Colts vs. Broncos: 3 keys to watch

Garett Bolles has struggled at times to stay in front of pass rushers at the left tackle position. Last week he played horrendously and had some holding calls on him. He will likely be going against Justin Houston, who is the Colts’ best pass rusher.

Houston has started to turn up his play in recent games. He had two sacks last week against Houston after having one sack against the Chiefs. If Bolles plays anything like he did last Thursday, Houston could get a hat-trick and end up with two sacks.

Expect Denver to try to help Bolles with a tight end or a chip block from the running back. It would be the only way that Houston could be slowed down. If they don’t put someone out there to help him, Joe Flacco will be on his back most of the game.

Even if they give Bolles some help that opens up the rest of the defensive line to have a good game. Jabaal Sheard can then rush from the other side and put pressure on Flacco. They won’t be able to stop both at the same time, so they will have to pick and choose their spots.

To beat the pass rush, Flacco will have to get the ball out of his hands quickly. They might have to run a lot of slants and screens to beat that rush. That leads us to the second key matchup for the game, which has to deal with the Colts’ secondary.