The duel:
The Indianapolis Colts (0-1) travel to historic Lambeau Field to face the also winless Green Bay Packers (0-1), who will likely be without up-and-coming young starting quarterback Jordan Love. In his absence, the Packers will rely on recently signed backup Malik Willis, who formerly played with the Tennessee Titans. Willis is not nearly as polished as Love as a pocket passer, which should provide relief for the Colts’ injury-plagued secondary, which is without starting outside cornerback JuJu Brents and safety Julian Blackmon.
Willis actually offers more mobility than Love, something the Colts defense will have to consider, especially if they want to collectively strengthen their run defense after suffering a tough loss to the Houston Texans’ running game last week. The Colts face another former Pro Bowl veteran running back, Josh Jacobs of the Packers, who had a strong debut last week.
On offense, meanwhile, the Colts will look to build on the encouraging play of returning second-year starter Anthony Richardson, who, although initially rusty due to his season-ending shoulder injury for 2023, made some incredibly long throws in the opener.
The Colts will certainly want to get their running game going, however, as star workhorse Jonathan Taylor averaged just 3.0 yards per carry on 16 carries last week. In the passing game, the question will be whether starter Josh Downs plays, who is currently considered 50-50, and otherwise they will rely on two rookies, AD Mitchell and Anthony Gould. Outside of the slot, it will be interesting to see if Alec Pierce continues his good start and if the Colts can also incorporate lead wideout Michael Pittman Jr. more.
Injury report:
Colts: SAF Julian Blackmon (shoulder) – Out; DT DeForest Buckner (back) – Questionable; WR Josh Downs (ankle) – Questionable; PK Matt Gay (unspecified); and DE Kwity Paye (hamstring) – Questionable.
Packer: RB Marshawn Lloyd (hamstring) – questionable; QB Jordan Love (knee) – questionable; and WR Jayden Reed (calf/shin) – questionable.
The details:
Location: Lambeau Field
Time: 1:00 p.m. EST
Playing area: Natural/artificial turf
Weather forecast: Low to mid 80s.
Matchup history: Colts lead the series 24-21-1.
Opportunities: (-2.5 Colts)
Chief Officer: Shawn Hochuli
TV broadcast: FOX (Joe Davis, Greg Olsen)
TV program
Online stream: Fubo.tv, Outstanding+, NFL+
Colts Radio Broadcast: Matt Taylor is joined by Rick Venturi and Larra Overton on 93.5 FM, 107.5 The Fan and 97.1 HANK FM. and on the partner stations of the Colts Radio Network.
SiriusXM broadcast: Channel 384
Twitter: Stampede Blue
Facebook: Stampede Blue
