First Look: Indianapolis Colts

Record: 1-1
Streak: Won 1
Series vs. Denver: 7-11
Last time: Colts, 28-16, 2009
The Line: Colts by 5.5

The Houston Texans shocked the Colts in Week One, but the New York Giants failed (miserably) in their bid to repeat the feat. The Colts dominated the G-Men and showed the NFL that either their first week was a fluke, or the Texans are really stinking good.

Who’s hot: QB Peyton Manning. OK, when is Peyton Manning not hot? But the fact remains: Manning leads the league in passing yards (688) and is the NFL’s 2nd-rated passer. He’s also the only quarterback averaging over 300 yards per game yet to throw an interception. Is it possible the league’s best quarterback nearly every year for the past decade keeps getting better?

Who’s not: The Colts rush defense, thanks largely to Texans RB Arian Foster‘s ridiculous numbers in Week One. The unit ranks last in the league (allowing 188.5 rushing yards per game). They allowed 120 rushing yards against New York last week, which is a decent number, but it’s less than half of the 257 they allowed to Houston. Even though it’s easily the team’s biggest weakness, they’re clearly working on improving it.

Matchup to watch: Broncos coverage vs. returners Devin Moore and Jerraud Powers. Seriously. The Colts’ average starting field position is the 29-yard line (16th in the league) — if the Broncos can keep Indy back there, they might stand a chance. But the Broncos have allowed embarrassingly big returns to both Jacksonville and Seattle, and the Colts are 2nd in the league in average yards per drive with 49.5. This game will come down to outscoring and making fewer mistakes than the Colts — they can’t afford to give Peyton Manning a short field, even once.