The Indianapolis Colts open up the 2024 regular season at Lucas Oil Stadium, taking on the Houston Texans. Like in any matchup, there are reasons to be optimistic and there are reasons to worry. What are those reasons–the good and the bad–in this one for the Colts?
After a late season surge by Houston that saw them narrowly win the division and then a win a playoff game, the Texans are the overwhelming favorites to win the AFC South this season. They now enter Year 2 with CJ Stroud at quarterback, DeMeco Ryans as the head coach, and made some splash additions during the offseason.
The Colts, meanwhile, are bullish on the roster that they’ve put together, with the theme of the offseason for them being continuity and relying on the internal development of several young players to help this team take the next step.
If you’d like to see who the experts are picking in this game, click here, but otherwise, let’s take a closer look at why there’s concern around the the Colts being able to win and also reasons to be optimistic that they can come away with a victory.
Reason for optimism: The defensive line
Syndication: The Indianapolis Star
The Colts have invested heavily into the defensive front and should have one of the more disruptive units in football, building a hockey-like rotation in the trenches where there is an abundance of depth. Success for the defense starts up front, if the Colts can limit the Texans run game, that will put the offense in long down-and-distance situations and predictable passing situations where the defense has the advantage. On passing plays, we all know how important pressure on the quarterback is. The best way to slow any offense is with quick pressure, and the Colts are built to do that.
Reason for concern: The secondary
Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
One of the biggest unknowns for the Colts is the play of their secondary and this unit will be tested right away against the Texans. Along with having Stroud under center, at receiver is Stefon Diggs, Nico Collins, and Tank Dell. This was a Colts secondary that gave up too many big plays and didn’t make enough plays on the football last season. With no significant outside additions made, the Colts are in need of JuJu Brents, Jaylon Jones, and Nick Cross to all take big steps forward in 2024. To their credit, these three seemed to put together solid training camp performances, but we…
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