Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts shine in San Francisco monsoon defeating 49ers, 30-18

Episode Date: October 27, 2021

On today's episode, Evan is joined by George Bremer of The Herald Bulletin to recap the Indianapolis Colts' 30-18 win over the 49ers. The offense is clicking on all cylinders, plus the defense stiffened. What were our biggest takeaways?Carson Wentz, Jonathan Taylor and Michael Pittman Jr. look like such an exciting long-term trio for Indy. Darius Leonard is putting together his own DPOY case. Frank Reich learned from his mistakes from Baltimore as well.Closing out the show, Evan and George preview a must-win game for the Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium against the Tennessee Titans. Will Indy pull off the W? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You are Locked On Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello, everyone. Welcome to your latest episode of Locked On Colts for the Locked On Podcast Network. I am your host, Evan Sidery, joined by a very special guest in today's episode. Indianapolis Colts Bureau for the Harold Bulletin in Anderson, Indiana. George Bremmer, you can follow him on Twitter if you haven't already, at GMBremmer. He does great work covering the Colts. George, how are you doing today?

Good, how are you today? I'm doing well. Really appreciate coming on here on this Tuesday night. And what a wild game that was on Sunday. We expected a low-scoring game with the Monsoon. It looked like we were going down that route in the first half. But then all of a sudden, the second half, the Colts' offense clicked. Carson Wentz really got comfortable.

Michael Pittman Jr. and John Taylor really stole the show in that game. The Colts ended up winning that game 30-18. If not for that collapse in Baltimore, George, I think we're talking about a team that's right on the heels of Tennessee. They're two games back right now. The Titans, after they really have been impressive the last two weeks, winning against the Bills and now the Kansas City Chiefs. Huge game set up on Sunday.

We'll talk about that in the last half of the show. But what was your biggest takeaway from that game on Sunday, George, on Sunday night football where the Colts won 30-18? Very rough start on defense for the Colts. They went right down the field the 49ers did and scored. But the rest of the game, the defense really settled in. Carson Wentz really settled in as well. And I think the big storyline was I think the Colts might have a star receiver

now to go with the star running back with Michael Pittman Jr. and Jonathan Taylor. Yeah, Pittman was huge. You know, I think he's had some have a star receiver now to go to start running back with Michael Pittman Jr. and Jonathan Taylor. Yeah, Pittman was huge. You know, I think he's had some really good games this year. But to do that in those conditions, I think that was a really special performance. And I think my biggest takeaway really was just they finally found a way to get it done. I think over the years there's been a lot of games, you know,

like that Monday night game against the Ravens where you walk away saying, if only this, you know, if only that, and this was a game that was set up that way. They had a lot of injuries as they have all year. They had horrible conditions and, you know, in years past, you kind of walk away from that game saying maybe the early fumble or the snap issue or the fumble that Wentz had down at the goal line cost them the game and you think you know if not for that one or two plays it could have happened but I thought this is one of those rare

times where they came together and it was ugly but they gutted it out and despite the conditions and despite the adversity they found a way to win. That's what good teams do. And to me, there's not a lot you can take away from a game played to bomb Cyclone. Who knows what would have happened if it had been pristine conditions. But I think the biggest takeaway is they went out there and they found a way to win.

And I think that's something through the first six weeks this football team was lacking. Yeah, absolutely. This offense is really starting to click the last four weeks too, George. 27 points against Miami, then they scored 30 against Baltimore, they scored 30 against San Francisco, and they also put up 31 against Houston. So this offense is really starting to click right now. Even though they lost Paris Campbell, they add T.Y. Hilton back,

I imagine, this week. But I want to help Michael Pittman Jr. really quickly and more in depth because, man, over the last three or so weeks, he looks like a legit number one wide receiver. And that connection he's building with Carson Wentz looks like a special one we really haven't seen since Andrew Luck and T.Y. Hilton in Indianapolis. Pittman right now is on pace for 122 targets, 85 receptions at 1,234 yards, zero drops on top of that as well.

But over the last three weeks, George, the Pittman-Wentz connection, 14 targets for Pittman, 12 receptions, two touchdowns, 19.5 yards per reception, almost 20 yards per reception. Wentz is just chucking it down the field to Pittman. We haven't seen this vertical attack with this offense since Andrew Luck in 2018. And Wentz and Pittman really, like I mentioned, are developing that special connection.

What's been your thoughts on that duo so far over the last three weeks? Because they're looking like not only the quarterback's trusting him fully, but the receiver in Pittman is really liking what Wentz is doing as well. Yeah, absolutely. I think probably the best example, that's the third and ten towards the end of the game. You know, in Baltimore, they ran there. There was a lot of criticism about that.

Leads to the blocked field goal. Sets up the comeback. The Ravens walk away with the win. Frank Reich mentioned that specifically. That, you know, that went through his mind on third and 10 there in San Francisco. And he was determined not to run the ball again. They're going to throw it. But you saw the confidence Wentz has because he really just lofted the ball up there.

And waited for Pittman to go and get it. And he has the utmost belief right now that Pittman's going to go up and beat the defender. You know, he feels like these 50-50 balls, it's either going to be caught by his receiver or no one. And obviously that's a game-changing play. That clinches that one, puts the Niners too far behind. And, you you know they've

been able to do that in Baltimore we'd probably be talking about this team in even more glowing terms but I think the thing that that Pittman really brings that the Colts have never had at least not since I've been around them is that physicality it's not just the deep throws when he gets the ball in his hand he runs angry uh he's he's a load to bring down and i think you saw the matchup problems you know a couple of those pass interferences you can't really blame the 49ers defensive backs it's the only thing they could do they were beaten and so they tackled him because otherwise it was going to be a touchdown i think when you get to that point you're playing pretty well as a wide receiver yeah absolutely Pittman like I mentioned

on pace for 1200 yards this season be the first time we've had a receiver with over 1200 yards since prime ty Hilton years and for those wondering out there Jonathan Taylor is well on pace for 1500 scrimmage yards this will be the first duo with 1500 plus scrimmage yards for running back and a 1200 plus wide receiver since Reggie Wayne and Edgerton James in 2004 so the future is now in Indy. I want to hell in Jonathan Taylor before diving to Carson Wentz, George, because Taylor, once again, fourth straight game with over a hundred plus scrimmage yards.

He's looking like what we saw at the end of last season. This looks like a superstar running back. I think easily a top at running back in the league, just based on durability production and everything on top of that and improving receiver as well. What's your just interpretation of Jonathan Taylor the last four or so weeks, George, because I think we're seeing a guy really take the lead from star to superstar right now.

Yeah, you know, I think when he got drafted, people thought that this might happen. I was really shocked he lasted second round. I know running backs are very much devalued in this league right now, but I thought coming out of college, he had everything that Ezekiel Elliott had, everything that Saquon Barkley had, another ultra-productive Big Ten running back. And I thought it was kind of shocking that he lasted as long as he did, considering the other two guys went in the top ten.

And now he's looking like a guy who was worthy of that kind of placement in the draft. You know, I think it's been really interesting this year to see him take a step forward in the passing game. That's one area he didn't really get a lot of work in at Wisconsin. They tried to, during his senior year, feature him specifically a little bit more, but there were a lot of questions about whether he'd be able to really, you know, produce at this level and I think

he's showing this year that yeah he can the other big thing was was ball control ball security he's got two fumbles in so far in his career which is not bad at all considering how many times he's touched the ball I think the incredible thing is dominant as he's been he's not a hundred percent you know he was on the the injury report earlier this year with a knee injury. Reich said Monday that the reason that Naheem Hines was in at the end of the game was that, you know, Taylor was dinged up a little bit. It's nothing big. It's nothing that they're concerned about.

It's obviously nothing that's receiving treatment because it's not on the injury report. But he's not, you know, at his top shape. They've been protecting him. I think that's why you've seen him have a few less carries than maybe you would expect for a guy at his level but he's producing with the touches he's gotten and I think that's what's making this this offense so tough to deal with right now when you have him and Pittman playing the way they are and then if you get T.Y. Hilton back out there you know it's really pick your poison and you can throw Mo Alley Cox

in there as well especially when they get down into the red zone. He's another matchup problem, a guy that Carson Wentz is showing more and more faith in. And I think it's really a tough spot right now for defenses. What do you want to do? You load up the box and try to stop Taylor? Well, then they're going to hurt you with Pittman. If you try to drop people back in coverage and make Wentz hold on to the ball a little bit longer, then they're going to start running against those looks. I think this offense has been climbing. The offensive line is getting healthier.

They might get Braden Smith back this week. You know, I think the offense right now is in a really good place, and I think it's positioned to maybe continue to even get better. Yeah, really quickly as well, I wanted to add on Jonathan Taylor. Over the last month of the season, Derrick Henry leads all NFL players in scrimmage yards continue to even get better. Yeah, really quickly as well, I wanted to add on Jonathan Taylor. Over the last month of the season, Derrick Henry leads all NFL players in scrimmage yards with 565 yards, but Jonathan Taylor is right behind him, 14 yards behind at 551. Over that same span, Derrick Henry has over 40 plus touches more compared to Jonathan Taylor. It kind of feels

like to me, George, quite honestly, we're seeing not the passing of the torch, so to say, because Derrick Henry is just a freak player right now. He's not even exiting the prime of his career. But I think we're maybe seeing Derrick Henry 2.0 and Jonathan Taylor. This guy just can have an insane workload. But even right now, the Colts are only using about 15 to 20 times per game, and he's putting up these kinds of numbers each week, and he's only getting better.

He's only 23 years old. I mean, this seems like a guy to me, like, a couple years from now, we might be talking in the same breath as Derek Henry. And he's such a special kid. I mean, you're talking about a guy that got accepted to Harvard and Yale, chose to go to Wisconsin in part because he wanted to play football at as high a level as he could. And that was, you know, the Big Ten was the best offer he'd gotten

in that regard. So he went out there to challenge himself. And, you know, he's very, that intelligence really comes in off the field too. He does a lot of what he calls prehab, you know, trying to work on his flexibility, trying to do things before he gets injured, you know, and I think that's why he can play through whatever nick and bump he's got right now. Because running backs, you know, they're going to get beat up in this league. Derrick Henry's a freak of nature in every way. The fact that he's had the workload that he's had

and he's still able to go out there and be healthy every week is really remarkable. And I think Taylor's following in those footsteps. I'm trying not to jinx him here, but, you know, no one can prevent injury 100%, but he's doing literally everything within his power to be as healthy as he can be on top of being as productive as it can be. And you see him, you know, he said the day he was drafted, I think, the key for him was not how many touches you get, don't count your touches, make your touches count.

And I think he's been the epitome of that this year. Every time he's got the ball in his hand, you legitimately feel like a big play's coming. Does this sound familiar? You've got one device device lets you catch the game live another it lets you stream your favorite shows you're watching sports highlights on your phone and you got your neighbor's best friends logging for the good stuff well i want to tell you about a simple way to get all the entertainment you love without the hassle and a great way to finally get your tv together it's called direct tv stream and it brings your live tv and on-demand favorite together like

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He had that one fumble. It was ruled originally an interception on Sunday, but it was ruled a fumble after further review on that. Two total turnovers for Carson Wentz this season. Over the last calendar month, nine touchdowns, zero interceptions, almost a 120 QB rating. Amongst those players, the quarterback ratings over the last four weeks, George, Carson Wentz has the best in the NFL at 119.4. Josh Allen is second at 119.3, and Kyler Murray is number three at 118.7. So Carson Wentz is playing a lethal ball right now, George. You can really tell a difference on Sunday as well between him and Jimmy Garoppolo.

Wentz could easily throw it in the rain. Just the athletic traits really stood out too in that game as well. What was your assessment of Carson Wentz on Sunday and also really over the last month where it seems like now with the connection he's been with Michael Pittman and then Jonathan Taylor in the running game, and then especially once Braden Smith's back, when they get the full offensive line back,

and then T.Y. Hill on top of that, George, this offense, when Carson Wentz is playing this confident, I think there's some real potential here for this Colts offense to go on a run here. Oh, absolutely. I think this offense is really primed to do some big things as long as Wentz stays healthy. And I think that's, you know, you're starting to see a healthy Carson Wentz.

Early in the year, he had those, you know, at the beginning of the year, he was dealing with the fact that he really didn't have a training camp uh not anything to speak of and then he gets the injured ankles against the Rams and so it you know that affected him for a couple more weeks and now you're seeing a fully or at least close to fully healthy Carson Wentz who's had some time with these players and I think you're starting to really see him play at a very high level I don't know if he's quite to where he was in 2017 when he was an MVP candidate, but he's much closer to that level than he was to even the 2018 and 2019 seasons when he played pretty good for Philadelphia.

I think the most impressive thing to me about him on Sunday is he did struggle for a little while there. I mean, who wouldn't in those conditions? The ball, the grip was terrible. It was a really while there. I mean, who wouldn't in those conditions? The ball, the grip was terrible. You know, it was a really tough situation. He threw about four or five passes in a row where they were just not close. A couple of them probably should have been picked off. But, you know, he fought through it. And in the fourth quarter, you know, he was the guy after the Baltimore game that came out and said they lacked a killer instinct. They needed to find a

way to finish these games. And in the fourth quarter, he really led in that regard. I felt like going out there and getting that second and 15 with his legs, being as tough as he was, you know, when you see your quarterback doing that, Ryan Kelly talked about it on Monday, it really lifts the whole offense. You know, when he's out there putting his body at risk and trying to do whatever he can to win a football game, you know when he's out there putting his body at risk and trying to do whatever he can to win a football game you know it makes everybody else raise their level a little bit to me that was what was really interesting because if you look at his stat line on on Sunday it's not real

impressive certainly not compared to what he's done in recent weeks but when you look you actually watch the game and you look at the plays he made and when he made them and just sort of the, the grittiness of him in that game. That's, you know, the Colts have been missing that since Andrew Luck was here. And I think this is a guy much like Phillip Rivers. He doesn't care what his stats are at the end of the day. He just wants to win and whatever that takes. And on a Sunday night was a perfect example of that. You just alluded to a little bit there, George, in your answer,

but it really feels like to me, we heard it from Julian Blackman, I think after week three or four, where he mentioned that Carson Wentz was like a superstar type quarterback. And then really over the last couple of weeks, we've seen players, it seems like quite honestly are buying completely into Carson Wentz as their long-term answer at quarterback. You see the numbers he's putting up over the last month as well. And you alluded to it there with Andrew Luck.

I'm not comparing directly to Andrew Luck, but this offense to me feels like it's the most explosive it's been since Andrew Luck in 2018 and that entire Andrew Luck era. I mean, does it feel like to you as well, speaking to players and speaking to Wentz himself, that his confidence is sky high, the players are completely bought in, and this offense really feels like it's hitting another level right now? Yeah, no doubt about it. And, you know,

I think that goes back to even like training camp. They've been on board with this guy from, from literally the day the trade happened. And I think a lot of that has to do with Frank Reich. You know, they really buy into their head coach and he came in right away and he told the guys, look, I know Carson, I was with him in Philadelphia. This is the quarterback that you're getting. And I think they took his word. And then when they saw him on the field,

it reinforced what they were hearing. Even when he was hurt, you know, and even when he was struggling, they always expect confidence in his leadership ability and his, you know, the level that he was going to play at. And he's really delivered, and I think that's helped him. And when you come in and you have a season like he had last year in Philadelphia and there are so many doubters out there and there are so many people ready to just rip you apart when your teammates have your back the way that his teammates have had I think you know anybody in any walk of life that's going to

help you that's going to lift your spirits that's going to make a difference for you and I think now it's you're seeing the results and I I definitely think this offense, you know, I think they're like 15th in scoring and 14th in yards right now. But that's because of that slow start because of everything else they've done. I think this has a chance to be a top 10 offense for sure, maybe a top five offense by the end of the year, honestly. Let's flip to the defense real quick, George, before we dive over to a massive game,

potentially I think the biggest October game we've seen from the Colts in a very long time since the Titans series is wrapping up. They're already down 0-1 in that series. It's really a must-win game if the Colts want to stay within the AFC South race. But this defense, I think the last couple weeks, obviously it's the Texans, it's Jimmy Garoppolo at quarterback for the 49ers in a monsoon storm. But this defense looks a lot better over the last two weeks Darius Leonard I think is making a case to make a late run for defensive player of the

year just how many turnovers he's getting on a bum ankle that's what's so impressive to me the pass rush Quiddy Paye flashed on Sunday DeForest Buckner had a really good game as well the last couple weeks what's your assessment of this defense George because of the Colts want to stay within the AFC South race and potentially make a playoff run, this defense is going to have to match the offense as far as the upward trajectory goes. Oh, 100%. And I think the takeaways are the big thing. And they've got 16 of them now.

And it's really kind of funny because the pass rush is still – it's not where they want it to be. It's getting better the last couple weeks. It's still not at the standard that they want, especially in this scheme. And normally when you're not getting that pass rush, not at the level, you know, four or five sacks a game, three at least, you don't get those takeaways. But Leonard's playing at such a high level and doing some really remarkable things out there.

They're getting the ball out. They're getting those takeaways. And if they can continue to do that with the way the offense is playing, I think that'll be enough. The big question, I think, for them moving forward is that pass rush. You see, you know, Al-Khanim Muhammad has three sacks now. He's never going to be even, I think, at a Justin Houston or Denico Autry level.

But this is a guy who maybe can give you six, seven, eight sacks this year. If he can continue to make some big plays and big moments, Buckner's going to be Buckner. We know that. We knew he'd have a big game going back to San Francisco, but those two rookies, Quidipe now that he's getting healthy, you're starting to see more from him. If he can start to become an impact on a weekly basis, and then the real mystery here is Dayogo Dangbo. You know, they've got a couple more weeks with him on this return window. But if he can come in – and I'm not expecting either one of them to be all pro.

I mean, they're rookies and they've got a lot to do learning on the fly here. But if they can come in and put some pressure on the quarterback and really make offensive coordinators worry a little bit more about what's going on on the edge, it's going to make DeForest Buckner that much more efficient. It's going to make Al-Qudim Muhammad that much more efficient when he's in the game. It's going to help Kamoko Turay if he can get over his groin injury and get back in there. Those two rookies to me and the takeaways are the two biggest things going forward. If you want optimism for the defense to keep pace with the offense and let

this team, you know, get to some of the goals that it wants to reach. That's where it's at. Keep taking the ball away, get those two rookies to come in and make some level of impact. Hey Colts fans. This is Evan Sider with an incredible app.

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L-O-C-K-E-D-1-5, at Bilt.com. Let's dive in now, George. We hit on the offense. We hit on a little bit on the defense there as well. But such a massive game on Sunday at Lucasola Stadium. I think the atmosphere there is going to be pretty incredible. Hopefully it's a really raucous atmosphere inside Lucasola Stadium as well because this is a must-win game for the Colts to stay within the division race. Two games back, technically two and a half games back,

of the Tennessee Titans after losing in week two. Or week three, excuse me. But you see this game, how the offense is clicking, the defense is getting a little bit better. But they're going into a buzzsaw matchup against this Tennessee Titans team. Ryan Tannehill is firing on all cylinders now. You have the receivers. Julio Jones looks fully comfortable now within that system.

A.J. Brown, we all know, has been a Colts killer the last couple years. Derrick Henry looks like he's on a different planet right now. Probably the MVP favorite, quite honestly, so far this year, George, what, what do you make of this matchup on Sunday? Cause I feel like it's going to have to be, if the Colts won this game on Sunday, George, I think it's going to be a shootout. If it's not going to be a shootout, it's going to be one where they have to play really efficient football.

I think it's going to be a really entertaining game. And for those that are maybe count the Colts in this game, I think you're really badly mistaken. Cause I think it's gonna be a really close game. What's your predictions and keys going into this? Cause I think it's going to be a really close game. What's your predictions and keys going into this? Because I think it's going to be the biggest Colts game we've seen in October, George, I think since the Andrew Luck era. Yeah, it's a tremendously big game.

And like you said, I think it's a division eliminator as far as the Colts are concerned. They lose this one. You're still in the wild card race because the AFC right now is so jumbled. It feels like everybody in the conference is somewhere between 5-2 and 3-4 right now, which is crazy. And so who knows how that's going to shake out over the final 10 weeks, 11 weeks here of the season.

But I think that if you lose this game, it's really hard to find any path to an AFC South title short of something disastrous happening to the Titans. They're playing on such a high level. And really the big difference in this three-game spread right now or two-game spread right now between the teams is back-to-back Monday nights. The Colts lose that huge lead against Baltimore and drop a game that they probably should have won. And the Titans get that goal line stand against the Bills

and win a game they should probably have lost. You flip those two results, they're tied right now going into this game, even a bigger game. But as it is, it's just such a tremendously huge contest. Both teams need it for a lot of different reasons. Because I think even if the Colts win and there's still a game back, if you're Tennessee and you're coming off those two huge wins against Buffalo and Kansas City and you beat the Colts in week three, and you all of a sudden turn around at the end of this week and you only have a one game lead in the division,

I think that's going to have a little bit of a psychological impact, especially with the history between these two franchises. And we already mentioned if the Colts lose the game, you pretty much focus on the wild card and you're going to need to win, almost win out to do that. So, you know, it's a tremendously huge game, especially when you look at the next two after this, the Jaguars and the Jets, you know,

should be winnable games for the Colts. It could really get on a run here. I agree. I think it's going to be a shootout. It feels like it's going to be one of those games where either the last team that has the ball wins or, you know, one big takeaway, one big turnover turns it, you know, one big takeaway, one big turnover turns it, you know, and makes the difference.

We've seen A.J. Brown, Derrick Henry have a history of tearing up the Colts. On the flip side, T.Y. Hilton has a history. You know, people talk about the Texans. He's been almost as good against Tennessee in his career. They very much fear him every bit as much as Houston does. And then, you know, in their short time, Jonathan Taylor and Michael Pittman have already put together a couple big games in this series.

So I think both offenses have reason to believe things will go well. To me, it's the same script from week three. The Colts got, I think, three takeaways in that game. Henry had 113 yards, but he had to work for it. He didn't have that big 70-yard run. You know, they're going to need to do that. They're going to need to get the takeaways. The big difference that day was Carson Wentz couldn't move. I mean, literally, he couldn't move. I think he only completed about 50% of his passes, and so they were in it right down to the

wire, but they just couldn't finish drives, and they couldn't make those big plays. I think if you can do defensively, if you can repeat what you did in week three and offensively you can get a healthy Carson Wentz, get some of those big plays that they've gotten in recent weeks, that to me is the key to this game. If you were Matt Eberflus, George, like you were alluding to there in your answer, but would you be stacking the box to stop Derrick Henry here and take your chances against Julio Jones and A.J. Brown,

or would you just play a regular base defense and let's say we have a really good run defense, but just see if Derrick Henry can beat us here and really defend the pass? What would you do in this situation? Because it feels like a pick-your-poison, honestly, against this Titans offense that's ruling all cylinders right now. I think a lot of it, honestly, is going to come down to the health of the corners. I don't know where Xavier Rhodes is. He played on one leg. We really didn't talk a lot of it, honestly, is going to come down to the health of the corners. You know, I don't know where Xavier Rhodes is. He played on one leg.

We really didn't talk a lot about him. That interception he had at 23-18 was huge on Sunday night, you know, to make sure that they didn't have a repeat of the Baltimore collapse. But I don't know where he's going to be physically. You know, is he ready to go after that? You assume since he played the whole game he'll be ready to go, but, you know, that was a tough situation. And then Rocky Sin, who's been dealing with an ankle, didn't play last week.

Not sure. You know, we'll start to know tomorrow as they get into the practice week maybe where he's at. If you had both those guys and Kenny Moore, I might be more inclined to load the box a little bit, take your chances that one of those two guys can make a play one-on-one with those top receivers. But if you've got to roll with Isaiah Rogers again, you know, I think then you're probably going to have to drop more guys in coverage and hope that

your run defense can do enough without the extra guys in the box. I really think it comes down to the health of Rhodes and Usain, honestly. Yeah, it's going to be such a tough call on Sunday. According to DraftKingsGeorge, the Titans are actually one-point favorites at Lucas Oil Stadium. The over-under is 51. So we'll dive into our predictions here. Maybe I'm just riding the hot streak here. I'm just completely bought in right now on this offense, George.

But I think the first one, like the high 20s, wins this game. I think it is going to be like a shootout type of game. I'm going 27-24. I think the Colts win this game at the end. I think the Colts, really with Carson Wentz, whoever forces a turnover wins this game. I think the Colts defense gets a turnover. I think Carson Wentz plays really efficient football,

and he put the ball in the hands of John Taylor a lot in this game to control the clock a little bit. So I'm going 27-24. The Colts get a turnover. Carson Wentz plays great football, and Jonathan Taylor has a good game. What say you, George? I think it's going to be a really close one. Yeah, I have a lot of the same thoughts.

I'm going even higher. I think it's going to be 38-35, and Michael Badgley gets a field goal there at the end of the game to win it. I think it's going to be back and forth the whole game, and I agree with you. I think Carson Wentz's ability to protect the ball, he's got to continue to do that. If Colts win the turnover battle, which they did in week three, I think they'll win this time because they've got a healthy quarterback. And I am fully bought in on this offense, as you are. I think this is a team right now, especially if they get T.Y. back, which I think they will on Sunday. This offense has all the makings of a real force in this league.

Real quick, George, before I let you go, appreciate the time as always. Looking at this game and looking at the next two games after this, Thursday night, short week after this on Sunday against the New York Jets and you host the Jacksonville Jaguars as well. So three straight home games at Lucas Oil Stadium. Just how important is Sunday's game but also the next two games where you can't afford a trap game against the Jets or the Jaguars? I think if the Colts win on Sunday, George, you have a real chance

to be in 6-4 when you head to Buffalo the week before Thanksgiving. Yeah, I think this is a huge stretch for this team. When we talk about the first five games and how tough it could be, and it ended up being even tougher because of the injury situation and the things that the Colts were dealing with going through those five weeks. And now you're kind of on the other end of that. This is a chance to get some wins. It started with that San Francisco game. You knew they were really good, but you knew that you had to go out there and get that win, and they did. I think the same situation again Sunday night or this Sunday, you absolutely have to win this game. And then

you need to take advantage of this slot because if you can get to 6-4, who knows where the Titans will be, who knows where you'll be in the division race there, but you'll at least be in the mix. But at 6-4, you're a legit contender in the wild card race, and who knows what happens in Buffalo. You make that game important by winning these next three. George, as always, appreciate the time here. You'll be joining us every Tuesday throughout the regular season.

And he does great work, like I mentioned, at the Herald Bulletin. Go ahead and follow George Vian already on Twitter, at GMBremmer. He does great content on there as well. George, appreciate the time. And I'm envious of you. You're going to be at the game on Sunday covering the press box. It's going to be, I think, one hell of a game. Yeah, I think it's going to be a really interesting atmosphere.

The first two games this year were about as loud as I've heard that stadium. And I've been there since like 2011. And it, because you know, nobody got to go last year really. And you can feel that energy from the crowd. And now I think with them winning three of the last four and the importance of this game, I'm really looking forward to the atmosphere on Sunday. No doubt about it. George, appreciate your time. Colts fans, thanks for forward to the atmosphere on Sunday, no doubt about it. George, appreciate your time.

Colts fans, thanks again for listening to the latest episode of Locked on Colts. We'll be back with you tomorrow for our latest episode.