Colts to be without C Kelly this week
They’ve enjoyed a four-game win streak largely behind a consistently impressive Andrew Luck-led offense, but can the Indianapolis Colts continue that momentum without an offensive line anchor?
Center Ryan Kelly, who is playing perhaps the best of his three-year career, was officially ruled out on Wednesday due to a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee. Former Arizona Cardinals offensive lineman Evan Boehm, claimed off the Rams practice squad on Oct. 9, will make his 10th career NFL start on Sunday as the Colts host the Miami Dolphins (5-5) in a flexed 4:25 p.m. kickoff at Lucas Oil Stadium.
The Colts and Dolphins are among five 5-5 teams vying for the sixth-seeded AFC wild-card berth. Both are two games behind in their respective divisions, which means qualifying for the postseason as a wild card seems more attainable.
The biggest reason Colts quarterback Andrew Luck has been one of the hottest players in the league lately is his offensive line, which led by Kelly hasn’t allowed a sack in five games and 214 pass attempts. Luck, who among other accomplishments has thrown at least three touchdown passes in seven consecutive games, was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week on Wednesday. The Colts have averaged 34 points per game in the last seven.
“One or two run plays we might slightly adjust, but nothing major,” Colts head coach Frank Reich said of adjustments with Boehm at center. “We think in the protection world, we think he will be ready to go. We feel like he has been totally engaged and had enough time here to know fully what to do.”
Boehm, whose previous NFL starts were at guard, promised on Tuesday that the Colts’ longest “clean” streak in Luck’s career and third-best in league history will continue.
“It’s not going to end on my watch,” Boehm said.
Not only did Luck avoid getting sacked in Sunday’s 38-10 home rout of Tennessee, the Titans didn’t have a quarterback hit, a surprising goose egg after the way head coach Mike Vrabel’s team hounded New England’s Tom Brady in a 34-10 blowout the week before.
“It’s a really good group of guys,” said Luck, who has taken just three hits in three games. “It’s not just the five guys every week that prepare. It’s a whole group that prepares. It’s a group effort so yeah, we don’t anticipate any step-down in any way, shape or form.”
Added Kelly about Boehm, “I have the all the utmost confidence in him.”
The Dolphins, who have lost five of seven games since an 0-3 start, will have quarterback Ryan Tannehill back after he missed five games with a shoulder injury. Tackles Laremy Tunsil and Ja’Wuan James, both first-round draft picks, are also expected to return after missing the last game with knee injuries. The Dolphins are coming off a bye.
While Miami is getting healthy, it must play significantly better to improve upon a 1-4 road record. While the Colts defense is ranked just 20th in total yards allowed and 18th in points allowed, the unit has produced at least one turnover in each game. The Colts also had five sacks against the Titans. Both teams have 19 takeaways while the Colts have 14 giveaways compared to the Dolphins’ 15.
Dolphins head coach Adam Gase downplayed the significance this game could have on the playoff picture.
“I’m sure people outside of this profession will say that, but we’re all thinking the same thing,” Gase said. “Everybody is just trying to win one game for that week. You do everything you can, put everything in for that one game and at the end of the season, the chips fall where they may and you just try to make sure you win as many games as possible.”
The Colts are playing their third consecutive game at home after winning the previous two by an average of 30 points.
“He’s just got a lot of different things that he can lean on,” Gase said of Reich’s offensive play-calling. “He can adjust during a game and get to certain things that can cause problems for our defense.”
Luck, who has spread the ball around with 12 of his 29 touchdown passes thrown to different receivers, is strictly focused on the next game. He deftly sidestepped a final question about the playoffs.
“That’s a long way away,” he said. “I feel like we have to prepare for the Miami Dolphins and that’s about it.”
The Colts are playing their third consecutive game at home and have won their last three at home by an average of 21 points.
SERIES HISTORY: 72nd regular-season meeting. Dolphins lead series, 45-26. The old AFC East Division rivals have met just seven times since the Colts departed for the new AFC South Division in 2002. The Colts have won five of those games, including the most recent, 18-12 at Miami in 2015. The Dolphins are 22-15 in road games against the Colts. The teams have split two meetings at Lucas Oil Stadium. The Dolphins have won both of their playoff games against the Colts, 21-0 at home in 1972 and 23-17 in overtime in 2000.
