Three keys of success for the Colts vs Rams

Photo Credit: Brent Skeen

In a shocking way the Indianapolis Colts stormed out of Baltimore with a 22-19 win in a huge upset win for the team who came into the game as underdogs who were without their first-round pick quarterback Anthony Richardson who was out with injury and his backup quarterback replacement Gardner Minshew who managed and played a good game that was enough to sneak a win against a tough Baltimore defense. In their Week 4 match up The (1-2) Los Angeles Rams will be traveling to Indianapolis to take on the (2-1) Colts with quarterback Anthony Richardson expected to play.

disrupting Stafford

The last thing the Colts defense wants is for Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford to find his rhythm and be able to sit back in the pocket and spread the ball around to his receivers and get into a flow. The Rams are averaging 284 passing yards a game which is top five in the league. With star wide receiver Cooper Kupp not expected to play until Week 5, the Colts defense is going to have to look to stop wide receiver Puka Nacua who is off to a hot start this season, as in the first four weeks has put up 11.7 yards per catch (YPC) and has 30 receptions to go with 338 yards on the year. With his counter partner wide receiver Tutu Atwell who had a productive outing against the Cincinnati Bengals when he added four receptions for 50 yards and added touchdown to his day. The passing game and Matthew Stafford when they are on on and working it is hard to stop their offense and even tougher to get a victory.

Eliminate the run

A key factor for the Colts defense is to control the run game of the Los Angeles Rams. Eliminating the run game of the Rams can help the Colts defense keep Stafford out of rhythm and let the guys on the defensive line go after the quarterback and create a lot of long third and long situations. The most rushing yards the Rams have had this season had happened in Week 1 when running back Kyren Williams had 15 attempts for 52 yards. slowing down the run game even more could benefit the Colts defense in the secondary and put the pressure on Rams offense. The Colts defense rank 16th in run defense as they have allowed 114.7 yards a game. Stopping the run can create good situations for the Colts defense and get the Colts offense in better spots to be able to put points up on the scoreboard.

Richardson is back

First-round pick Anthony Richardson missed the Week 3 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens as he was dealing with a concussion and could not make it out of concussion protocol in time for the game. Having the young mobile quarterback back on the field is huge for the Colts, as Richardson had shown before his injury that he can be explosive on offense and letting the young rookie go to work in the air and on the ground where he has been impressive in his first month in the league. In his first two starts the Colts quarterback has been solid in the passing game with a 78.2 quarterback rating and a total of four touchdowns on the year with three of them coming on explosive running plays. With the young quarterback back in action expect the Colts to come out hungry and become explosive on offense.