Colts overcome three offensive injuries

The Colts played without their starting quarterback and running back last week Anthony Richardson And Jonathan Taylorand the team was in danger of facing the Titans this week even without its top wide receiver. Instead, Indianapolis is on track to have two of those three players available in Week 6, according to ESPN’s Stephen Holder.

The player who is definitely out this week is Taylor. The rusher showed star potential in his first two years with the team, but has since been limited by injuries and has missed at least six games in each of the last two seasons. Taylor had a strong start to 2024, averaging one touchdown per game while also averaging his most yards per game (87.3) since his incredible 2021 season.

In Taylor’s absence last week, the Colts ran with two running backs, Trey sermon And Tyler Goodsonto cover the lost cargo. They only carried the ball 15 times between the two, totaling 64 yards and one touchdown, but both players benefited from a backup quarterback Joe Flaccohas a penchant for check-downs that allows him to catch all nine of his targets for an additional 56 yards. Should Richardson return this week, the focus could shift back to the running game, which will require a lot more of Sermon and Goodson.

As for Richardson, Holder reports that the second-year passer is “preparing to return to the lineup.” The 22-year-old participated in the Colts’ final three practices this week and took most of the first-team reps after watching Flacco take all of the first-team reps last week. Flacco took over as the injured starter during the Steelers’ Week 4 matchup and led Indianapolis to a victory over its former division rival. In his spot start last week, Flacco delivered a blow-for-blow duel Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars in a shootout in which he completed 75 percent of his passes for 359 yards and three touchdowns.

It might be a little surprising to see Indianapolis go back to Richardson, who has a 50.6 completion percentage this season and has thrown just three touchdowns while leading the league with six interceptions. Given the draft capital invested in Richardson and the fact that he worked as a quarterback with the first-team offense all summer, it makes sense for the team to stick with him for a little longer if he gets healthy. However, if he continues to struggle running an NFL offense, the wily veteran Flacco will sit patiently and competently on the bench.

Finally, Holder provided an update on the top wideout Michael Pittman Jr. Because he struggled with “a nagging back injury” early in the season, according to Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz, Pittman was in danger of missing significant playing time since his rookie year. All signs point to the veteran receiver remaining on injured reserve, but it looks like he’ll stick it out instead and try to play through the injury.

The Colts’ receiving game has been dominated by Pittman so far this season. Josh DownsAnd Alec Pierce. In theory, the team has unproven strength at the position with the rookie second-round pick Adonai Mitchell and veteran Ashton Dulinbut with Pittman coming back from injury, Indianapolis can continue to rely on its top three.