The Indianapolis Colts will be taking on the Tennessee Titans at home for Week 16, divisional rivals who the Colts need to win if they want to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. Last week, the Colts lost in brutal fashion to the Denver Broncos, in a game which began promising, but quickly collapsed into disaster in the second half.
While the Titans have recently benched their starting quarterback, there aren't many changes to the Colts' lineup in the current depth chart released by the Colts. One notable change, however, is at center; veteran Ryan Kelly was not able to play Sunday, and it had been expected that rookie Tanor Bortolini would play at center for him. Instead, the decision was made to put Danny Pinter in at center instead, a move that was questioned by many. But in this week's depth chart, Bortolini is listed as the starting center, with Pinter as his backup. Despite that, the Athletic's James Boyd tweeted that Kelly said he will likely be starting Sunday
There is also the question of whether or not Alec Pierce will be able to play Sunday; he was injured during the Broncos game, and has entered concussion protocol. As of Wednesday, Pierce wasn't practicing, so if he is still not able to play in the Colts-Titans game, rookie Adonai Mitchell will start in his place -- something that will likely cause Colts fans to be worried, considering how much Mitchell has struggled so far in his first NFL season.
While the Colts' chances of making the playoffs are fairly low after their loss to the Broncos, they could still potentially make it... if they win all three of their remaining games. The Colts already beat the Titans earlier this season, but what cost them to loss to the Broncos were mostly self-inflicted injuries, dumb mistakes, and penalties. If the same happens against the Titans, the Colts could very well lose again, which would knock them out of the playoff race for good.
Offense:
- WR: Michael Pittman Jr., Ashton Dulin
- LT: Bernhard Raimann, Blake Freeland
- LG: Quenton Nelson, Danny Pinter OR Tanor Bortolini
- C: Tanor Bortolini, Danny Pinter
- RG: Dalton Tucker, Atonio Mafi
- RT: Matt Goncalves
- TE: Mo Alie-Cox, Drew Ogletree
- TE: Kylen Granson, Will Mallory
- WR: Josh Downs, Anthony Gould
- WR: Alec Pierce OR Adonai Mitchell
- QB: Anthony Richardson, Joe Flacco, Sam Ehlinger
- RB: Jonathan Taylor, Trey Sermon, Tyler Goodson
Defense:
- DE: Kwity Paye, Laiatu Latu
- DT: DeForest Buckner, Taven Bryan, Adetomiwa Adebawore
- NT: Grover Stewart, Raekwon Davis
- DE: Dayo Odeyingbo, Tyquan Lewis, Isaiah Land
- WLB: E.J. Speed
- MLB: Zaire Franklin, Segun Olubi
- SAM: Grant Stuard, Cameron McGrone
- CB: Samuel Womack III, David Long Jr.
- FS: Julian Blackmon, Rodney Thomas II, Darren Hall
- SS: Nick Cross, Ronnie Harrison Jr.
- N: Kenny Moore II, Chris Lammons
- CB: Jaylon Jones
Special Teams:
- P: Rigoberto Sanchez
- PK: Matt Gay
- H: Rigoberto Sanchez
- LS: Luke Rhodes
- KR: Tyler Goodson, Anthony Gould, Ashton Dulin
- PR: Josh Downs, Anthony Gould