The Colts have to win the WRs vs DBs battle on Sunday.
Though the Indianapolis Colts’ offense got off to a roaring start in 2020, they have nothing to show for it after a Week 1 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The good news is that a few big things are lining up for Indy this week. They’re home and will have fans present. That should help give them some more confidence. Additionally, their high-octane passing attack will be going up against a weak Minnesota Vikings secondary.
That matchup must be exploited for the Colts to come out on top. When you realize the Vikings lost a lot of continuity back there with Xavier Rhodes, Mackensie Alexander, Trae Waynes and Andrew Sendejo leaving in free agency, Philip Rivers and the wideouts have to go to work.
Davante Adams' final catch, his 14th against an overmatched Vikings secondary, tied receiver Don Hutson for most in a single game in Packers history. https://t.co/KGtoYuqvqf
— JSOnline - NewsWatch (@js_newswatch) September 14, 2020
Rivers is by no means Aaron Rodgers, but he has more weapons at his disposal than the Green Back Packers QB. TY Hilton, Michael Pittman Jr., Parris Campbell Jr., Nyheim Hines, Jonathan Taylor and even Mo Alie-Cox should be able to win a lot of their one-on-ones and get into open space, especially against a largely inexperienced group.
Mike Hughes, Holton Hill, Jeff Gladney and Josh Metellus just aren’t going to cut it for the Vikes. Harrison Smith and Anthony Harris can’t do everything back there. And when you factor in the Vikings’ terrible pass rush against an inferior offensive line in Green Bay’s, this is even more of a mismatch.
They also lost Linval Joseph and Everson Griffen, both of whom were key in applying pressure up the middle and on the outside. As long as Anthony Castonzo can neutralize old foe Yannick Ngakoue, you have to think Rivers is going to pick apart this defense.
Major props to Rodgers exploding in week 1, but I'm seriously worried about the Vikings defense. They weren't making Rodgers uncomfortable and their secondary was awful, they blitzed 43% of the time and pressured AR just 9%
— Alex Rollins (@AlexRollinsNFL) September 15, 2020
Rivers and Co. kicked off the season just as we expected on offense, but a couple of costly interceptions, drops, and poor plays on defense doomed Indy. That overshadowed the veteran’s 346 pass yards, Campbell Jr.’s six-catch, 71-yard receiving day, and a Swiss Army knife performance from Nyheim Hines, who gashed the Jags on the ground and in the air.
But more importantly, Hilton needs to rebound after dropping two passes on the final drive that sealed the Colts’ fate, and Pittman Jr. needs overcome his toe issue (he caught two passes for 20 yards early against the Jags and didn’t record another reception for the rest of the game).
Minnesota will also be without cornerback Cameron Dantzler, who, despite being a rookie, saw 82% of the defensive snaps last week, making it obvious he’s a significant part of the team’s plans on defense.
It’s all right there for the Colts. All they have to execute and avoid drastic game-altering mistakes. Sounds easy, but it rarely ever is.
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