The Indianapolis Colts (0-2) face a crucial turning point in their season already when they travel to Nissan Stadium for a Week 3 matchup against the Tennessee Titans (1-1).
As the Colts are coming off of two losses to open the season for the first time in Frank Reich’s tenure, they are sizeable underdogs to their division counterparts.
While the Colts look to bounce back and get in the win column, the Titans are looking to keep the momentum rolling. Here are nine things to know entering the Week 3 matchup:
Carson Wentz‘s Injury
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The starting quarterback for the Colts is in major question for the Week 3 bout in Nashville. Wentz suffered two separate ankle sprains during the Week 2 loss against the Los Angeles Rams. He was able to play through one of them but had to come out late in the fourth quarter when Aaron Donald’s tackle rolled Wentz’s ankle pretty badly. Depending on how the week of practice goes, there is a strong chance the Colts will be without Wentz for this matchup. That means they will be leaning on second-year quarterback Jacob Eason, who would get his first career NFL start.
A Potentially Rare Start
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The Colts have never been 0-2 since Frank Reich became the head coach in 2018. There were certainly similar starts to the season before Reich arrived, but the Colts are staring at a potentially unprecedented start to the campaign—at least in terms of their standards. Only once since 2000 have the Colts started 0-3 on the season. That was a time every Colts fan has buried deep in their minds because that 2011 campaign was one of the worst in franchise history. The current Colts are undoubtedly a better team than that one, but that doesn’t change the fact that 0-3 is a likely scenario, especially if Wentz is out.
Red-Zone Red Flags
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The Colts offense has had major issues at various spots, but the biggest issue may be their struggles in the red zone. Entering Week 3, the Colts have been one of the worst offenses in the entire NFL. They have made eight trips inside the 20-yard-line but have come away with just three scores—all passing touchdowns to Zach Pascal. Their 37.5% conversion rate in the red zone ranks fifth-worst in the NFL. It’s also the second-worst rate among teams with at least eight red-zone attempts. They’ve yet to score a rushing touchdown even despite Jonathan Taylor’s 12 red-zone carries. It’s concerning, to say the least, and their record won’t improve until they fix these issues.
Titan’s Wild Victory
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While the Colts are staring at a goose egg in the win column, the Titans made a wild comeback in Week 2 to avoid being in that scenario. Despite being down 15 points coming out of halftime, Derrick Henry put the team on his back Greg Jennings style. Henry scored a nine-yard touchdown early in the third quarter to cut the lead to eight points. The Seahawks responded with a touchdown to go up 30-16 in the fourth quarter. Henry promptly ripped off a 60-yard touchdown run immediately after and tied the game at 30 with another touchdown with just 17 seconds left in regulation. The Titans wound up winning in overtime over the Seahawks in Week 2, beating a team that the Colts struggled mightily against to open the season.
First Divisional Game
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This matchup will mark the first divisional game of the season for both of these teams. As the standings continue to take shape, the division records will hold a lot of weight in determining the order should these two teams find themselves tied later in the season.
Taylor Lewan Injury
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The Titans were without left tackle Taylor Lewan in Week 2 after he tweaked his knee during pre-game warm-ups. It isn’t clear if Lewan will be ready to play against the Colts, but a struggling pass rush will take all the help they can get.
Reich vs Vrabel
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Colts head coach Frank Reich and Titans head coach Mike Vrabel both took their respective jobs during the same offseason. So we’ve had three seasons of these two head coaches going against one another. In those six games, the Colts are 4-2. However, the Titans have won two of the last three. That includes the Week 12 drubbing in 2020 at Lucas Oil Stadium in which the Titans simply dominated a 45-26 victory. The Colts have out-scored the Titans, 167-137, in that span and have scored over 30 points in three of those games.
Dynamic Duo Pt. 3
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When will it end? Another week, another dynamic tandem of wide receivers to concern the Colts’ secondary. First, it was Tyler Lockett and D.K. Metcalf. They posted a combined receiving line of 8-160-3 in Week 1. Then, it was Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods. Though it was mostly the former’s doing, they posted a combined receiving line of 14-227-2 in Week 2. Now, the Colts have to deal with Julio Jones and A.J. Brown. Though Jones may be old, he had his coming-out party in Week 2 when he posted a receiving line of 6-128-0. It should have been better, though, because a six-yard touchdown surprisingly got called back. Brown has had a slow start to the season that includes plenty of drops. He’s still a game-breaking talent capable of torching any defense, though. The secondary doesn’t get any easier test in Week 3.
Plenty Of Injured Colts
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We covered the ankle sprains to quarterback Carson Wentz but he isn’t the only one dealing with an injury. Wide receiver T.Y. Hilton remains on the injured reserve list as he recovers from a neck procedure following the preseason. The Colts were without right tackle Braden Smith (foot), cornerback Xavier Rhodes (calf) and wide receiver Parris Campbell (abdomen) in Week 2. Left guard Quenton Nelson (back) and linebacker Darius Leonard (ankle) have both been playing through injuries for two games now. It will certainly be interesting to see how the injury report shapes up this week, but the Colts are already banged up to begin the season.
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