The Colts entered week five already shorthanded due to the loss of Jonathan Taylor. And now it seems they will most likely be without their starting quarterback. Anthony Richardson hurt his hip/oblique in the first quarter of last Sunday’s 27-24 win versus the Steelers. He attempted to return to the game but was pulled after only one more play.
Richardson was questionable for most of the week, but after Friday’s practice, it seems as though they’ve decided to be cautious with their young quarterback. The bigger wrench thrown into Indianapolis’ chances of winning may be the loss of Jonathan Taylor. Both Taylor and Richardson are vital to the Colts’ run game being successful, and without either of them on the field, this game against the 0-4 Jacksonville Jaguars may be closer than anticipated.
How the Indianapolis Colts Run the Football
So far this season, the Indianapolis Colts have not been shy about their game plan on a week-to-week basis. With Anthony Richardson and Taylor on the field, the Colts want to run the football down the opposing team’s throat while using the threat of the run to set up deep throws. For the most part, this game plan worked. The Colts have a top-ten rushing offense in yards, touchdowns, and yards per carry so far this season. They are more than capable of running the ball traditionally, but what takes their run game to the next level is the threat of Anthony Richardson.
Richardson has shown to be a real threat in the run game, and when he’s on the field, defenses have to account for him. That opens up more lanes for Jonathan Taylor and the Colts’ running backs to exploit. However, when Richardson is off the field, that makes the running game a lot more predictable, especially out of shotgun. When Joe Flacco is in the game, there’s no threat of him keeping the football on a read option, so defenses can key in on running backs more.
Will Flacco Play Well Again?
Joe Flacco has shown a remarkable ability over the last two years to step in and make an offense flow smoothly. He did it in Cleveland last year in relief of Deshaun Watson, and he’s doing it again this year for the Colts. Flacco made his mark last week by dissecting Pittsburgh’s zone coverage tendencies. This week will call for something different. Jacksonville’s primary scheme is running man-to-man coverage with their corners in Ronald Darby and Montaric Brown. They still run a lot of man despite their best corner being out.
If there’s anything salvageable about Jacksonville through four weeks, it’s been their run defense. They rank in the top ten in both rushing yards and yards per carry to start the season. And with both Anthony Richardson and Jonathan Taylor likely out, the Jaguars should have some success stopping the run. This game is most likely going to come down to whether Indy’s receivers, Michael Pittman and Josh Downs, can win consistently versus man coverage like they did last week.
Final Thoughts
This game will be Indianapolis’ first test of their offensive system without Anthony Richardson and Jonathan Taylor. Despite being 0-4, the Jags should probably be favored in this game. Josh Hines-Allen is coming into the game without an injury designation, and the Colts haven’t won in Jacksonville since 2014.
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