The Indianapolis Colts will be heading to Lambeau Field in Wisconsin to take on the Green Bay Packers, and they'll be looking to rebound from their Week 1 loss to the Houston Texans. The Packers had suffered a blow during Week 1 also - not only did they lose to the Philadelphia Eagles, they also lost their starting quarterback, Jordan Love.
Love injured his knee during one of the final plays, and initially had to be helped off the field. Initially, the timeline for his recovery was said to be several weeks, and it was presumed that backup QB Malik Willis will be starting instead. But recent comments from Matt LeFleur indicated the Colts may be battling Love on Sunday after all.
Earlier this week, LeFleur announced that Love hadn't suffered a season-ending injury, and didn't rule out a Sunday return. "I couldn't give you a percentage, but if he gets cleared, we'll give him every opportunity like we always will," LaFleur said. "I know he's doing everything in his power. I know he's spending a lot of time trying to get back as soon as possible. But certainly we're not going to put him in a position where if he can't protect himself that he'd go out there."
Today, however, Love did not practice with the Packers, and Sports Illustrated reported that the team will be waiting for feedback from the medical team before making a decision about Sunday's game. “If he gets cleared, we’ll give him every opportunity like we always will,” LaFleur said. “I know he’s doing everything in his power. I know he’s spending a lot of time trying to get back as soon as possible. But, certainly, we’re not going to put him in a position where, if he can’t protect himself, that he’d go out there.”
He also explained that the Packers won't risk further injuring Love for a temporary victory against the Colts. We will never put him in a position to mortgage the short term for the future. You know what I’m saying? If he can’t protect himself, we would never do that to him or our football team.”
The Colts would almost certainly rather see Willis take the field Sunday than Love. Love is a more seasoned quarterback who led the Packers to the playoffs last year, while Willis has had just a handful of days with LeFleur.
What does a Willis start look like for the Colts defense? Well, considering how new he is, it's likely that the Packers will be focusing on their run game, and that's an area where the Colts defense struggled heavily against the Texans. The Packers will have noticed that, and be looking to take advantage of that weakness on Sunday. The Colts allowed 213 rushing yards Sunday altogether, with Joe Mixon alone garnering 159 of them.
It may seem like an injured Love is good news for the Colts, but if it means a heavy rush offense from the Packers, than the pressure is even higher on the Colts defense to perform better if they want a chance at winning.