The Indianapolis Colts finally catch a break in Week 10. Indy is 2-7, but should get its third victory of the season against the atrocious Miami Dolphins, who will be starting a quarterback who should be lost.
This should be a game where Indianapolis's defense looks terrific, and Daniel Jones, despite the team trading Josh Downs and Keenan Allen, has one of his best games of the season. This doesn't mean the Colts are about to go on a winning streak, but a victory against Miami should be assumed.
The game does carry a few concerns that Indy will need to work around. These should be small concerns, though, and the Colts should win fairly easily.
Indianapolis Colts have few concerns in Week 10 against the Maimi Dolphins
The unknown with Kyle McCord
McCord has not only never started a game in the NFL, but he has also never even played a single down in a regular season game. He might know the Miami offense well enough, but the Dolphins are terrible in that aspect. How could McCord find any success against the Colts?
This game should make Lou Anarumo and his defense look very good. Anything else should lead to Anarumo not having a job by Week 11. The likelihood that Indy has a couple of interceptions and five sacks is far greater than Miami scoring 10 points.
Still, coaches like to go against a known quantity because they understand the scheme or players' tendencies. With McCord, he is completely unknown.
The Dolphins defense isn't awful
Miami is 1-7 because its offense is so bad, but the defense is one that could win games if it had help. The Dolphins are eighth in yards allowed per carry (3.8) and eighth in rushing touchdowns allowed (six).
Where Miami has struggled is against the pass, as it is allowing a league-worst 114.0 quarterback rating and the sixth-most touchdown passes (16). Miami's 12 sacks are the least in the league.
This means that Daniel Jones might need to be terrific for Indy to win the game, as the Dolphins could slow Jonathan Taylor, but Jones is playing with a depleted wide receiver group. The Colts' passing attack against the Dolphins' bad pass defense will make for must-watch football.
Running back Ollie Gordon isn't terrible
As with the defense, anything positive about Miami must be tempered with reality. As bad as the Colts' season has been, the Dolphins are just a terrible team. The fact that they even won a game is somewhat surprising.
If Miami is going to win in Week 10, it will be because they are effectively running the ball, and Gordon, starting in place of the injured De'Von Achane, has had some decent games. He scored a touchdown in four straight games between Weeks 3 and 7. He has also rushed for more than 100 yards in two games.
The Colts should absolutely focus on stopping the run against a Miami team playing a quarterback in his first career start, but not slowing Gordon could lead to a rather shocking loss.
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