The Indianapolis Colts shorthanded secondary faces a very difficult test in Week 2, having to account for the bevy of pass-catching options that the Green Bay Packers have.
As the Packers offense got hot during the second half of last season, there was seemingly a new receiver that stepped up each week and had a big game.
In their Wildcard round win over Dallas, Romeo Doubs went for 151 yards. In Week 18 against the Chicago Bears, Jayden Reed went for 112 yards. The Week before that, Bo Melton totaled 105 yards versus the Vikings.
In Week 15, Dontayvion Wicks led the way with 97 yards, while the Packers also have the vertical presence that Christian Watson provides.
In Week 1 of this season, in the Packers opener against Philadelphia, it was Reed’s turn once again, who totaled 138 receiving yards, along with 33 more yards on the ground, with two scores.
In addition to the playmaking abilities that this Packers receiver group brings, there are also a wide variety of skill sets that opponents have to account for as well.
The Colts, meanwhile, entered the season with question marks in the secondary and that depth is already being put to the test with JuJu Brents on injured reserve and Julian Blackmon having already been ruled out of Sunday’s game.
In place of Brents, the Colts will likely start Dallis Flowers or Sam Womack. While at safety, the Colts could move Nick Cross to strong safety in order to start Rodney Thomas at free safety. Or they could keep Cross at free safety and start Ronnie Harrison at strong safety.
There may not be a bigger matchup advantage in this contest than the Packers receivers against the Colts secondary.
And obviously, a major factor in all of this is who is starting at quarterback for the Packers. Jordan Love is currently listed as questionable, which has forced the Colts to prepare for both him and Malik Willis to potentially start.
If Love is able to play, that will put an added stressor on the defense, potentially forcing the Colts to take a similar approach to what they did against Houston, which included playing with lighter boxes to provide additional support on the back end. That then, of course, could leave them exposed in the run game against Josh Jacobs.
With Willis, the pendulum could swing the other direction, with the Colts putting an emphasis on stopping the run in an effort to put the game in Willis’ hands and not Jacobs.
Doing this, however, will put the Colts’ cornerbacks in some one-on-one matchups. Now, whether Willis can capitalize is the great unknown.
Regardless of who the quarterback is, when it comes to containing the Packers pass catchers, the Colts pass rush will have to play a key role in limiting them by getting after whoever the quarterback is to disrupt the timing and rhythm of those passing plays.