INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Colts (1-4) head to the east coast to take on the New York Jets (2-3). Can the Colts get back in the 'win' column this week against this young Jets team?
BROADCAST INFORMATION
- Sunday, Oct. 14, at 1 p.m. ET
- East Rutherford, N.J.; MetLife Stadium
- TV: CBS — Greg Gumbel (play-by-play), Trent Green and Bruce Arians (analysts), and Melanie Collins (sideline)
- To find out what games will be on in your area, check here
- Radio: WFNI "1070 The Fan" and WLHK "HANK FM" — Matt Taylor (play-by-play), Jim Sorgi (color) and Caroline Cann (sideline)
ALL-TIME SERIES
- Colts lead, 41-28 (1-3 in the playoffs), and are 1-1 against the Jets at MetLife Stadium. The Jets have won four of the last six dating back to 2009.
- Last game — Week 13 of 2016. The Colts won, 41-10.
COACHING STAFF
Colts:
- HC Frank Reich
- OC Nick Sirianni
- DC Matt Eberflus
- STC Bubba Ventrone
Jets:
- HC Todd Bowles
- OC Jeremy Bates
- DC Kacy Rodgers
- STC Brant Boyer
LAST WEEK
Colts:
- Lost vs. New England Patriots (3-2), 38-24 (away)
Jets:
- Won vs. Denver Broncos (2-3), 34-16 (home)
INJURY UPDATE
Colts:
- DL Denico Autry (hamstring): OUT — Did not practice Wednesday, Thursday and Friday
- TE Jack Doyle (hip): OUT — Did not practice Wednesday, Thursday and Friday
- TE Eric Ebron (shin/quad/ankle/knee): QUESTIONABLE — Did not practice Wednesday and Thursday, full participant Friday
- S Matthias Farley (shoulder/groin/wrist): OUT/Placed On Injured Reserve — Did not practice Wednesday, Thursday and Friday
- S Clayton Geathers (concussion/neck): OUT — Did not practice Wednesday, limited participation Thursday, did not practice Friday
- OL Denzelle Good (non-injury related): OUT — Did not practice Wednesday, full participant Thursday, limited participant Friday
- WR T.Y. Hilton (chest/hamstring): OUT — Did not practice Wednesday, Thursday and Friday
- DL Margus Hunt (knee): QUESTIONABLE — Did not practice Wednesday and Thursday, limited participant Friday
- C Ryan Kelly (calf): QUESTIONABLE — Did not practice Wednesday and Thursday, limited participant Friday
- LB Darius Leonard (ankle): QUESTIONABLE — Did not practice Wednesday, limited participation Thursday, full participant Friday
- S Mike Mitchell (pectoral): QUESTIONABLE — Full participant Thursday and Friday
Jets:
- RB Isaiah Crowell (ankle): QUESTIONABLE — Did not practice Wednesday and Thursday, limited participant Friday
- DB Trumaine Johnson (quad): DOUBTFUL — Did not practice Wednesday, Thursday and Friday
- DB Marcus Maye (ankle/foot): QUESTIONABLE — Limited participant Wednesday, Thursday and Friday
- S Doug Middleton (hamstring): QUESTIONABLE — Did not practice Thursday and Friday
- WR Charone Peake (hamstring): OUT — Did not practice Wednesday, Thursday and Friday
- LB Kevin Pierre-Louis (foot): DOUBTFUL — Did not practice Wednesday, Thursday and Friday
- DB Buster Skrine (concussion): OUT — Did not practice Wednesday, Thursday and Friday
STORYLINES/THINGS TO WATCH
- The Effect Of Injuries — As you can see above, both teams are pretty banged up and are without some of their starters. This will lead to increased roles on both sides for younger, less experienced players. How much of an effect, if any, will these injuries have? On the flip side, two Colts starters — left tackle Anthony Castonzo and running back Marlon Mack — have been cleared from the injury report. Both players dealt with hamstring injuries early in the season. Castonzo will likely be making his season debut, and Mack will likely be playing in just his second game of the regular season.
- Two 'Magic' Quarterbacks — Colts quarterback Andrew Luck has made a name off of making plays when there shouldn't be any there to make. His ability to keep plays alive and find the open man is something that had some people comparing Jets rookie quarterback Sam Darnold to Luck this year when Darnold was going through the draft process.
- Old Faces In New Places — This offseason, the Colts traded defensive lineman Henry Anderson to the Jets, who is doing very well for himself since joining New York's defense. The Jets also claimed former Colts edge defender Tarell Basham off of waivers last week. Former Colts offensive lineman Jonotthan Harrison, who started 23 games for the Colts from 2014-16, is also now a Jet. This week, Luck spoke to the media about his former teammates: "Obviously Henry and I played in college together and was here for a couple years and Tarell Basham got picked up and Jonotthan Harrison who played offensive line here. Very fond memories of taking snaps from Harry and stuff. So that's also the nature of the NFL. When you get to your seventh, eighth season you start having friends, teammates, folks that you went through some tough times and good times with on the opposite side of the ball. So it will be fun to see Henry before the game, after the game but during the game he is a Jet, I am a Colt. I think it will be like that way for everybody."
INTRIGUING MATCHUPS
- Colts WR Chester Rogers vs. Jets CB Parry Nickerson — The Jets will be without their starting nickel, Buster Skrine, so it will be the rookie Nickerson who gets the assignment of covering Rogers, the Colts' slot receiver. Rogers has been one of the focal points of the Colts' offense with Hilton and Doyle out, averaging 11 targets each of the last two weeks.
- Colts TE Eric Ebron vs. Jets S Jamal Adams — This year, Ebron has been playing like the high draft pick that he was in 2014. There is a good chance we see him matched up with Adams, the highly talented safety who was the No. 6-overall pick in last year's draft.
- Colts OG Quenton Nelson vs. Jets DL Leonard Williams — Another matchup between top draft picks. This one pits the No. 6 pick of 2015 (Williams) versus the No. 6 pick of 2018 (Nelson). Nelson has been one of the league's best rookie offensive linemen, while Williams currently leads his team in sacks.
- Colts S Malik Hooker vs. Jets WR Robby Anderson — The Colts have allowed zero 40-yard receptions to this point in the season, but tracking the deep ball is Anderson's forte. The Colts have a weapon on defense to deter deep plays in Hooker, so we'll see if Darnold tests Hooker by targeting Anderson downfield.
REFEREE ASSIGNMENT
- Head referee: Alex Kemp (five years). Click here to see all referee assignments for Week 6.
LEADERS
Colts:
- Passing — QB Andrew Luck (1,491 yards)
- Rushing — RB Jordan Wilkins (175 yards)
- Receiving — WR T.Y. Hilton (294 yards)
- Touchdowns — TE Eric Ebron (5)
- Tackles — LB Darius Leonard (54)
- Sacks — DL Margus Hunt, LB Darius Leonard (4.0)
- Interceptions — CB Pierre Desir, S Matthias Farley, LB Najee Goode, CB Kenny Moore II, LB Anthony Walker (1)
Jets:
- Passing — QB Sam Darnold (1,066 yards)
- Rushing — RB Isaiah Crowell (390 yards)
- Receiving — WR Quincy Enunwa (278 yards)
- Touchdowns — RB Isaiah Crowell (5)
- Tackles — LB Avery Williamson (39)
- Sacks — DL Leonard Williams (3.0)
- Interceptions — LB Darron Lee (2)
COMPARING 2018 STATS
Colts:
- Total offense — 22nd (357.4 YPG)
- Scoring offense — 15th (23.6 PPG)
- Passing offense — 14th (283.0 YPG)
- Running offense — 29th (74.4 YPG)
- Third down offense — 1st (51%)
- Red zone offense — 10th (63.2%)
- Total defense — 23rd (389.4 YPG)
- Scoring defense — 27th (27.6 PPG)
- Passing defense — 28th (282.6 YPG)
- Sacks — 3rd (17)
- Running defense — 18th (106.8 YPG)
- Third down defense — 24th (44%)
- Red zone defense — 18th (58.5%)
- Time of possession — 30th (28:20)
- Turnover margin — 19th (-1)
Jets:
- Total offense — 26th (333.8 YPG)
- Scoring offense — 14th (24.6 PPG)
- Passing offense — 26th (198.8 YPG)
- Running offense — 6th (135.0 YPG)
- Third down offense — 25th (37%)
- Red zone offense — 32nd (35.7%)
- Total defense — 19th (371.6 YPG)
- Scoring defense — 8th (21.0 PPG)
- Passing defense — 17th (266.6 YPG)
- Sacks — 10th (14)
- Running defense — 15th (105.0 YPG)
- Third down defense — 12th (35%)
- Red zone defense — 5th (40.0%)
- Time of possession — 28th (29:02)
- Turnover margin — 11th (+1)
NOTES AND QUOTES
- This week, the Colts made the following moves: signed free agent safety Mike Mitchell, signed offensive lineman Evan Boehm from the Los Angeles Rams' practice squad, elevated tight end Mo Alie-Cox to the 53-man roster from the practice squad, waived cornerback Lenzy Pipkins. Placed offensive lineman Matt Slauson and safety Matthias Farley on Injured Reserve. Signed defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad and safety Tray Matthews to the practice squad.
- The Colts need one win to register 300 in the Indianapolis era. They would be just the 12th team to meet that mark since they moved to Indianapolis in 1984.
- Luck needs to throw one touchdown Sunday to pass Dave Krieg and Philip Rivers (28) for the 11th-longest streak in NFL history. Luck also needs one touchdown run to pass Bert Jones (14) for the second-most among quarterbacks in franchise history.
- Kicker Adam Vinatieri needs three made field goals from 40-49 yards to pass Gary Anderson (161) for the second-most from that distance in NFL history. Vinatieri needs one made field goal from 50-plus yards to tie Phil Dawson and John Kasay (42) for the fourth-most from that distance in NFL history. With two made extra point attempts, Vinatieri will pass Anderson (820) for the third-most in NFL history.
- Luck on what concerns him most about the Jets defense: "I think that they've got really good players all over the field. I think they got a really strong spine on the defense. Their interior rushers are really special. They've got guys in the secondary that can cover. They got athletic linebackers. No. 33 Jamal Adams is making a bunch of plays all over the field. We will have our work cut out for us. On the road, it will be a great environment, I am sure. We need to be sharper. I would like to see us improve and come out with a win."
- Castonzo on his status for Sunday: "I'm full go right now. As far as I know, I'm playing. I hesitate to say that because I have cursed myself the last couple times. But yeah, I mean I did a full practice yesterday and I'm doing a full practice today. I'll be ready to go on Sunday."
NEXT WEEK
Colts:
- Buffalo Bills (2-3) (home)
Jets:
- Minnesota Vikings (2-2-1) (home)
