The Indianapolis Colts have been pretty good at interceptions through four games. The team is tied at sixth with four picks. In Week 5, Indy might have a chance at a few more. That is, if Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Geno Smith continues his current trend.
Smith leads all quarterbacks with seven interceptions this season. At that pace, he would finish with 30, and no one in the Raiders organization wants that to happen. Smith was traded for this offseason to help fix the Vegas offense, and he hasn't.
Instead, his reunion with head coach Pete Carroll (Carroll coached Smith for several seasons in Seattle - two of which Smith started - before Carroll's exit after the 2023 season) has been a sour one. That, of course, could change at any point, but let's hope it doesn't in Week 5.
Indianapolis Colts should hope for more interceptions from Geno Smith in Week 5
Another trend that Colts fans should be wary of is that while Smith has tossed seven picks, he's been much better in his road games than at home. The Raiders are traveling to play Indianapolis, so maybe that helps the Vegas quarterback be a bit more relaxed.
In two road games, he has thrown four touchdowns and just one interception, and his quarterback rating is 117. Maybe it's something about playing in Las Vegas that Smith doesn't like. A key will be for the Colts to get consistent pressure on Smith, and they might be able to do that as Vegas will be missing starting left tackle Kolton Miller.
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As far as Geno Smith's mistakes, he thinks he can fix those. He believes in himself even when others doubt.
Speaking with the media in the days ahead of the Colts matchup, Smith said, "There's a lot of things I'm going to have to fix within myself. You know, that's the reality. And I'm not going to sugarcoat it, I got to be a lot better, and I am a lot better, but it hasn't showed up. The guy that I'm supposed to be hasn't showed up yet. And so I'll take pride in fixing this stuff."
Smith is one of the many redemption stories among quarterbacks in the NFL. Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield are two others. The Colts, hopefully, have one of their own in the person of Daniel Jones.
In fact, the Week 5 showdown between the Las Vegas Raiders and Indianapolis Colts might come down to which redemption project plays the best. The similarities between the statistics of the Vegas pass defense and the Indy one are striking.
Indianapolis's quarterback rating allowed is 17th in the NFL at 92.7, while Las Vegas is 18th at 93.3. Indy has allowed 223.8 passing yards per game, and Vegas has allowed 228.3. The Colts have been a tick better against the pass overall than the Raiders, though.
Let's hope that trend continues in Week 5, as well as Geno Smith's tendency to throw interceptions. If those two things happen, the Indianapolis Colts will almost certainly move to 4-1 and remain atop the AFC South.