Colts: 3 reasons to be optimistic about Philip Rivers in Week 6
By Jerry Trotta
1. Bengals Can’t Stop the Run
The Bengals soft run defense could lessen Rivers’ workload on Sunday.
If we’ve learned one thing about the Colts through five weeks, it’s that they cannot win games in which they fail to establish the run. Therefore, it shouldn’t be surprising that both of Indianapolis’ losses this season came when Rivers was asked to drop back to pass 30 or more times.
In Week 1 against Jacksonville, Rivers finished 36-of-46 (!) for 363 yards and one touchdown compared to two interceptions, which ultimately ended up costing the Colts a chance at winning the game. In Week 5 versus the Browns, the eight-time Pro Bowler completed 21 of 33 pass attempts for 243 yards, zero touchdowns and two interceptions. Like Week 1, both of Rivers’ turnovers resulted in Indianapolis having an insurmountable deficit to overcome.
Luckily for the Colts, they shouldn’t have to rely heavily on Rivers this weekend, as Cincinnati has one of the worst run defenses in the entire NFL. For the season, the Bengals rank 30th in both rushing yards allowed per game (159) and yards per attempt (5.2). If there was ever a time for rookie Jonathan Taylor and Indy’s struggling running game to get back on track, it’s on Sunday.
The stars are literally aligning for the Colts to ride dominating time of possession and a sound defensive performance, which is evidently their identity, to a victory against an inferior Bengals side.
