Indianapolis Colts fans thought things looked bleak when Andrew Luck walked to the locker room after a preseason game, ready to announce he was going to retire.
The four-time Pro Bowl quarterback left despite high expectations for the Colts’ 2019 season, and his retirement was a blow to their title hopes. Or so it seemed.
Indianapolis (4-2) has done pretty well with Jacoby Brissett running the offense. Brissett is coming off one of his finest games as a pro, and he was rewarded with AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors on Wednesday.
Brissett threw for 326 yards and four touchdowns in a win over the Houston Texans in Week 7. He now takes that confidence into a Sunday matchup against the scuffling Denver Broncos with a chance to show that last week wasn’t a fluke.
His team has always had confidence in him.
“We’ve never wavered in our conviction on Jacoby,” Indianapolis coach Frank Reich said this week. “We all know; he knew it, too. You’ve still got to prove it. You’ve still got to put the offense on your back for this game and make the plays he made to win this game. He did it as well as you can do it.”
Brissett has 14 touchdown passes this year, one more than he threw in 2017 when he started 15 games. He also has just three interceptions.
“He’s definitely not a game manager,” Colts defensive end Justin Houston said this week. “He’s a game changer. That’s big for us to have one of those guys on our team. And he’s still growing. Sky’s the limit.”
Now Brissett takes on a Denver team that is banged up — physically and mentally. The Broncos (2-5) were dominated 30-6 at home against the Kansas City Chiefs on Oct. 17 and traded wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders to San Francisco on Tuesday. That leaves the team with a young corps, led by second-year player Courtland Sutton.
“Nothing is really going to change for me. I go to work every single day,” said Sutton, who is tied for sixth in the NFL with 564 receiving yards.
Denver now has just six players left on the roster from the team that won the Super Bowl four years ago, and none on offense. One of the six, cornerback Chris Harris Jr. has had his name floated in trade rumors ahead of next week’s deadline.
“It’s just part of the business, and it’s something that happens every year,” Harris said. “When you’re not doing good, it definitely happens, and you hear it even more.”
If Harris is moved before Tuesday, it would make the defensive backfield even thinner. Cornerback Bryce Callahan (foot), a free agent addition, has yet to play this season, and safety Will Parks will miss time after having hand surgery to repair an injury sustained against the Chiefs.
The Broncos have also claimed a couple of players off the waiver wire — defensive lineman Jonathan Harris and wide receiver Kelvin McKnight, who was put on the practice squad.
The biggest issue for the Colts is not overlooking a lesser opponent. Indianapolis is coming off consecutive wins over Kansas City and Houston and is in a stretch of six home games in nine weeks (including a bye). Moreover, the Colts’ next four opponents have losing records, including the winless Miami Dolphins.
Indianapolis leads the AFC South by a half-game thanks to last week’s win over Houston.
