After their Week 1 loss to the Houston Texans on Sunday, the Indianapolis Colts will be looking to rebound with a win at Lambeau Field in Wisconsin against the Green Bay Packers. It will be a closely-watched game, as the Colts need a win to show that they are a force to be reckoned with in the AFC South, and not just a team to be overlooked in favor of the powerhouse Texans.
The Packers are coming off of a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, and they'll be without quarterback Jordan Love, too. Malik Willis will be starting instead, while the Colts look to a healthy Anthony Richardson to bring more of that explosive talent to the field Sunday, with a little more consistency, more rushing yards on the offense, and a better job stopping the run from the defense.
And with their first Week 2 depth chart released, Colts fans will have an idea of who will be taking on the Packers Sunday. Are there any surprises in store? Read on to find out.
Offense:
- WR: Michael Pittman Jr., Ashton Dulin
- LT: Bernhard Raimann, Blake Freeland
- LG: Quenton Nelson, Danny Pinter OR Tanor Bortolini
- C: Ryan Kelly, Danny Pinter OR Tanor Bortolini
- RG: Will Fries, Dalton Tucker
- RT: Braden Smith, 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
While Richardson showed the league that he's not someone to sleep on - particularly with that spectacular 60-yard pass to Alec Pierce - he also wasn't very consistent. He finished with just a 47.4% completion rate and one red-zone interception, and he will need to find a way to power that explosive ability with more completions. The offensive line will also need to create more opportunities for Jonathan Taylor, who only had 48 yards on 16 carries Sunday.
Josh Downs has been out with a high ankle sprain, though the Colts are hoping to see him back on the field this week.
Defense:
- DE: Kwity Paye, Laiatu Latu
- DT: DeForest Buckner, Adetomiwa Adebawore
- NT: Grover Stewart, Taven Bryan, Raekwon Davis
- DE: Tyquan Lewis, Dayo Odeyingbo, Isaiah Land
- WLB: E.J. Speed
- MLB: Zaire Franklin, Segun Olubi
- SAM: Jaylon Carlies, Grant Stuard
- CB: JuJu Brents, Dallis Flowers
- FS: Nick Cross, Rodney Thomas II, Trevor Denbow
- SS: Julian Blackmon
- N: Kenny Moore II
- CB: Jaylon Jones, Samuel Womack III
The biggest story here is DeForest Buckner, who ended the game with a back injury that left him in obvious pain. Buckner, along with Kwity Paye, Tyquan Lewis and Dayo Odeyingbo, had four sacks against Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud, and and the defense excelled at keeping pressure on Stroud and stopping their passing game. However, they faltered at stopping the run, with Joe Mixon gaining 159 yards on Sunday. The defense will need to do better at stopping the run, while also keeping that pressure on Willis if they want to be able to win on Sunday.
Special Teams:
- P: Rigoberto Sanchez
- PK: Matt Gay
- H: Rigoberto Sanchez
- LS: Luke Rhodes
- KR: Anthony Gould OR Dallis Flowers, Josh Downs
- PR: Anthony Gould, Josh Downs, Dallis Flowers
Matt Gay was out Week 1, with Spencer Shrader filling in. So far, the Colts are still hoping for Gay to play on Sunday, though Head Coach Shane Steichen said it's still a wait-and-see game for both Gay and Josh Downs. Gay was injured with a hernia in the final preseason game against Cincinnati, and had to undergo surgery.