Denver Broncos vs. Indianapolis Colts: 5 Storylines to Watch
The Denver Broncos (6-0) pay a visit to Lucas Oil Stadium to face the Indianapolis Colts (4-2) in Week 7.
The Broncos are one of two undefeated teams in the NFL (the Kansas City Chiefs are the other) after having defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 6, 35-19. The Broncos struggled at times with Jacksonville, the worst team in the NFL, before a fourth-quarter burst put the game away.
The Colts lost a road game to the San Diego Chargers in Week 6. Indianapolis failed to score a touchdown, as Colts quarterback Andrew Luck struggled to move the football in a 19-9 defeat.
Both squads are considered elite teams, but the biggest storyline will be Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning's return to Indianapolis.
It will be Manning's first game in Indianapolis since the Broncos signed the veteran QB before the 2012 season.
Along with Manning's return, what are five storylines to watch in Sunday night's game?
Peyton Manning vs. Andrew Luck
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It is Peyton Manning's return to the "house that he built," but one of the storylines that will be of focus during the game will be Manning vs. Andrew Luck.
Manning is regarded as the best quarterback in the game today, while some observers consider him the greatest quarterback of all time. His beginning to the 2013 season is the best six-game start to any season by a quarterback in NFL history—22 touchdowns, 2179 yards and a 74.2 percent completion rate.
On the other side of the field will be quarterback, Andrew Luck. Luck is Manning's successor in Indianapolis—in other words, the guy who replaced No. 18 in Indy.
The second-year quarterback has been an instant success in the NFL—in 22 starts, he's 15-7. A year after the Colts had the worst record in the NFL, Luck led them to the playoffs in his first season.
In a game with many storylines, expect this one to take the spotlight throughout Sunday night's game.
Colts Rushing Offense vs. Denver Run Defense
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The Broncos rank No. 1 in the NFL in run defense, allowing just 69.8 yards per game. The Colts Trent Richardson averages just 3.2 yards per carry, the sixth-worst average of all runners ranked in the top 40 in total rushing yards.
We know the Broncos offense will bring it at Lucas Oil Stadium. Andrew Luck will need all of the help he can get from his supporting cast—that includes Richardson—if they want to knock off the Broncos from the short list of unbeaten teams.
Since coming over from Cleveland in a trade early on in the season, Richardson has been a dud. The second-year running back has failed to rush for more than 60 yards in a single game.
With Colts running backs, Vick Ballard and Ahmad Bradshaw now on injured reserve, the spotlight is solely on Richardson to perform.
Von Miller's Return
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Some may not have noticed, due to the Broncos' 6-0 start to the season, but Von Miller returns to the team after a six-game suspension.
The Broncos have looked just fine without Miller, as the Denver front seven has slowed down opposing rushing attacks, while the pass rush (tied for 11th in the league) has been solid despite the absence of the Broncos' best pass-rusher.
Von returned to practice for the first time on Wednesday, and looked much bigger than before. He stated that "he currently weighs 270 pounds."
Via Lindsay H. Jones of USA Today:
"When Miller returned to practice earlier this week, he said he weighed 270 pounds. Last season, when he had 18½ sacks, Miller played at about 255 pounds, and that was nine more than his rookie weight in 2011.
Miller had been focused on gaining weight throughout the offseason and told reporters this spring he was at 260 pounds but still wanted to get bigger. The muscle-building plan intensified during his suspension, and Miller now says he's the biggest—and yet the fittest—he's ever been in his life.
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With Miller back, it should be interesting to see what is his role on the field, as the Broncos prepare to slow down one of the game's best young quarterbacks in Andrew Luck.
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Jim Irsay's Comments
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Perhaps to increase the interest and hype for this game (as if we needed any more of that), the media made a big deal out of recent comments made made by Colts owner Jim Irsay about Peyton Manning and his departure Indianapolis.
Irsay made these incendiary remarks in an interview with Jarrett Bell of USA Today.
While on the topic of the team's current supporting cast around Andrew Luck: "Circumstances created this decision," Irsay says. "You have to understand there's no way this occurs if he's (Manning) in Indy. It's just impossible, where our salary cap was. Having him stay at the type of number that he expected and deserved to earn and all those things."
While following up on Manning, Irsay briefly showed his right hand, which was adorned by his Super Bowl XLI championship ring. Irsay suggested that the the team's one Super Bowl victory with Peyton as the quarterback wasn't enough:
"We've changed our model a little bit, because we wanted more than one of these...(Tom) Brady never had consistent numbers, but he has three of these...Pittsburgh had two, the Giants had two, Baltimore had two and we had one. That leaves you frustrated...
You make the playoffs 11 times, and you're out in the first round seven out of 11 times. You love to have the Star Wars numbers from Peyton and Marvin (Harrison) and Reggie (Wayne). Mostly, you love this.
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Peyton took the high road by refusing to comment on Irsay's remarks.
We'll see if Irsay's remarks provide Peyton and the Broncos with any added motivation come Sunday night.
Will the Colts Be the First Team to Defeat the Broncos?
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While most pundits seem to picking the Kansas City Chiefs or the New England Patriots to be the first teams to knock off the Denver Broncos from the list of unbeaten squads, the Indianapolis Colts have as good a chance as any team on the Broncos' remaining schedule.
Although they are still finding their niche as a top-tier team, the Colts are one of the more well-balanced teams in all of the NFL—they rank 11th in offense and fourth in defense. Their turnover differential is sixth-best in the league.
With a top quarterback like Andrew Luck and an extremely good supporting cast, combined with the advantage of playing at home and the emotions that will be running high due to Peyton Manning's return to Indy...the Colts just might knock off the Broncos in Week 7.
Unless Manning has something to say about that.
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