The Indianapolis Colts are on their first winning streak of the ‘22 season. After this recent win, they’re now in second place behind Tennessee. Their win against Jacksonville keeps the streak of the home team winning the matchups alive and it also brings the Colts’ division record to 1-2-1.
Circling back to Tennessee, they are this week’s opponent and it brings the Colts another chance to rectify an early season loss. This is also one of their last chances at winning a division game. That is until they take on Houston in the 2022 season finale.
Related: NFL standings – Find out who is leading their divisions heading into Week 7 of the NFL season
With revenge on the mind for the Colts on Sunday, let’s take a look at three massive matchups you need to keep an eye on in the Week 7 clash between the Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans.
Stephon Gilmore must be Robert Woods’ kryptonite
In the offseason, the Colts signed Stephon Gilmore to a two-year $20 million deal with $9.51 million of it guaranteed. Signing him was a bit of a gamble considering his age and the fact he only played 19 of a possible 33 games over the last two seasons.
However, the signing looks like an absolute beauty! His stats don’t jump off the page but he’s having yet another great season. Just take a look at this play again if you need to refresh your memory.
This week you can expect the Colts to have Gilmore spend a lot of time covering Robert Woods. It wouldn’t be the norm for a Gus Bradley defense but it might be a good idea to have Gilmore play shadow coverage on Woods. Woods is Tennessee’s best and most dangerous wide receiver. And it would be smart to have your best cornerback on their best wide receiver.
Isaiah Rodgers, Kenny Moore, and Brandon Facyson should be good enough to take care of the other wide receivers. But shutting down Woods will be a big key to winning the game. He’s the one guy that can consistently make contested catches and pick up tough third downs.
Indianapolis Colts must get back to early season run-stopping success
Derrick Henry is a physical specimen, standing 6-foot-3 and 247 pounds. And the last time he played the Colts he rushed 22 times for 114-yards, 5.2 per carry, and one touchdown. For the season he ranks 10th in rushing yards with 408 yards and he averages 81.6 per game.
Prior to last week’s run-stopping disaster, the Colts had a top-rush defense.
- 4th in total rushing yards – 483
- 2nd in yards per carry – 3.4
- 4th in yards per game – 96.6
Then the unit bought itself some cement shoes and sunk itself.
- 22nd in total rushing yards – 726
- 6th in yards per carry – 4.1
- 22nd in yards per game – 121
If the Colts can make sure that Gilmore is covering Woods a majority of the time, it should free up the rest of the defense to stop Henry. Like all running backs, they are so much easier to tackle when their feet are stopped or they’re looking for a hole to hit. The defense will need to be gap-sound and gang-tackle Henry.
The passing game must maintain its standard vs. Titans’ defense
The last time these two teams met Matt Ryan only missed on 10 of his throws, averaging 9.6 yards per completion. The passing game success is no surprise considering where Tennessee ranks.
- 24th in total passing yards – 1,438
- 24th in completion percentage – 67.4
- 32nd in touchdown percentage – 6.6
- 32nd in yards per game – 287.6
Ryan will need to make sure his right arm is ready to go. Hopefully, he won’t have to pass it 58 times again. Something to keep an eye on is the success and utilization of the tight ends. In the last meetup, Ryan attempted 37 passes and 11 of them went to the tight ends, with Mo Allie-Cox having a huge day. He caught six passes for 85-yards and two touchdowns.
You can expect Tennessee to make adjustments and not allow MAC to have another big game. However, this could mean more success for Michael Pittman Jr. In his last game against them he only caught three passes for 31 yards. It will be shocking if Tennessee is able to stop both MAC and MPJ.
The two biggest keys for the Colts to win the game, other than scoring more points, is stopping both Henry and Woods. Ryan Tannehill is a decent quarterback but he’s not one to elevate the players around him. He needs the guys around him to make plays in order for him to have success.
The Colts pass defense played well in the last matchup and is 10th in the NFL in yards per game with 202.7. If they can play the way they have been and get back to their early season success against the run. Then Indianapolis will be in a prime position to win this game and take sole possession of the AFC South.