Philadelphia Eagles at Indianapolis Colts Preview

AFC SOUTH		W-L-T	PCT
1	Titans	7-3	.700
2	Colts	4-5-1	.450
3	Jaguars	3-7	.300
4	Texans	1-7-1	.167

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS

Table – Injury report

Player	Position	Injury	Wed	Thu	Fri	Game Status
DeForest Buckner	DT	Neck	DNP	FP	FP	(-)
Stephon Gilmore	CB	Not Injury Related – Resting Player	DNP	FP	FP	(-)
Deon Jackson	RB	Knee	DNP	LP	FP	(-)
Rodney McLeod	S	Not Injury Related – Resting Player	DNP	FP	FP	(-)
Kenny Moore II	CB	Illness	DNP	DNP	FP	(-)
Kwity Paye	DE	Ankle	DNP	DNP	DNP	Out
Luke Rhodes	LS	Calf	DNP	LP	FP	(-)
Ryan Kelly	C	Knee	LP	FP	FP	(-)
Yannick Ngakoue	DE	Back	LP	FP	FP	(-)
Jelani Woods	TE	Shoulder	LP	DNP	DNP	Out
JoJo Domann	LB	Neck	FP	FP	FP	(-)
Zaire Franklin	OLB	Illness	(-)	DNP	DNP	Questionable
Isaiah Rodgers	CB	Illness	(-)	DNP	DNP	Questionable
Grover Stewart	DT	Not Injury Related – Resting Player	(-)	DNP	FP	(-)
Braden Smith	OT	Back	(-)	(-)	DNP	Questionable

The Eagles have not released an injury report for tomorrow’s game in Indianapolis

Here we go, the first test for the Jeff Saturday Colts, the last test the Colts faced this season was probably the Chiefs and they surprisingly showed out and defensively won the game. I still don’t consider the Titans a true “test”, not that they’re a bad team what so ever, but it’s a divisional team and those teams are different, weird things happen in those games. I have a strange feeling that there is a possibility that the Colts may fuck around and win this game, I don’t know why but the Colts always win games against really good football teams when they are a okay to slightly above average football team, beat the Bills in a raining Buffalo last season, beat the Patriots at home in the middle of them being the hottest team in the NFL, beat the Cardinals while missing a large amount of starters in primetime, 2020 they beat the Packers at home in overtime, 2019 they beat the Chiefs on Sunday Night Football in Kansas City after losing Andrew Luck, the Chiefs won the Super Bowl that year. I am not saying that the Colts will win because it’s still an outside chance they win this game but don’t be shocked when the Colts beat Philadelphia by 2 scores, the Eagles coming off a loss can either implode like the 2020 Steelers or hit the gas hard and wreck everything in their path. I almost feel like they may…implode? Or the idea of implosion, they still have 2 left to play against the Giants, the Titans, a scrappy Bears team and the Cowboys are still left on the docket, the Giants are a team that plays well in close games along with it being a divisional game, the Titans have the best rush yards per game defense in the NFL, the Chicago Bears are #1 in the NFL in rush yards per game and the Eagles are middle of the road in rush defense and the Cowboys are top 5 in pass defense while the Eagles are outside the top 10 in passing offense. Don’t be surprised when those boys in blue come in and push the flock out of the circle city.

Offensive Keys to the Game

1. Protect Matt Ryan: The Eagles are 5th in the league in sacks and the Colts are tied for last in sacks given up but last week they showed out against the dead last Raiders, the only other game they have given up 1 or less sacks was against the 27th ranked pass rush of the Jaguars, so I feel the hype that the offensive line is back to normal is a little…premature. Matt Ryan can’t exactly move very well, not like Sam Ehlinger can move, after seeing Ryan play last week, I feel as though Ryan is still the better option to play right now, but the Eagles can cause true issues for the Colts, this will truly make or break this game for the Colts, if the line can give Ryan enough time for the plays to develop, the Colts can make a run at this.
2. Please Avoid the Turnovers: Every week I say this and every week I’m disappointed, every single week I am shocked at how they are able to turn the ball over, truly I am astonished at how they are able to turn it over and how much it affects the outcome of the game, in almost every loss, you can point to a turnover or multiple turnovers that lost them the game, the only game they truly lost with turnovers not taking a score away is their shutout loss in Jacksonville. For the love of god just hold onto the ball, you can’t give them extra possessions while also taking away possibly points for you.
3. Run the Damn Ball: I seriously feel like every week it’s the exact same offensive goals, last week they met them and this week they need to do the same, Ashton Dulin is back as a force in the run block game, I think the standard for JT is 20 carries per game with Deon Jackson seeing 5-10 carries. If that happens, the Colts will win the game, giving up on the run game kills the confidence of the offensive line which results in possible elder abuse charges being brought up against the Colts for how they treat Matt Ryan.

Defensive Keys to the Game

1. Finish the Job: Jaylen Hurts has seen the lowest pressure percentage of his career with 20.3% while he has been sacked 23 times this season, last season he was sacked 26 times all year. He also has scrambled for a career low this season with 6.4 yards per scramble. You won’t get back there a ton, but when you do, you need to put Hurts in the ground.
2. Limit the Weapons: One of Jalen Hurts’ favorite targets, Dallas Goedert, that’s one nuclear weapon that is out of order, but A.J. Brown is back after being a tormentor in Tennessee, even if the Colts shut him down, DeVonta Smith is there as a backup just in case and Quez Watkins is their emergency backup, 3 solid wide receivers to say the least. You aren’t going to stop them all, you can’t, but you sure as hell can contain them, keep everything in front of you, but no prevent defense, that prevents you from winning the game.
3. Pounce on Their Mistakes: They aren’t going to make a ton of mistakes, so getting a chance at an interception or a fumble is going to be rare, make the most of it, keeping your own offense off the field because you run back your turnovers for touchdowns is ideal, but capitalize on errant throws, missed blocks and dropped passes. A dropped interceptions really cannot happen this game, the Colts need every bounce to go their way for a shot at a win here.

Player of the Game Prediction

The Eagles cornerback’s have been some of the league’s best with James Bradbury and Darius Slay, their safety play has been not up to par, Parris Campbell could make some plays in the deep passing game, but I have to say Jonathan Taylor is going to be the guy for the second week in a row as his tear under Jeff Saturday is going to continue, his line will be as follows:

24 ATT, 133 YDS and 1 TD

7 REC, 25 YDS

Score Prediction

Colts 25

Eagles 17