Here are three Colts players who must step up against the Packers on Sunday.
The Indianapolis Colts’ unforgiving slate of games this month will continue on Sunday, when they welcome the 7-2 Green Bay Packers to Lucas Oil Stadium.
It goes without saying that this will be head coach Frank Reich’s side’s stiffest test of the season, so they’d better come ready to play. However, that’s been the case for the last three weeks, and they have encouragingly answered the call in each of those fixtures– winning two of three, with their only loss coming in a hard-fought defensive battle against Baltimore in Week 9.
What makes this matchup with Green Bay so compelling is that they pose different threats than Indianapolis’ previous three opponents. Led by quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the Packers boast a lethal aerial attack that is perfectly complemented by a potent running game.
On the other side of the ball, however, they are incredibly vulnerable, so the Colts will undoubtedly have their chances to put up points. Expect their red zone efficiency (or lack thereof) to be the difference in the game.
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We know that the entire team will need to fulfill their roles for the Colts to have a chance at coming out victorious, but here are three players in particular who need to step up and win their individual matchups.
3. Justin Houston
Indianapolis’ defense was dealt a crushing blow on Friday when it was announced that versatile defensive lineman Denico Autry (illness) was ineligible to play after being placed on the COVID-19 reserve list. The 30-year-old vet has been a revelation from a pass-rushing standpoint this season, leading the Colts with six sacks and ranking second on the team with seven QB hits.
Autry’s absence means other members of the front seven — specifically the defensive line — will need to step up to make life uncomfortable for Rodgers, who’s completing over 67% of his passes for 2,578 yards and 26 touchdowns to three interceptions and leads the league with an 84.7 QBR.
We’re looking at you, Justin Houston. The four-time Pro Bowler has been uncharacteristically quiet this season, recording just nine tackles, 3.5 sacks and seven QB hits through nine games. That’s not the kind of production you would expect from a player of his quality, let alone one accounting for a $9 million cap hit.
If there’s a reason to be confident about Houston, however, it lies in the fact he has an established reputation of showing up on the big stage, and we truly couldn’t think of a better spot for him to announce his presence in the backfield. Rodgers is obviously lethal both inside and outside of the pocket, but we’ll take our chances with him eluding a pass rush rather than having all day to go through his progressions and pick apart the Colts’ zone-oriented scheme.
If Houston has a strong game, Indianapolis wins. It’s that simple.
2. Jonathan Taylor
We mentioned earlier that Green Bay is suspect when it comes to playing defense, and most of their woes come in stopping the run. Sure, they currently rank 12th in the NFL in terms of rushing yards allowed per game (110.8), but that’s largely the product of opposing teams having to throw to keep up with their offense.
The eye test says it all when it comes to the Packers run defense, which let Vikings RB Dalvin Cook run rampant to the tune of 163 yards and three touchdowns on 5.4 yards per attempt three games ago. On top of that, they allowed Jaguars rookie James Robinson to total 109 yards on the ground on 4.7 yards per carry just last week.
That makes the entire Indianapolis backfield crucial, but Jonathan Taylor — assuming he gets the bulk of the carries — will be hugely important. It’s been regurgitated countless times that the 2020 second-round pick has underwhelmed this season, but something tells us he breaks out of this prolonged funk in a big way on Sunday.
Establishing the run will only result in Rodgers spending more times on the sidelines, and that should no doubt be the top priority for the Colts. If Taylor gets into a rhythm early, we see no reason why Indy shouldn’t control the tempo of the game.
1. Xavier Rhodes
Make no mistake about it, folks: containing Packers wide receiver Davante Adams will be one of keys to victory on Sunday. Fans in Indianapolis were probably hoping he would be ruled out after being held out of practice with an ankle injury, but Green Bay announced heading into the weekend that he was cleared to play.
We know the Colts defense has been lights out this season, but Adams presents a problem they simply haven’t faced up until this point in the campaign. After all, the three-time Pro Bowler is making a strong case to be recognized as the best WR in the game, as no team has proven capable of stopping him.
Despite missing two games due to injury, Adams leads the league with nine touchdown receptions. He also has three 100-yard games under his belt and is averaging a ridiculous 9.8 catches and 105.8 yards per game in seven appearances.
We would expect the Colts to double team him fairly often, but that obviously won’t be the case on every play, which makes cornerback Xavier Rhodes — assuming he shadows him — arguably the most important member of the defense in this game. If the former All-Pro is able to make life difficult for Adams, who clearly won’t be working at 100%, Indianapolis will likely find themselves in a great position to pull out a win.
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