Colts need to play smart to beat the Raiders

Missing as many players as they will be tomorrow, the Colts need to play smart if they want to come out with a victory.

Missing players due to injury is never ideal or easy. It means playing backups and changing around the chemistry of the team. The Colts will be doing a lot of that this week as they have three players who are already ruled out and four more who could be out come game time.

Winning a game like this comes down to playing smart. The Raiders are still the inferior team, even with the Colts missing this many players. But inferior teams can still win games. They typically win them by winning the turnover battle and being smart with penalties.

The Colts have to do both of those things if they want to win tomorrow. Jacoby Brissett has done a pretty good job protecting the ball so far this season. He only has two turnovers this season, and they were both in the same game. He has been very smart with the ball.

If the Colts don’t have any turnovers in this game, there is no reason why they can’t beat Oakland. But if they turn it over multiple times, they are ripe for an upset. Turnovers are what teams like the Raiders look for to capitalize on to close the talent gap.

Expect Frank Reich to have a good gameplan for this one to make sure they are disciplined with the ball and penalties. They will be smart with the ball and should be able to pull this one out.