Indianapolis Colts: Week 4 vs Bears is a “prove it” matchup for Indy

The Colts defense is the best in the league through three weeks, but will they keep that title through week four against the Chicago Bears?

Colts fans have had an up and down year already through Week 3. The Jaguars embarrassed the Colts defense en route to a 27-20 victory. In Week 2, the Colts took care of business against a struggling Vikings team, forcing three turnovers, and did the same in Week 3 against the Jets, but added two pick-sixes and a safety.

Head coach Frank Reich made sure fans knew this type of defensive production was hard to maintain, and he’s right. Having the No. 1 defense in the league is a title not many teams can say they had at one point in the season, but the Colts have done it and they have some impressive stats to back it up.

Historically, the Colts’ defense has been a sight for sore eyes, going back to the early 2000s during the Peyton Manning years. A few exceptions include the 2007 Super Bowl run that featured Marlin Jackson’s interception vs the Patriots and Larry Johnson being neutralized. So to say this kind of production from the defense is unexpected is an understatement.

That being said, I’m not complaining. But this week will be a “prove it” game for the Colts. So far they’ve faced lackluster teams. Jacksonville has proven that Week 1 was a fluke. The Vikings are surprisingly bad at 0-3. The Jets … well, they’re the Jets. On the bright side, however, good teams manage to demolish bad ones, and the Colts have taken care of business the last two weeks.

But here comes a major test. We can all admit the Nick Foles-led Bears are far better than the Mitchell Trubisky-led Bears. Though Trubisky has technically won three games as the team’s starter, Foles coming in and staging that epic comeback against the Falcons was wildly impressive. Even more mind-blowing was his nearly perfect rating under pressure (a perfect 150) and when he was blitzed (116.2).

This week will also be a big test for the Colts’ linebackers. Foles now has Jimmy Graham to throw to, and the veteran has been surprisingly good this year. In the running game, the Bears like to get creative use Corderrelle Patterson in the backfield and he must be contained if they want to stop the running game and limit the big plays. David Montgomery is the true running back, but he shouldn’t be a problem for Darius Leonard and Co.

The other phase of the game is special teams. Patterson is a dynamic returner who’s given the freedom to take kicks back from anywhere. Being that Sanchez is so good in the kicking game, it will be important to bottle Patterson up to avoid giving the defense bad field position. Indy’s been good at that so far this year and they need to keep it up.

Overall, the Colts need to make a statement and prove that they can not only beat up on bad teams, but can also find ways to win against good teams on the road. The 2-1 Colts need to tighten up the defense, continue establishing the run game, and improve upon their red zone woes in order to let the rest of the NFL know they’re going to be contenders.

Colts: Bears run defense gives Jonathan Taylor opportunity to prove himself

The Bears' stout run defense gives Colts rookie running back Jonathan Taylor a perfect opportunity to prove himself because of their front seven.