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Two-minute scouting report of the KC Chiefs’ next opponent: Indianapolis Colts

Pete Grathoff
·2 min read
12

An upside of a “Thursday Night Football” game is the extra rest teams get before their next contest.

The Chiefs, who are coming off a 27-24 win over the Chargers at Arrowhead Stadium, have had extra time to prepare for this Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts.

Each week, I take an early look at the Chiefs’ next opponent, and here is a quick scouting report of the Colts before Sunday’s game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Kickoff is at noon, and the game will air on KCTV (Ch. 5).

Nuts and bolts

The Chiefs are 2-0 and atop the AFC West. Indianapolis, which will be playing at home for the first time this season, has a 0-1-1 record but is tied for second in the AFC South pending the outcome of Monday’s Titans-Bills contest.

But the Colts are coming off a 24-0 loss to the Jaguars on Sunday.

Indianapolis leads the all-time series 17-10 and won the last meeting in 2019 (19-13 at Arrowhead Stadium).

The offense

Running back Jonathan Taylor had 175 scrimmage yards (161 rushing, 14 receiving) in the Colts’ opener, but he was held to 63 total yards in the loss to the Jaguars (54 yards rushing, 9 receiving).

Quarterback Matt Ryan, 37, had an abysmal time Sunday, completing 16 of 30 passes for 195 yards with three interceptions. He has one touchdown pass and four interceptions this season.

The Colts are averaging 5.3 yards per play, which is 20th in the NFL, and have the lowest quarterback rating (63.9) in the league.

The defense

The Colts have just three sacks through two games and are near the bottom of the league in quarterback pressure percentage.

On the plus side, Indy is tied for ninth in rushing defense, allowing 86.5 yards per game. The Colts have just one fumble recovery and no interceptions and they are tied for last in the NFL with a negative-4 turnover differential.

Help could be on the way. Linebacker Shaquille Leonard, who had 122 tackles a year ago, hasn’t played yet this season after having back surgery in June. He’s been practicing and may return Sunday.