Jonathan Taylor against the Denver Broncos' run defense will be the first matchup to watch. In the Week 1 win against Miami, Taylor ran the ball 18 times for 71 of the 156 rushing yards the Indianapolis Colts had on the day. His longest carry was for 15 yards, and the Dolphins kept him out of the end zone while they allowed QB Daniel Jones to get in the end zone twice.
Denver held Tennessee to a total of 71 yards rushing as a team in their Week 1 win. They also forced two fumbles, recovering both. The Colts are going to need to find a way to open holes in the Broncos' defensive line if they are going to establish a running game in order to set up a successful passing game. This leads us to the second matchup to watch.
The Colts offensive line will have its' hands full with the Broncos pass rush. Indianapolis quarterback Daniel Jones had a great first game as a Colt as he went 22/29 passing for 272 yards with a touchdown. He added two more TDs on the ground. The big men up front for Indianapolis only gave up one sack for the game.
These matchups are keys to an Indianapolis Colts victory in Week 2
The Broncos' pass rush had a field day against the Titans, giving up a mere 112 yards through the air. They got to Tennessee quarterback Cam Ward (playing his first NFL game) six times, resulting in 50 yards lost. Colts fans know the history of their QBs taking hits and getting sacked repeatedly, so this is definitely a matchup the Indianapolis offensive line must win.
In Week 1, the Indianapolis secondary helped the team win the turnover battle by intercepting Tua Tagovailoa twice. The defense also forced Tua to turn the ball over via fumble. Indianapolis allowed just 211 yards of offense for the game. The Colts will need to maintain this type of success against the Broncos' second-year signal caller, Bo Nix.
Nix threw for 176 yards and a touchdown against Tennessee, while adding 18 yards rushing in the win. However, he was intercepted twice by the Titans defense and also lost a fumble. Identical turnover numbers as Tua had against the Colts. The Indianapolis secondary will need to continue to be ball hawks and force the Denver offense into mistakes.
The Colts will need to play with the confidence they built up with their dominant Week 1 win. This will keep Denver on its heels and force it to play from behind if Indianapolis can keep its offense rolling. Look for a solid game between these two teams, one that hopefully ends with a Colts victory.