Colts OT Chaz Green will be key to team’s success against Raiders

The Colts are set to take on the Raiders in a game with playoff implications.

The Indianapolis Colts might be playing the Las Vegas Raiders without their top two left tackles again this weekend.

Anthony Castonzo returned to practice in a limited fashion this week but Frank Reich remained pessimistic in regards to his status (he’s listed as questionable at the moment). On the other hand, Le’Raven Clark is out for the season after landing on injured reserve.

Going into the 2020 season, backup offensive tackle was a point of contention for many Colts fans, in addition to the lack of depth. When Castonzo went down, fans held their breath as Clark came in, but ripped their hair out when he was carted off the field against Houston last week.

This means the Colts will likely be rolling with tackle Chaz Green for the second week in a row.

Green played well given his situation last week, when he went against some of the best pass rushers in the league in Whitney Mercilus and JJ Watt. He played 64 snaps with 38 in pass protection, allowing two sacks and five pressures. Overall, Green had a decent game and the offense adjusted well to his presence.

This week will be a homecoming for Green. Last season he was with the Raiders, though briefly (he logged just 59 snaps).

This week, Green will be going against Clelin Ferrell, the former first-round pick out of Clemson. Ferrell didn’t log a sack all season long but finally logged two against the Jets last week. He also added six total pressures with two sacks and another hit on Sam Darnold.

Ferrell isn’t the type of player to light up the stat board with sacks, but he’s very good at setting the edge in defending the run. Also, the Raiders have another pass rusher Maxx Crosby, who had 10 sacks last season as a rookie and is continuing his production this year with six sacks and 33 total pressures.

If Green can limit the damage, that’ll make all the difference for the Colts, who desperately need this win to help their postseason chances. If the Raiders win, the Titans will remain atop the AFC no matter what and Las Vegas will gain the tie-breaker over Indy in the playoff picture.

Perhaps Rivers’ hatred of the Raiders will help provide Green with a little extra motivation.

Philip Rivers apparently hates the Raiders and the timing couldn’t be better

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