Scouting the Enemy: Indianapolis Colts

The Denver Broncos took care of business in Week 1 securing a victory over the Tennessee Titans. Their opponent this week is the Indianapolis Colts, who looked quite impressive after a dominant win of their own over the Miami Dolphins to start their season. Let’s take a deeper look at the Colts, some of their key players, and what the Broncos have to do on Sunday to secure a win on the road in Indianapolis.

2024 Indianapolis Colts Review

The Colts finished their 2024 season with an 8-9 record which was good enough for second place in the AFC South but fell short of making the playoffs. Their offense ranked 17th in points scored and 13th in total yards. Most of their struggles were defensively, coming in at 24th in points allowed and 29th in yards allowed.

2025 Indianapolis Colts Offseason Additions

The big change for the Colts this offseason was at quarterback. The team signed veteran Daniel Jones to a one-year deal worth up to $14 million. He competed for their starting job against former top pick Anthony Richardson. After an impressive camp and preseason, Jones was named the starting quarterback for the squad in ‘25.

In order to get better on defense, the Colts made improving their secondary a primary endeavor in free agency. They added cornerbacks Charvarius Ward, Corey Ballentine, and safety Camryn Bynum into the mix. In the 2025 NFL Draft, they added standout tight end Tyler Warren in the first round. He didn’t disappoint in his pro debut and reeled in 7 catches for 76 yards against the Dolphins. My gut tells me Warren will be targeted often this weekend.

Offensive X-Factor: Running Back Jonathan Taylor

Daniel Jones performed well in his debut with the Colts, but I’m choosing a different player as their offensive x-factor—running back Jonathan Taylor. Taylor took the league by storm rushing for 1,169 yards to 11 touchdowns as a rookie in 2020. He followed that up with an All-Pro campaign in 2021 where he had 1,811 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns. His next few seasons were marred by injury, but the veteran running back had a quality comeback campaign last season notching 1,431 yards on the ground and 11 touchdowns.

As a seasoned six-year veteran, Taylor is still one of the best running backs in the league and averaged over 100 yards per game in ’24. The Broncos did a magnificent job stopping the run last week but will need to ensure Taylor doesn’t shake things up for them on the ground. Last year in their December matchup, the Broncos handled the Colts, but Taylor was still an impact player with 22 rushes for 107 yards. Halting his prowess as a runner will be mission critical for Denver to secure a victory on Sunday.

Defensive X-Factor: Defensive lineman Kwity Paye

Last week the Broncos’ offensive line did all right for the most part but struggled a bit going up against Pro-Bowl defensive lineman Jeffrey Simmons. This week, they draw another...