardson will be back under center for the Colts after missing the last two games with an oblique injury. The last time we saw him was early on in the Colts’ Week 4 matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers where he was off to a fast start.
Richardson began the game completing 3-of-4 passes for 71 yards, which included completions of 28 yards and 32 yards to Michael Pittman that sparked early touchdown drives.
Naturally, after time away, there may be some rust and against this Dolphins’ defense that has been good at limiting big pass plays, Richardson’s ability to be consistent on the short to intermediate throws will be important for the Colts to sustain drives.
Having Richardson back at quarterback should also give the Colts run game a boost. This is not only because of his ability as a ball carrier but defenses can’t defend the Indianapolis running backs as aggressively either since they have to be mindful of Richardson with the ball.
Can the run game get going?
As we just alluded to, moving the ball through the air against the Miami secondary will have its challenges, so finding success in the run game becomes a must for the Colts.
Opposing quarterbacks have a passer rating of just 80.2 against the Dolphins while the 10 explosive pass plays they’ve given up are the second-fewest. However, against the run, the 4.7 yards per rush allowed ranks in the bottom third, while the 19 explosive runs surrendered are the seventh-most.
Without Jonathan Taylor, who will again be out, getting the run game going these last two weeks has been a challenge for the Colts. Like we said, having Richardson back will help, but there should also be an effort to give Tyler Goodson more opportunities as well.
Being able to move the ball on the ground will keep the offense ahead of the sticks, out of predictable passing situations, and can help open up some opportunities through the air.
Who wins the third down battle?
As we saw last week against the Titans, in a close game third down success very much matters. The Colts finished that game converting nearly 50 percent of their attempts while the Titans were only 4-of-11. In a game decided by three points, the Colts’ offense ran 11 more plays than Tennessee, which again matters.
These third downs will be a battle of strengths on this side of the ball. The Colts offense enters this game ranked eighth in third down success rate while the Dolphins defense is first in third down success rate.
Whoever finds more success on these crucial downs may give their overall team the upper hand.