The Indianapolis Colts were supposed to win the AFC South with relative ease this year. They were thought to be a quarterback away, and Matt Ryan was supposed to be that quarterback.
Instead, they’ve looked like a bottom-five team at times, going winless in three tries against division foes. They tied the 0-3-1 Houston Texans in their opener and lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans. Keeping an air of mystery, though, the Colts beat the 3-1 Kansas City Chiefs for their lone win of the season.
So, with news that All-Pro running back Jonathan Taylor will miss Thursday night’s game against the Denver Broncos (-3) with an ankle injury, we should probably expect a Colts win. Because that’s the only result that wouldn’t make sense.
RB Jonathan Taylor has been ruled out for #INDvsDEN.
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) October 5, 2022
Coming into the season, this game would have been billed as an exciting AFC clash between two new playoff hopefuls led by former All-Pro quarterbacks. Instead, questions exist about whether either team (or quarterback) is any good.
There’s still time for correction on both sides, but this game is a good place to start. Especially for the Colts, who risk falling to 1-3-1. Taylor would’ve been huge against a Broncos defense that was just gashed by Josh Jacobs for 144 yards and two touchdowns Sunday night. Instead, the Colts will likely turn to Nyheim Hines, and former Bronco Phillip Lindsay could be activated from the practice squad.
Losing Taylor means more pressure is on Ryan and the passing game. That could spell disaster; the Broncos rank sixth in Football Outsiders‘ pass defense DVOA ratings. And the Colts’ own pass defense is 27th, which means Russell Wilson may be able to make some things happen and further tilt Indy’s offensive balance. But that’s all using too much logic, which doesn’t apply to the Colts. So I’ll probably regret picking the Broncos, but I’ll do it anyway.
Prince’s pick: Broncos 27-17
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