CINCINNATI – Finally, we have a chance to see the Colts starting lineup in action for a longer period of time.
Indianapolis plans to use its starters for about a quarter and a half in Thursday’s final preseason game at Cincinnati. The game against the Bengals is at 8 p.m. and will be broadcast on WXIN-59 and Amazon Prime.
The duel should be interesting.
The Colts and Bengals already practiced against each other on Tuesday, with Paycor Stadium in the background, and both offensive lines left the practice field hungry for more.
However, the two teams plan to play the season finale differently, and that development will be important to keep in mind when the season finale begins on Thursday night.
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How do the Colts starters deal with the Bengals’ substitutes?
Head coach of Indianapolis Shane Steichen believes that his starting players need a lot of game practice, considering that there are 17 days between the preseason game on Thursday night and the season opener on September 8 against the Texans.
“We have to get the players ready to go,” Steichen said. “Go out and play, get some game experience before Week 1 starts, of course.”
Cincinnati head coach Zac Taylor takes a different approach.
The Bengals’ starters will not play against Indianapolis, which will be the second straight preseason game in which Cincinnati has left its starters out of action. Taylor’s decision will force Indianapolis’ starters to play against Cincinnati’s second and third team players, a development that puts pressure on both Colts teams.
Anthony Richardson’s accuracy
Richardson’s passing performance has fluctuated since Indianapolis began playing against other NFL teams.
The second-year starting quarterback struggled in the season opener against Denver and also got off to a slow start in Tuesday’s joint practice against Cincinnati. He had to squeeze in those performances between two efficient joint practices with the Cardinals that featured plenty of plays. The only blemish was that the rain in Westfield turned into a torrential downpour.
Richardson will likely have to play with one hand cuffed behind his back on Thursday; the Colts probably don’t want to call many runs by the quarterback due to the risk of injury.
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But even if Indianapolis doesn’t field its full offense, the Colts would like to see an efficient, accurate Richardson attacking Cincinnati’s secondary on Thursday night. Indianapolis could build its offense around his dual-threat abilities in the regular season, but he’ll still need to make consistent throws to get the Colts where they want to go.
Secondary options
There is still uncertainty in Indianapolis’ defensive backfield, as it is the only position where there is not yet a clear group of regular players.
Probably former second-round pick JuJu Brents will be a cornerback next to Kenny Moore II And Jaylon Jones when the regular season begins, but Brents has been limited in preseason action due to shoulder and nose injuries. Brents did not practice on Tuesday against Cincinnati; Flowers Dallis struggled at times in training camp, but it’s fair to wonder if Brent’s lack of availability gave Flowers an opportunity to earn playing time early in the regular season.
However, the position of cornerback is far more established than that of safety.
After weeks of playing Nick Cross At free safety, the Colts moved Cross to the strong safety position and shifted Julian Blackmon to free safety in joint training against the Bengals, at least if Indianapolis did not play Blackmon as strong safety and Rodney Thomas II at free safety among the starters. Almost a month after the start of training camp, Steichen admitted that the Colts are not well positioned at the safety position.
“We’re looking at all of that right now,” Steichen said. “The guy who makes the most plays here (will start). … We’ll make that decision when it needs to be made.”
A complicating factor?
Cincinnati’s top two quarterbacks, Joe Burrow and Jake Browning, will not play Thursday, so Logan Woodside will have to test Indianapolis’ starters.
Running back race
Tyler Goodson And Evan Hull There is a lot at stake for us on Thursday.
The two young backs are competing for the No. 3 running back position, a position that could rise to the primary backup spot early in the season, depending on the projection of Trey Sermon‘s thigh injury.
From the outside, the fight seems close.
Goodson has 13 carries for 50 yards and two touchdowns in the preseason; Hull has 12 carries for 42 yards and a touchdown. Hull has two catches for 20 yards in the preseason; Goodson has 2 catches for a single yard. Goodson got his first snaps last week against the Cardinals, but Hull has made plenty of first-team appearances in joint practice against Arizona.
And the battle may be about more than just the third running back spot.
If Sermon is expected to be healthy by the start of the regular season, Goodson and Hull could compete for a spot on the 53-man roster, depending on the team’s needs at other positions.
Injury instability
Nobody likes to acknowledge the risk of injury.
The Colts want to get through this game healthy and then make their roster decisions without too many meetings with the medical staff.
But the reality is that injuries in the final game of the season often affect the team’s 53-man decisions. When third-year tight end Jelani Woods suffered a serious toe injury against Arizona last Saturday that will require surgery, the murky picture at tight end likely became much clearer. On the other side of the coin, Raekwon Davis’ return from blood pressure issues this week puts the focus on a trio of defensive tackles – Adetomiwa Adebawore, Taven Bryan And Eric Johnson – and compete for possibly only one place.
