–The Colts worked out kickers Kai Forbath, Cairo Santos and Taylor Bertolet on Monday in case injured Adam Vinatieri can’t play Sunday due to a right groin injury. The NFL’s all-time field-goal leader, who is five points away from becoming the league’s No. 1 career scorer, missed two extra points on Sunday. “No new update,” head coach Frank Reich said. “Just continue to monitor that situation as the week goes on and continue to talk to him and make the best decision later in the week.”
–Safety Mike Mitchell considered being named AFC Defensive Player of the Week a “meaningless” honor. The 10th-year pro, who was signed just two weeks ago and had not played this season, made seven solo tackles with one interception, one forced fumble and two passes defended. “To be totally honest, it doesn’t mean much,” Mitchell said of the award. “Obviously I’m grateful because I think it’s something that’s voted on. I need to have a good performance repeatedly. The most important thing to me is we won the football game.”
–Running back Marlon Mack’s career-high 126 rushing yards marked just the fourth time in Luck’s 77-game, regular-season career that the Colts have had a 100-yard rusher. Frank Gore did it twice last season, the first time since Vick Ballard topped the century mark in 2012. “Oh wow, I didn’t know that,” said Mack, a second-year pro. “That’s crazy.”
–Rookie defensive end Tyquan Lewis is hoping to show enough in practice to be activated from injured reserve after the second-round selection out of Ohio State was lost in preseason to a toe injury. “I don’t miss a beat,” he said of being ready to practice after staying focused in meetings during his rehab. “Get back on the field and let’s do it.”
–Continual shuffling of the offensive line means new starting right guard Mark Glowinski was a bit of an unknown when thrust into the lineup the past two games as a result of Matt Slauson being placed on injured reserve. A fourth-round pick for Seattle in 2015, Glowinski was claimed off waivers in 2017 but didn’t play a game. Two games into his Colts stint, he earned high praise from the Colts’ most established offensive lineman, left tackle Anthony Castonzo, who told Kevin Bowen of 1070AM-The Fan, “If everyone had a chance to watch him in the weight room, they would be incredibly impressed with (Glowinski). He’s a physical specimen and has the ability to physically move people out of the way, which is a huge thing for a guard.”
–The Colts were strong enough up front to be named the NFL’s “Offensive Line of the Week” by retired lineman Shaun O’Hara, now an analyst for NFL.com. “The unit helped the team amass 220 rushing yards, the most in a game by the Colts in the last 10 seasons,” O’Hara said. “Playing in just his third game of the season after dealing with hamstring issues, Marlon Mack recorded the first 100-yard rushing game of his career, finishing with 126 yards and a rushing touchdown on 19 carries (he also added a receiving TD). Thanks to major help from the O-line, Indy’s running backs led the NFL with 114 yards before contact, per Pro Football Focus. What a day for this rushing attack.”
–Longtime NFL insider Ian Rapoport of NFL Network and NFL.com was joined by Colts rookie weak-side linebacker Darius Leonard, who has a league-high 79 total tackles, in Wednesday’s “RapSheet and Friends” podcast. Leonard said he knew after the Week 2 win at Washington that he was capable of having an impact as a pro. “I just go out there and play each game like it’s my last,” Leonard said. Rapoport is touting Leonard, a second-round selection out of South Carolina State, as a strong candidate for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. “It would mean a lot, man,” Leonard said of possibly winning that honor, “especially coming from a small town, being overlooked in high school, coming from a small college and just doing all the little things right. I know how hard I worked. My family knows how hard I worked. If I did win that award, it would mean a lot just not for me but for my family, for my university and for my hometown (Lake View, S.C.), just letting people know that it doesn’t matter where you come from and no matter how big the school you went to, there’s still a possible way for you to be great.” Rapoport said many NFL teams had suggested the Colts “reached” in choosing Leonard in the second round with the 36th overall selection. Leonard was named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month for September.
BY THE NUMBERS: 125 – Consecutive snaps in which Colts quarterback Andrew Luck hasn’t been sacked. It’s the longest stretch of his seven-year NFL career. Despite using 10 different linemen and five combinations in seven games, the Colts have allowed just 10 sacks while Luck has attempted a league-high 311 passes.
