PLAYER NOTES
–CB Trumaine Johnson (quad), who missed Sunday’s win over the Broncos, did not practice.
–CB Buster Skrine, who suffered a concussion Sunday, did not practice. It was Skrine’s fourth documented concussion since 2015.
–RB Isaiah Crowell (ankle), who rushed for a franchise record 219 yards Sunday, did not practice.
–PR Andre Roberts (elbow/foot) did not practice.
–C Spencer Long (knee, finger) did not practice.
–WR Charone Peake (hamstring), who missed Sunday’s game, did not practice.
–ILB Kevin Pierre-Louis (foot) did not practice.
–TE Neal Sterling, who missed Sunday’s game after suffering a concussion in Jacksonville, was limited at practice.
–WR Terrelle Pryor (groin) was limited at practice.
–S Marcus Maye (ankle/foot) was limited at practice.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: RB Isaiah Crowell. The Jets signed Crowell to a reasonable three-year, $12 million contract, and through five games, he is third in the NFL with 390 rushing yards, behind only Ezekiel Elliott of THE Cowboys (480) and Todd Gurley II of the Rams (415). The 25-year-old is averaging 6.8 yards per carry, which is second in the league behind only Matt Breida of the 49ers (7.5) among qualified players. An undrafted played out of Alabama State, Crowell never had a 1,000-yard rushing season in four years with the Browns, but he’s on pace for a career-high 1,248 this season. Crowell has never missed a game in five seasons as a pro and he hasn’t fumbled on any of his 63 touches this year.
GAME PLAN: With deep ball threat T.Y. Hilton likely out for a second straight game, the Colts’ offense should be pretty basic, which the Jets are generally good at handling. Indianapolis’ longest non-Hilton play so far this season was a 33-yard run by quarterback Andrew Luck. The Colts lack playmakers at running back, while their top receiving threat after Hilton is five-year veteran tight end Eric Ebron, who has caught only 26 of his 45 targets, with a long of 28 yards. The Jets have allowed a league-high seven rushes of 20-plus yards, including three to opposing quarterbacks, so they must keep a linebacker spy on the surprisingly quick Luck.
Offensively, the Colts don’t have many household names on defense, but they have played sound, if unspectacular, run defense, so I wouldn’t expect another 219-yard day from Isaiah Crowell (how could you?). Indy hasn’t allowed a back to rush for more than 100 yards in any of their five games, but it has allowed more than 100 total rushing yards in each of their four losses. That seems to be the benchmark to beat the Colts, and the Jets have now eclipsed it three times (their two wins and in their narrow loss to the Browns). More than 100 rushing yards is a likely victory and less will probably be a loss.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH
–Jets LT Kelvin Beachum/RT Brandon Shell vs. Colts WLB Darius Leonard. The rookie second-round pick out of South Carolina State has been a beast in Indy’s 4-3 defense as a weak-side pass rusher. He missed Thursday’s game in New England with an ankle injury, and while he didn’t practice Wednesday, he expects to play Sunday. Despite playing only four games, he still leads the league with 54 tackles. He also has four sacks, and of the 17 other players with at least four sacks, none other than him have more than 28 tackles.
–Jets SS Jamal Adams vs. Colts TE Eric Ebron. The Jets, and specifically Adams, struggled last season covering big tight ends, but they have been much better this season. The only touchdown they’ve allowed to an opposing tight end was A.J. Derby’s in a Week 2 loss to the Dolphins, but that was his only catch of the game. The Colts have only scored 13 touchdowns this season and five have gone to the 25-year-old former first-round pick out of North Carolina. So Adams would be smart to pay attention to him in the red zone.
