Sports Illustrated’s Monday Morning Quarterback staff recently picked the winners for all 16 Week 1 matchups. Only one had the Colts beating the Texans.
Here is who Sports Illustrated has making the weekly predictions:
Albert Breer, senior NFL reporter
Conor Orr, senior writer
Gilberto Manzano, staff writer
Matt Verderame, staff writer
John Pluym, managing editor
Mitch Goldich, senior editor
Of this group, only Connor Orr picked the Colts to win. Orr has been quite bullish on the Colts all offseason–it’s not only this week. In his 100 Bold Predictions for the 2024 season, Orr picked the Colts to make the playoffs.
After Houston’s late push last season that landed them in the playoffs, they are the favorites to win the AFC South this season. A big challenge for the Colts in this contest will be slowing the Houston passing game, which is led by CJ Stroud and features Stefon Diggs, Nico Collins, and Tank Dell.
One of the biggest unknowns for the Colts this season, as we all know, lies in the secondary at both the cornerback and safety positions. There is also the learning curve that quarterback Anthony Richardson may still be navigating early on in the season.
However, where the Colts create fits for the Texans is in the trenches. On defense, the Colts have what should be one of the more disruptive fronts in football and the best way to wreck any play is with a quick push of the middle.
Meanwhile, on offense, the Colts are returning all five starters from an offensive line unit in 2023 that ranked top-10 in yards per rush and in pressure rate. In the team’s Week 18 matchup with Houston last season, Jonathan Taylor would rush for 188 yards behind that group.
As the old saying goes, if you can control the line of scrimmage, you can control the game.
In a win or go home matchup to end the 2023 season, Shane Steichen and the Colts nearly came away with the win. While quarterback Anthony Richardson will go through some growing pains this season as he gets more experience, his big play ability–both on the ground and with his arm–adds a whole new element that the Texans will have to contend with this time around.
And while Richardson has just 98 career dropbacks, it’s not as if he has to do it all on his own either. Between the offensive line play, sharing a backfield with Taylor, and the group of receivers, there are others to shoulder that playmaking burden.
The potential is certainly there for the Colts, now it’s about that upside being recognized on the field during Sunday’s game.
