PLAYER NOTES
–RB Marlon Mack is the first Colts back to run for a touchdown and catch a scoring pass in the same game since Joseph Addai in 2008. Expect the Colts to rely on Mack as a workhorse, although rookie backups Jordan Wilkins and Nyheim Hines will still spell him to keep the back fresh.
–WLB Darius Leonard has at least eight tackles in each of his six starts. His 79 tackles are 12 more than the next player, Budda Baker of Arizona.
–TEs Eric Ebron and Erik Swoope have combined for nine TD receptions. Ebron leads all NFL tight ends in scoring catches. Swoope has caught a TD pass in each of the past three games, but suffered a knee injury against Buffalo. The former University of Miami basketball player, who didn’t play football in college, missed all of 2017 after undergoing knee surgery. If Jack Doyle can return, the roster spot is overloaded and will necessitate a move, either with Swoope if his injury is serious or possibly waiving Mo Alie-Cox, another college basketball player who didn’t play football in college. He’s bounced between the active roster and practice squad since being signed in 2017. Alie-Cox has caught a pass in each of the past three games for a combined 58 yards.
–DE Margus Hunt leads the AFC with 10 tackles for loss.
–DT Denico Autry, who spent his first four pro seasons with the Raiders, returned to practice on a limited basis Wednesday after missing the last two games with a hamstring injury. Autry also missed two games with an ankle injury this season. When he’s been able to play, Autry has been a solid starter with 13 total tackles and two sacks.
–DT Jihad Ward suffered a serious left ankle injury against the Bills that will likely land him on injured reserve. He said after the game that the injury involved damage to both “bones and ligaments.” Ward was a bright spot with three sacks in his six games as a reserve.
–S Clayton Geathers (neck) was a full-practice participant on Wednesday, but the Colts won’t rush him back, especially considering newcomer Mike Mitchell’s solid play in two starts. Mitchell was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week on Wednesday.
– The Colts inactive players for Wednesday practice were kicker Adam Vinatieri (groin), wide receiver Ryan Grant (ankle), safety Mailk Hooker (hip), tight end Erik Swoope (knee), running back Robert Turbin (shoulder) and defensive tackle Jihad Ward (ankle). Hooker’s absence is expected to be just rest, but all of the other players are uncertain for Sunday. Grant and Turbin didn’t play last week.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: DE Jabaal Sheard. The eighth-year pro has been the Colts’ steadiest defensive lineman with 22 total tackles and four sacks. The sack total ties Darius Leonard and Margus Hunt for the team lead. Sheard has had at least a half sack in five of seven starts. He’s amassed 45.5 in his career. His 22 tackles are the most for Colts defensive linemen. While most are aware of Sheard’s pass-rushing skills, which is why he was a second-round pick by Cleveland in 2011 and later won a Super Bowl ring with New England in the 2016 postseason, the 29-year-old defender has proven he can be counted upon against the run.
GAME PLAN: Opposing defenses scheme first for trying to limit quarterback Andrew Luck and the passing game, but the Colts are making strides in establishing balance behind the rushing of second-year back Marlon Mack. Luck, who has the NFL’s longest active streak with a touchdown pass in 30 consecutive games, is still the catalyst for attacking a Raiders defense that is near the bottom in most categories. But head coach Frank Reich preaches the importance of balance. Expect another heavy workload for Mack, who showed burst in his last two starts after missing three games with a nagging hamstring injury. In those two most recent starts, Mack has rushed for 215 yards on 31 carries with one touchdown and has caught three passes for 37 yards with one score.
The Raiders are admittedly one-dimensional on offense in relying upon three-time Pro Bowl quarterback Derek Carr. They’re 10th in passing offense (281 yards per game) and 25th in rushing offense (92 yards per game). Now having traded wide receiver Amari Cooper means more work for tight end Jared Cook, who has a team-leading 32 receptions for 400 yards and two touchdowns. Free-agent addition Jordy Nelson is also a matchup problem for a Colts defense that struggles in man-to-man coverage and plays a lot of zone. Nelson, who has 22 receptions for 323 yards and three touchdowns, has a knack for finding open spaces and Carr is smart enough to know where those will be, too. The Colts’ blueprint is to pressure Carr and create turnovers. The Raiders are minus-5 in turnover ratio with 11 giveaways. Carr has taken 17 sacks and has been intercepted eight times. The Colts are tied for 25th in points allowed (26.4) and 21st in total yards allowed (374.9 per game), so the Raiders should be able to move the ball. That’s why turnovers and sacks are key for a bend-and-sometimes-breaking Colts defense to get stops.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH
–Colts S Mike Mitchell vs. Raiders TE Jared Cook. Defending the Raiders’ No. 1 pass catcher will likely involve Mitchell as well as free safety Malik Hooker, who will be positioned over the top with linebackers underneath. While Colts linebackers are athletic, it will be difficult to keep Cook from stretching the field, which means the safeties must be in the correct spots. Cook is a big target at 6-5 and 254, but he has 4.5-second speed in the 40-yard dash. Expect Carr to test that Colts secondary early and often to exploit mismatches. If the Colts do bracket Cook to try to take him away, that means Carr must be careful on when to throw his way. That would also mean more opportunities for other Raiders pass catchers against Colts cover guys who give plenty of cushion in trying to just keep opponents in front of them.
–Colts RDE Margus Hunt vs. Raiders LT Kolton Miller. Hunt has been one of the Colts’ biggest surprises as a full-time starter for the first time with an AFC-best 10 tackles for loss and four sacks, which ties for the team lead. After five seasons as mostly a backup, he’s entrenched on the Colts defensive line. The 31-year-old veteran is going up against a 23-year-old rookie in Miller, who was the 15th overall player drafted last spring. Miller has been playing with a partial ligament tear in his right knee, which is blamed for alarming recent struggles in allowing six sacks and eight quarterback hurries in the last two games. While the bye week was undoubtedly a welcome opportunity to rest, will Miller be strong enough to contend with Hunt?
