Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts MUST Get Jonathan Taylor Going Against Red-Hot Las Vegas Raiders

Episode Date: December 28, 2023

The Indianapolis Colts face off against the Las Vegas Raiders in a do-or-die, playoff-level game this weekend. The Colts need to find a way to bounce back after an embarrassing Week 16 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.Find and follow Locked On Colts on your favorite podcast platforms:🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOColts?sid=YouTube📺YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLdpxJspi1hMh5HL7ExpWOQLocked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft & More🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNFLFollow Jake and Zach's written work on HorseshoeHuddle.com, and give them a follow on Twitter @JakeArthurNFL, @ZachHicks2, @LockedOnColts, and @ColtsOnFN!This crossover Thursday episode is brought to you by PrizePicks. The easiest and most exciting way to play Daily Fantasy Sports. Go to PrizePicks.com/lockedonnfl and use code all lowercase lockedononfl for a first deposit match up to $100Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!DoorDashGet 50% off up to $10 value when you spend $15 or more on your FIRST order, when you download the DoorDash app and enter code LOCKED23. Subject to change. Terms apply.PrizePicksGo to PrizePicks.com/lockedonnfl and use code lockedonnfl for a first deposit match up to $100!GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Last minute tickets. Lowest Price. Guaranteed.LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFL. Terms and conditions apply.FanDuelScore early this NFL season with FanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook! Right now, NEW customers get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS with any winning FIVE DOLLAR MONEYLINE BET! That’s A HUNDRED AND FIFTY BUCKS – if your team wins! Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Indianapolis Colts have to get Jonathan Taylor going to beat the red-hot Las Vegas Raiders. Let's get to it. You are Locked On Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast your first listen of the day. This is your daily podcast covering your Indianapolis Colts and Las Vegas Raiders. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. This Crossover Thursday episode is brought to you by PrizePix, the easiest and most exciting way to play daily fantasy sports.

Go to prizepix.com slash locked on NFL and use code in all lowercase, locked on NFL for a first deposit match up to $100. Hello, everyone. I'm Zach Hicks here of the Locked On Colts Podcast. I am joined by your boy Q over on the Las Vegas Raiders Locked On channel there. We're going to talk Colts Raiders, pretty big playoff matchup, except, I mean, especially for the Colts Raiders technically have a chance still, but they're kind of playing for their interim coach right now. But it's kind of funny, you know, when you're looking at these two teams, the Colts are the one

that are sitting in the seventh seed of the playoff spot. They're the ones that need to win these last two games to get into the playoffs. Again, the Raiders technically still have an avenue, but they're the red hot team right now. They're the ones that are coming off two massive victories, dropping 63 points against the Chargers, beating the Kansas City Chiefs. I mean, this Raiders team is playing some good football. So today, guys, we're going to talk all about the biggest storylines in this game. We're going to talk about the biggest matchups, and we're going to close it out with our predictions. But Q, since you're the road team, you're my guest on today's show. What is your biggest storyline for this one for the Las Vegas

Raiders? Well, it's funny. I mean, there's so many different avenues that you can go with the storylines, but I think it's really just the way that this team is playing for this coach right I mean Antonio Pierce takes over November 1st after Joshua Daniels gets fired and a lot of us had no idea exactly what to expect but I could tell that it was a breath of fresh air immediately I could tell the difference between the players I could tell the vibe in the building was just different and all they are right now is four and three under Antonio Pierce and now the last few weeks they're playing with a ton of confidence. They're playing like they're the baddest team out there, right? Like they're the team that's expected to go and make a deep run in the playoffs.

And, you know, right now they're mathematically alive, but they need a lot of help to get into the playoffs. But none of that matters right now. They're playing for that coach. They're trying to prove to ownership Mark Davis that he is the guy that should be the dude moving forward and we know man for covering the nfl the interim coaches don't get the head coaching job the permanent job very often and even when they do a lot of times they don't have a lot of success but he's trying to prove that he's different that that's the norm and he is not the norm and he's trying to you know as he mentioned earlier this week my resume is on the grass.

So, I mean, I just, I think that the biggest storyline when it comes to the Raiders is, yeah, they can make the playoffs potentially. Hell, there's a chance they could win the division, right? If the Chiefs lose out and the Raiders win out, they literally could win the division, which is wild to think since they fired their coach after on Halloween. But that's a possibility. But with all that being said, the biggest storyline is still the way this team is performing,

those guys in the locker room for their head coach, Antonio Pierce. Yeah, and it's been really interesting, too, because when you're watching this Raiders team since the firing of Josh McDaniels, obviously we always see that interim coach, that first game in. You see the interim coach usually win that first game. We saw it last year with Jeff Saturday. Heck, you guys saw it last year with Jeff Saturday. Very, very up close and personal, brother. Yes, you guys saw it last year with Jeff Saturday. Very, very up close and personal, brother. Yes, yes. They always win that first game and they come out strong and then it just implodes down the stretch. Like we saw last year here in Indy with Jeff Saturday, where

they're losing by 30 plus points each game down the stretch. Whereas, you know, other teams typically are not doing that. But with you guys, it seems like they're getting better each game with Antonio Pierce's tenure here. Again, 63 points does not happen very often no matter who you're playing against I mean again they're playing against a team that was kind of giving up but still to drop 63 that's right that's insane and then to be the Kansas City Chiefs even in their down year still being the Kansas City Chiefs um it seems like this team's just getting better and better every single week no they are and you know they dropped 63 against the Chargers. And there's a reason why the Chargers quit. Right. There was a reason why they quit. The Raiders submitted them. They just

like, OK, we're going to it's going to be our day today. You're not coming in our building and taking our lunch money. We're going to do that. And after the Chargers made so many mistakes, it was like, all right, game, set, match. And then the Chiefs, they had a plan. Man, Antonio Pierce told us in the media room, Hey, enough is enough. Enough is enough. We've had a lead on these guys, 17, nothing. We lost had a lead on these guys, 14, nothing. We lost enough is enough. We can go into their house, be the bully and take their lunch money. And that's exactly what they did. And you know,

you saw the frustrations from the chiefs, but the Raiders believe that they could beat anybody. I mean, they really do. And right now, but the way that their defense is playing in particular, I don't really question it. I don't question it. I think that this is the best I've seen this team play, especially on defense, obviously, in a ton of years.

But just as a unit and trying to play for each other, it's been nice to see. And again, it's been something I haven't seen in a very long time. So again, that's got to be the biggest storyline for the Raiders is just playing for Coach Antonio Pierce, how they can finish off this season. Can they win two more games and end the season on a four-game winning streak and let the chips fall where they may?

Possibly. But they've got to go out there and win the games to get it done. But for the Colts, what's the biggest storyline for the Colts? Like you mentioned, they're in the seventh seed right now. Yeah, I think the biggest thing for the Colts right now is what team are we? What team are we going to be in these last two games? Because we've seen so many different sides of this Colts team. Now, I know they've gone through a lot of adversity, losing their starting quarterback

early this season for the year. Obviously, that changes all your plans. Jonathan Taylor missing most of the season. Shaquille Leonard, everything happening with that and leading to his ultimate release. But when you look at this Colts team, it's been a team of streaks and runs this year. They started off strong after a rough Jaguars game to start the year but then fell to three and five early in the season then they went on a four game winning streak I mean again they beat teams that they should have beaten but they still beat those teams right

four game winning streak over Panthers Patriots Buccaneers and Titans and then we've seen this very bipolar team the last three weeks where getting blown out by the Cincinnati Bengals, but then blowing out the Pittsburgh Steelers and then getting blown out by the Atlanta Falcons. What football team are we right now? Like, are we the playoff team? Are we the seventh seed in this AFC, this really tight AFC race right now? Or are we the team that's just going to fold down the stretch and kind of succumb to being the backup quarterback team that was overachieving throughout the year. I think that's a big test for this team, especially with a rookie head coach.

Again, with a lot of adversity they've been facing all year, how are they going to finish these last two games? Because with the way that the math falls for them, if they win these last two games, they're almost a lock for the playoffs. They would need a lot of things to fall against them if they win these last two games to not make it. They're like a 99% chance, I believe. So they got to take care of business.

They can't be watching the scoreboard. They can't be looking ahead to any next week. I mean, it's two games left to show what kind of football team you are. I know, again, I know we can look at it and say this team's kind of overachieved this season, but let's go all the way with it. Let's overachieve to the max and make it into the playoffs. Yeah, why stop now? Yeah, yeah. And and this on a good

streak you know you've been again you've been overachieving all year but let's let's push this to the playoffs now it's kind of the same way that the Raiders like win those last two games see where the chips fall ultimately it misses the playoffs whatever you know you you put out 10 wins this season uh but for the Colts you know you got to finish strong after this really bipolar stretch they're coming off of these last three weeks. What has the value of Gardner Minshew been, right? I mean, look, this year across the league, it's been proven that you need to have a really quality backup. Anthony Richardson starts the season. He's out early with the injury. He misses the rest of the season. But Gardner Minshew slides right in.

How comfortable has that allowed, you know, the head coach there shane steichen to be knowing that gardner minshu at least i mean he's not a world beater but he's been there and done that yeah you know i mean if you look around the league it's what 59 quarterbacks have started games this year yeah gardner minshu has the most wins out of all the backup quarterbacks that have started games now joe flacco is making a run for his money right now but yeah but gardner minshu has the most wins among all those all those backups that have started and I think a lot of it came down to just his familiarity with Shane Steichen where Steichen yes he had to completely change his offense from the preseason plan when Minshew stepped in but he was changing it to a way that he already was prepared to potentially change it to

you know just go heavy RPOs go a little bit more in the gun go more with uh you know getting the ball out quick and not and kind of taking away some of those deep balls because that's just not what Gardner Minshew is it's not the most efficient and effective way of playing offense in the NFL it's not a sustainable way of playing offense in the NFL but it is a way that Shane Steggen was able to find you know success with this year it was able to sneak some wins out against you know Baltimore Ravens Houston Texans early in the season Tampa Buccaneers those are all playoff teams right now the Colts were able to win those type of games with Gardner Minshew quarterback because Shane Steigen had that plan in place so I'm not going to say that Gardner Minshew has been a world

beater this year because he hasn't he's been probably just a below average quarterback but in the landscape of the NFL when you're going to your backup quarterback to have below average quarterback but in the landscape of the NFL when you're going to your backup quarterback to have below average that's such a big advantage for your team just to have below average so I mean just having that on the bench has been a big plus for the Colts this year but don't worry guys we're going to keep talking Colts Raiders coming up we're going to talk all about the biggest matchups in this game who we're looking at in this Colts Raiders game. But first, PrizePix is the largest daily fantasy sports platform in North America. They're the easiest and most exciting way to play daily fantasy sports, and it's you against the numbers. Instead of betting thousands of other players or battling thousands of other players, including pros and sharks, you pick more

or less than on two to six player stat projections and watch the winnings roll in. They have a couple of really cool features there at PrizePix, including, you know, with the basketball season here, you can pick combo projections across football and basketball from the Specials League, a league created specifically for combo projections that includes two or more players from different sports or leagues. For example, here in the indie market, you can combine Tyrese Halliburton and Michael Pittman Jr. with, you know, 10 and a half three-pointers made in receptions. That is easy, easy money for you guys right there over on PrizePix.

Also, with PrizePix, if you want to play alongside some of PrizePix's favorite players like rapper Meek Mill and comedian Andrew Schultz, you can find community plays under the promos tab on the app and view entries from some of the biggest names in the prize picks community each and every week my favorite prize picks thing i'm looking at this week is jonathan taylor more or less than 72.5 yards rushing against the las vegas raiders now taylor did not have his best game last week in st atlanta falcons this raiders defense that is surging right now but the colts are going to lean on their star back to bounce back in the win

column. So I'm going more on Jonathan Taylor with those 72 and a half rushing yards, but you guys can go to prize picks.com slash locked on NFL and use code locked on NFL for our first deposit match up to $100. Again, guys, that's prize picks.com slash locked on NFL and use code locked on NFL for first deposit match up to $100. All right, Q, we're talking biggest matchups, Raiders, Colts,

big playoff implications this weekend. Again, what kind of matchups are you looking at in this game, Q? You know, it's so funny, man. I look at this Raiders team and the roster, and I look at Devontae Adams and Josh Jacobs if he's able to go. He hasn't gone the last two weeks. But I look at him, look at Jacoby Myers, you know, look at Aiden O'Connell, the quarterback.

Like I look at all these offensive weapons and I say, is that my biggest matchup? And I say, no, like this is the first time it's so long that I say that that's a no. I look at the biggest matchups for this game. And I really look at this Raiders defensive line, right? From Max Crosby to Malcolm Coons to Tyree Wilson to, you know, other, other big guys, Jenkins, John Jenkins. I mean, just all these other guys that are making plays, Adam Butler, all these dudes along the defensive line that are really making it happen

for the Raiders defense. Like they are the reason why this Raiders defense is all of a sudden having so much success and more success than they had early in the season. They're getting pressure on the quarterback. They're slowing down the run and they're making things happen. Like they're running around with swagger that they have all the confidence in the world that they could beat anybody, which is again, for somebody who's been covering the Raiders and a fan of the Raiders for a

very long time. It's just so new to me to see a defense that's playing the way that they're playing. I mean, they're what? Averaging about 15 points a game that they're giving up. I mean, it's just, it's incredible. You couldn't have told me that this was going to be the storyline for the team early in the season. I've been like, yeah, right. That's not going to happen. It's just, it is so bizarre, but really Malcolm Koontz has come on so strong as of late. He's, he's flying in off the edge. He's so fast that he's making life difficult. And of course, Max Crosby, I don't have to describe what he's going to bring to the table.

He's one of the best in the business, but really similar to last week, I thought that the biggest key to the game for the Raiders against the chiefs was that interior push. Tyree Wilson has been playing a lot on the inside. He was drafted to be an outside guy, but he's been playing a lot on the inside and he's starting to have a lot of success there. So I just think it's that whole defensive line going up against the Colts

offensive line, which I know the Colts offensive line is good, right? I mean, there's a reason why Jonathan Taylor is able to run. There's a reason why the Colts have had plenty of success is because that offensive line has done some really good things. I just think that this Raiders defensive line and the offensive line, they're going to have a, they're going to get in the middle of the ring and they're going to tie their shoelaces together. And like the last guy standing are going to be the ones that win. And so that's really where I look at it. I think everything's going to be built off the trenches. And if the Raiders defensive line could continue to have success, like they've been having the last few games,

I think they have a great shot in this game. Yeah. And one thing thing I want to add on that, you know, we're recording this here on Wednesday night guys. So I know by the time you're listening to this, you might hear a new injury report, but as of right now, Colts right tackle brain Smith was a full participant in the Wednesday walkthrough.

If he does go, I think this would be the second or third game this season where the Colts all five projected starting lineup at offensive line is actually starting a game. There's been a lot of missed time from Braden Smith, from Ryan Kelly, from Bernhardt Ryman missed a few games at left tackle as well. So this could be the first time we see the Colts offensive line at full strength. And you need a guy like Braden Smith against Max Crosby because rookie Blake Freeland has not had the best run of late at right tackle. And Max Crosby is a very different animal. He's one of one, one of the greatest pass rushers in the NFL right now. There is one more defender I want to ask you about before we go over to the Colts though. Cornerback Jack Jones is having a pretty good recent run of late.

I believe what two defensive touchdowns the last two weeks. Yeah. A guy that you guys got, I think what off waivers from the Patriots or something like that, just been playing some great football the last two weeks. And when I'm looking at Gardner Minshew, he's been, you know, he's been doing fine with the turnovers, but when I'm looking at Gardner Minshew he's been you know he's been doing fine with the turnovers but when I see those those touchdowns from Jack Jones last two weeks on late balls to the flat or late balls on hitches it kind of scares me a little bit well I'll tell

you this man he's been a great addition to this Raiders defense he's a guy that was very familiar with Antonio Pierce going back to Long Beach Poly uh he's called Antonio Pierce like a father figure to him he was with AP there when they were in Arizona State. So, I mean, again, he's very familiar with Coach Pierce. And so Coach kind of knows how to get the most out of him. And, you know, he's one of those guys I like to say has a little something in their neck, man. He's got a little edge to him, right? But Coach Pierce knows how to kind of calm him down and get him into the right zone and get his right frame of mind. But he's also a film junkie, like a film junkie.

He told me after the first pick six that he had against the Chargers at Allegiant Stadium, he said, oh, yeah, as soon as I saw them line up, I knew exactly what play they were running. So I just went to where the ball was supposed to be. And he's all, I was actually upset. I thought I overran it and I wasn't going to catch the ball. I thought I got there too early. So he kind of he kind of pulled his arm back. It looked like he was more going for a slam dunk as opposed to intercepting the ball.

And then this one on on Christmas morning against against Patrick Mahomes. I mean, he didn't even he he really baited him and he wasn't in the right stance. Like he wasn't really standing the right way or or backpedaling the right way to even make that play. But he knew it was coming. And that's all from film study. And so he just said it was a bad decision that he threw it. I was already breaking on it and, you know, I made it happen and that's when he took it to the house and he told Patrick Mahomes about himself on the way to the end zone. This dude's a guy, man.

He's a real dude and he's brought a lot of juice to that Raiders secondary. So yeah, that's a guy to definitely pay attention to. I'm sure that he's, you know, he's going to be looking to try to get three pick sixes in a row. You know, he's already two, two weeks in a row. He's been in the end zone. I think he's starting to get used sure that he's uh you know he's he's going to be looking to try to get three pick sixes in a row you know he's already two two weeks in a row he's been in the end zone I think he's starting to get used to that so he'll be looking to try to make a play on Sunday for sure yeah yeah for sure now switching to the other side of the ball talking about the Colts defense for versus the Raiders offense my biggest matchup I'm looking for is how does this Colts defense respond against yet another

backup quarterback they have played almost exclusive backup quarterbacks this entire season, and it's been mixed results. Like I said, this bipolar type team where during their four game winning streak, you know, they were going against these guys aren't backups, but they're backup quality type guys right now, like Bryce Young, Mac Jones, you know, those guys are not the strongest players. Will Levis was the fourth guy in that bunch there. And the Colts did a really good job, you know you know sitting back not getting beat deep with explosives and attacking

underneath and forcing turnovers on those underneath throws uh but these last couple weeks again it's kind of been hit or miss mitchell trubisky they had a great game against but then uh jake browning tore them to pieces with the screen game this past week taylor heineke had way too good of a game for taylor heineke to have against your defense so what are they going to be like against aiden o'connell in this one aiden o'connell coming of a game for Taylor Heineke to have against your defense. So what are they going to be like against Aiden O'Connell in this one? Aiden O'Connell coming off a game where he only threw for 62 yards in the first quarter. And that was pretty much it in the first half. And that was pretty much it.

What kind of Colts defense are going to see? Are we going to see another Colts defensive game plan where they sit back way too much and Aiden O'Connell is allowed to just live in the flats and live in the short game? And that's just not good enough for your defense right now or are they going to be a little more aggressive are they going to put more on this rookie quarterback's plate and ask him to beat them I'm really curious to see what kind of game plan the Colts defense come out with because if they're going to do what they did against Jake Browning and do what they did against Taylor Heineke which is just sit back as far as possible and and let them live in the short the flat I mean

Aiden O'Connell will complete 80% of his passes. It might only be for like six yards an attempt, but he'll be able to move the ball more than he even was last week against the Kansas City Chiefs. So they got to be a little more aggressive. They got to come after him. They got to force this rookie to do a little bit more than what they forced Taylor Heineken to do

or Jake Browning to do three weeks ago. Yeah, and it's going to be interesting. I mean, obviously that's something I'm paying attention to as well. I mean, as you mentioned, man, he didn't complete a pass after the first quarter on Christmas Day, right? I mean, he ended the game with 10 straight completions. Like, that's not going to work. I mean, your defense

scored two touchdowns, so that's great, but you can't count on that every week. Like, yeah, I can't say, oh, yeah, they're going to go into this game against the Colts and they're going to get two touchdowns. They're going to get a fumble and a pick six. Like, that's not realistic. So the offense is going to have to do something. He's going to have to dos. They're going to get a fumble and a pick six. Like that doesn't, that's not realistic. So the offense has got to have to do something. He's going to have to do something. It's going to be interesting to see how he bounces back.

I think the one thing that he has going for him is that he's been the starter since November 1st. I mean, ever since Antonio Pierce took over as the interim coach that day, he said, Hey, he's our guy. Ain't no Connell is our quarterback moving forward.

He gives us the best chance to win. And he hasn't wavered from that. There's times I thought that they should have took Aiden out and put Jimmy G back in against the Minnesota Vikings where the Raiders couldn't score any points into the game 3-0. I thought that was a game Jimmy G should have gone in, and some folks thought that there was times on Christmas morning where they probably should have gone in and put Jimmy G in

because Aiden O'Connell wasn't getting it done, but Antonio Pierce has rode with him. He's let him figure it out. He said that he didn't have that look in his eye, like he was anxious. He had that poker face, and that's what he was comfortable with. So we'll see how he bounces back. I want to see what the game plan looks like, like how do they set him up for success. And if the Colts do sit back and let him just kind of have the flats open,

then he'll take that because at this point you need to have a couple layups. You need to just see the ball go through the hoop a couple of times. And if he can see the ball go through the hoop a few times, it might open it up the rest of the game. So I don't think that that's a great approach for the Colts to take a sit back. But again, I don't know what their ultimate game plan is.

And there's a reason why they're the coaches and not me. We shall see. We shall see. But coming up guys, we're going to talk about how we think this game is going to go in our ultimate predictions again, for this big playoff like atmosphere for the Raiders and the Colts. But first, when you guys are hiring for your small business, you want to have as many top-tier candidates as possible to interview.

That's why you've got to check out LinkedIn Jobs. LinkedIn Jobs has the tools to help you find the right professionals for your team faster and for free. LinkedIn isn't just another job board. LinkedIn has a vast network of more than a billion professionals, which makes it the best place to hire. Guys, I've been on both sides of the interview table, hiring people for businesses and also being hired myself. And let me tell you, LinkedIn is the best place to go for all of these type of things.

Hiring is easy when you have as many qualified candidates as possible. So easy. In fact, the 86% of small businesses, businesses get a qualified candidate within 24 hours. LinkedIn knows that small businesses are always wearing so many hats and might not have the time or the resources to hire. But thankfully with LinkedIn, the processes are, are as intuitive and quick and easy as possible. They even just launched a feature that helps you write job descriptions,

making the process even easier and more streamlined. Post your job for free at linkedin.com slash locked on NFL. That's linkedin.com slash locked on NFL to post your job for free. Terms and conditions apply. All right, Q. So we're talking Colts Raiders still big playoff implications yet again with this matchup this Sunday. It's going to be at Lucas Oil Stadium here

in Indianapolis. Aiden O'Connell returning back to the place pretty much where he played a lot of his college football there here in Indy. But Q, how do you think this game goes? I mean, again, the Raiders are red hot right now. I know that they're not mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, but again, they're red hot. They're going to make a push for it. How do you think this game goes here on Sunday? Yeah, I think the Raiders playoffs started two weeks ago, right? I mean, they really just have to win every game and then see what happens. That's what it is. So it is definitely a playoff game for them.

If they lose, then, you know, it's game, set, match. But this is how I look at this game. I look at it as the defense has to continue to do what it's done, right? The last two weeks, it's really ratcheted things up. It's created takeaways. It's got sacks on the quarterback. It's just really been it's been that that that pressure cooker it's been very difficult to move the ball on it's very difficult to score against i mean they're they're just they're out there

playing loose and free so i think that first of all for the raiders to win this game on sunday that that has to continue that defense has to continue to play the way that they're playing patrick graham has been dialing up a hell of a game plan each and every week for the Raiders defense. And, you know, Antonio Pierce has got the pulse of him. He's a defensive-minded coach. So, you know, he's really loving what he's seeing on that side of the ball. But, Zach, at the end of the day, you've got to score points to win in the league. You've got to score points.

And, again, you can't just rely on your defense and say, OK, they're going to score each and every week. So somehow, some way, this Raiders offense has got to find a way to get going. Aiden O'Connell, maybe because he'll be back where he's very familiar, as you mentioned, Lucas Oilfield. Maybe he'll have a little bit more success there. He'll be a little bit more comfortable. It'll be inside. It's not cold like it was at Arrowhead. So maybe, you know, he'll be able to, you know, hit a couple of the receivers because this is what happened, man.

On Christmas morning, there was times where Devontae was open. He threw it behind him. There was times when other guys were open and it just wasn't a good pass. The layups were there to hit, and he wasn't able to hit some. Now, a few of them were drops as well. I don't want to put it all on Aiden O'Connell. But they've got to find a way to be on the same page, get things going. I'll tell you right now, the Raiders offense goes through the ground game,

whether it's Josh Jacobs or Zemir White. And that's how Antonio Pierce is built. That's the identity of the Raiders. They want to be tough, smash mouth. They want to run the rock. And that opens up everything else. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean, though, that they're going to start the game off with run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, pass. You know, they're not going to do it like that. They could start out very easily throwing the ball. But at some point, they want to hit that 20, 25 carries per game mark. They feel very comfortable to win that game when they have that mark. So I'm going to look at, you know, the ground game to get going.

It was able to get going late against Kansas City, helped them salt away that win on Christmas, but get going a little bit earlier, have a little bit of success. And Aiden, Aiden got to complete some passes and get in the end zone. And those field goals aren't going to win too many games in the league, but I think that they have a real good opportunity to win this game on the strength of their defense and that offense just being complimentary. It doesn't have to be lights out. That's no disrespect to the Colts. It just has to be complimentary of the job that the defense is doing. Right now, this Raiders team is

led by the defense. Yeah, yeah, and I want to say to any Colts fan list any Colts fans that are listening to this episode I mean this is a tougher game on paper that and this is a tougher game just in reality than what maybe it looks like on paper the Raiders are a different team last couple weeks I know three weeks ago they were shut out but these last two games they have really been uh just a very different football team they're playing really well under their interim head coach uh and a lot of it will come down to what the Colts are made out of in this one. And if Michael Pittman Jr. plays, that's another big thing. Will the Colts be able to score without Michael Pittman Jr. would be a big thing.

So hopefully he can go. But assuming that he does go this week, you know, Shane Steichen's done a really good job this year of not letting the Colts get too low. You know, we come off games where it's like, this is the all-time low for this team. You can't get much worse. I mean, the Saints game where Derek Carr looked like Drew Brees in that game, just chucking it, not missing any throws.

They were getting run all over. It was a beat down in epic proportions. They come back and they beat the Carolina Panthers after that. You go to that Bengals game where the screen game is killing them. They lose by 20 in a really big AFC playoff game type atmosphere. They come back the next week, they win 30-13 over the Pittsburgh Steelers, a team they hadn't beaten since 2009. They were able to beat them just like that, coming off of that bad loss. So they're coming off another really brutal loss. Luckily, this one didn't hurt them in the playoff race. But how do they respond?

That's always the biggest thing with NFL teams. How do you respond? How do you deal with adversity? And I think that Shane Steigen's done a great job all year of getting this team able to respond and kind of forgetting what happened the week before. So as long as they can come into this game, play their game, play mistake free football, keep the success rate high on offense and just keep that ball moving. I think they can do enough to outscore a no Connell in the Raiders offense. Now, again, Mac Crosby is a game record. Jack Jones is starting to look like a game record as well. Those two guys are looking like game records on that defense and they're playing some good football, but we have seen this Colts offense do some good things against top defenses this year. They put up nearly 40 points against the

Cleveland Browns. They put up 31 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. They have been able to score on top defenses this year. So a big thing with this one will be just, again, keeping everything contained, keeping everything in front of you, playing within your game, not forcing things. And please, for the love of God, defense gets some pressure all day in O'Connell. Like, can we not get picked apart by another backup quarterback? Let's make sure, you know, that they're taking away the flats, making him have to force some things down the field

and kind of hurry up his process a little bit. But I think as long as the Colts stay within their cells, stay within their game, play some controlled football, they should be able to come out victorious in this one. But Q, do you have a score prediction for us, or do you not do those things? I normally don't, but I will, right? I normally don't, but I'll try my best at it because it's

so funny a lot of times i end up overshooting for both teams and then when i try to say oh it's gonna be a low scoring game then i end up going too low so i'm gonna go i think and i'll just say full disclosure i've already said on record that i think that the raiders are gonna win the last two games of the season so i'm not gonna change it now uh i think that the raiders are gonna win this one 17 10 i think it's gonna be a close game i think the colts are gonna have the ball at the end with an opportunity to go down the field and. I think that the Raiders are going to win this one 17-10. I think it's going to be a close game. I think the Colts are going to have the ball at the end with an opportunity to go down the field and tie it. And somehow the Raiders make a defensive play. I just, I have that much confidence in the defense right now.

And again, this is strange territory for me. It's like, I don't swim, but I feel like I'm in the ocean right now. And, you know, and I'm not drowning. And it's like, wow, how is this possible? Like, I don't even know how to swim. And I'm doing the Michael Phelps out here, right here right it just it feels weird just to say that the strength of this raiders team is the defense but it really is and they're making plays and they're expecting to make plays so that's that's what really has me like in awe of like how is this even happening so

i'm gonna go ahead and ride that strength and say that they're gonna keep doing that and being who they are and max is gonna be max and malcolm coons is to keep doing that and being who they are. And Max is going to be Max and Malcolm Koontz is going to be Koontz. And you mentioned Jack Jones and Meek Robertson is making plays. And I'll say this, the one guy I'll tell you to look out for as well, Robert Spillane, he doesn't get talked about a lot, but man, he is playing his backside off, man. The Raiders picked him up as a free agent from Pittsburgh. I had no idea what to expect.

Reached out to Chris Carter, locked on Steelers. He was like, yeah, he's a good thumper, but he's not really good in coverage. And everyone I talked to that covers Pittsburgh is like, yeah, he's okay, but he'll frustrate you. He has been money. He has been fantastic. He's got three interceptions on the season. He's one of the captains. He plays with a motor like Max Crosby, which is hard to think of because not many have a motor Max Crosby. So that's the other name I'll say look out for. 41, Robertbert spillane he's playing with his hair on fire but yeah 1710 man ultimately i think the raiders get the victory and improve their overall record to eight nate so uh how do you see this one shaking out yeah you know every time i think it's going to be a defensive slugfest for the colts

this year it ends up being this high scoring crazy game that the colts you know where minchu throws eight interceptions and the defense takes away the ball six times too and it's's like, oh my God, like the Cleveland Browns game. I mean, who would have thought that both teams would nearly hang 40 in that one with PJ Walker and Gardner Minshew in that one. But yeah, it's just, it's crazy with this Colts team, but no, I think this is going to be a little high scoring just because of that. But I do think ultimately the Colts are going to come out on top in this one. Cause look at the end of the day, Shane Steichen is a really smart offensive play caller really smart offensive coach who's been able to get the most out of this team and I don't want to believe that this Cinderella run is

over yet so I think the Colts are going to take this one let's go 26-20 in this one a little bit higher scoring game some field goals from the Colts in this one that get it done but Q I want to thank you yet again for joining me I know we always end up doing the crossovers together. So hopefully we get to see each other next year if the two teams end up playing each other. But if you guys don't already, make sure you're following at LockedOnColts, at JakeArthurNFL, which is my co-host normally,

at ZachHicks2, and at your boy Q, was it 254 there on social medias. Also subscribe to our shows on YouTube wherever you list your podcasts. We love your guys' ratings and reviews. And we'll check with you guys back here yet again tomorrow.