Colts can take advantage of depleted Raiders secondary
By Daniel Davis
The Colts are traveling to Las Vegas to take on the Raiders in a game with playoff implications.
This week, the Colts will take on a Raiders team that brought in a former player to fill a starting role.
Raiders cornerback Damon Arnette has been listed as out after suffering a concussion against the Jets. Johnathan Abram and Isaiah Johnson are both listed as questionable after having limited practices on Friday.
To help bolster the secondary, the Raiders signed former cornerback Daryl Worley to the active roster, a desperate bandage to help them patch over their current MASH unit. Advantage Colts.
Damon Arnette and Jeff Heath are OUT for the @Raiders. Trent Brown, Josh Jacobs and Johnathan Abram will be listed as questionable
— Vincent Bonsignore (@VinnyBonsignore) December 11, 2020
The Colts offense has been putting up points in the past few weeks, and we’ve seen the receivers take on a bigger role in the passing game. T.Y Hilton had a big game last week in Houston, and rookie receiver Michael Pittman Jr. has been coming into his own in recent weeks.
Hilton had a 100-yard game and caught a touchdown on a long passing play, and Pittman has been looking like a No. 1 wide receiver.
In other words, a depleted secondary’s worst nightmare.
Even at full strength, the Raiders passing defense is in the bottom 10 of the league allowing 257 yards a game through the air and 3,085 total in 2020. They’ve also allowed 20 touchdowns through the air with a 7.1 yard per completion mark.
Jon Gruden said that Philip Rivers "has more fun playing football than anyone I know. He has a disdain for the Raiders, and that's something he's made clear to me on the sidelines the last couple of years."
— Vic Tafur (@VicTafur) December 9, 2020
If there is any week the Colts should attack the opponent through the air, it’s this week. The Raiders have one of the worst linebacker corps, and you could see the Colts trying to match up their athletic receivers with the linebackers and the depleted secondary for a big day in Las Vegas. Philip Rivers has historically played very well against the Raiders, too, averaging 310 yards per game and throwing 37 touchdowns against just 12 interceptions.
The Colts need to win this game walking away to show the NFL and the fans they deserve this last playoff spot. Also, they’ll have a golden chance to knock the Raiders out of the playoff contention.
