Losers of four of their last five, the Indianapolis Colts head down to Florida for the first of two trips to the sunshine state this month (great time to go down there). This week they take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in an inter-conference matchup.
In the first half of the last game for the Colts, they were able to move the ball well against a good Tennessee Titans defense—four drives got into Titans territory—but they settled for only 10 points. Against the Buccaneers this week, the Colts will need a better performance from their offense if they want to win.
Let’s take a look at some keys to the game for the Colts offense:
1. Consistent passing game
In the first half of the Tennessee game Jacoby Brissett was finding guys wide open all over the field but in the second half, things changed. The Titans started blitzing more and got Brissett off his spot and eventually forced Brissett into two costly turnovers late in the game.
This week has a very favorable matchup for the pass offense going against Tampa Bay. Overall, the Buccaneers are 31st in the NFL in pass yards allowed per game, and the sample size is there. Teams throw all over Tampa, an average of 42 attempts per game most in the NFL.
Don’t expect Reich and the offense to attempt over 40 passes even though they did it last week. The final two possessions the Colts attempted nine passes after going down 24-17 with three minutes left. But if the Colts want to have success on offense, they must attack through the air.