Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - SUPERCHARGED: Indianapolis Colts' Jonathan Taylor Could Go NUTS vs. LA Chargers

Episode Date: October 17, 2025

Daniel Jones and the AFC's No. 1 seed Indianapolis Colts (5-1) visit Justin Herbert and the No. 2 seed Los Angeles Chargers (4-2) on Sunday as two shorthanded teams engage in a potential slugfest. Who... will come out victorious? Become a Locked On Colts insider! Ask your burning questions and get prompt answers from someone who's around the team every day! Get special access from the locker room, practice field, and press box! JOIN HERE! Find and follow Locked On Colts on your favorite podcast platforms:🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-colts/📺YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLdpxJspi1hMh5HL7ExpWOQLocked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft & More🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-nfl/ Follow Jake's written work on roundtable.io/sports/nfl/colts/ and Zach's on si.com/nfl/colts/, and give them a follow on Twitter @JakeArthurNFL, @ZachHicks2, and @LockedOnColts! Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Mint MobileReady to say yes to saying no?Make the switch at https://MintMobile.com/LOCKEDONNFLUpfront payment of $45 required (equivalent to $15/mo). Limited-time new customer offer for first 3 months only. Speeds may slow above 35GB on Unlimited plan. Taxes and fees extra. See Mint Mobile for details.BetterhelpThis episode is sponsored by Betterhelp. Our listeners get 10% off their first month at https://BetterHelp.com/lockedon.BILTTurn your rent into rewards and start earning points around your neighborhood by going to https://joinbilt.com/lockedonnfl.Supply HouseJoin the free TradeMaster program today and score serious perks like priority shipping, lower prices, and a dedicated support line. Visit https://SupplyHouse.com to sign up for free and use promo code SHNFL5 for 5% off your first order.PelotonLet yourself run, lift, flex, and push forward. Explore the new Peloton Cross Training Tread+ today at https://www.onepeloton.com.RugietReady to level up your confidence in the bedroom? Head to https://www.rugiet.com and use promo code LOCKEDONNFL for 15% off your first order.PrizePicksDownload the PrizePicks app today and use code LOCKEDONNFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup.Click Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFLGametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelRight now, new customers can bet just FIVE dollars, and if your bet wins—you’ll get THREE HUNDRED dollars in bonus bets to use across the app.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as non-withdrawable free bets that expire 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)

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Indianapolis Colts cornerback Kenny Moore the second has returned so he'll be out there on Sunday for the Indianapolis Colts against the Los Angeles Chargers. Let's get to it. You are Locked on Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast.
Starting point is 00:00:22 Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Thank you all for making Locked On culture first listen every day part of the lockdown podcast network your team every single day my name is zach hickshaw resident phil nerd of horseshoe huddle dot com my partner jake arthur is a credential boots on the ground for round table sports we're going to bring you our typical friday action here guys we're going to talk all about the latest injury report news and notes from both teams or at least from the colts we still don't have that chargers injury report as of recording this we'll give you
Starting point is 00:00:53 guys an update on all channels later today when the chargers do officially announce that injury report because they're on West Coast time. They operate a different time than we do. We're also going to preview the Colts offense, the Colts defense, and then give our final predictions of the week before this big matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers, a chance to solidify themselves as the number one team, the AFC, for at least another week here. At least the Colts have that potential this week.
Starting point is 00:01:20 But going into some news and notes, wide receiver Josh Downs, wide receiver, Ashton Doolin, and cornerback. Charveris Warder all ruled out this week with injuries downs and ward are both dealing with concussion ashton duels was a chest injury he didn't even touch the practice field this week so uh we'll see if the colts can get any of these guys up uh for next week but the good news canny more the second the slot corner star slot corner for the colts who has been out for i think like a month now at this point it's been like three or four games yeah he got injured week three yeah yeah so he's been out for a good bit here uh he will be
Starting point is 00:01:54 returning to the field this weekend he's listed as questionable officially but it's seems like all it's all good to go. He's going to be out there. And then running back Tyler Goodson, he's listed as questionable, maybe a little bit more up in the air with him, but the Colts might get him back to action this week as well. So, you know, losing downs, losing Doolin, those are pretty big losses for the Colts. Traveris Ward. We don't even have to go into how big a loss that one is. But getting a little healthier, at least, with Kenny and Tyler Goodson is a little bit of a boost that we didn't expect here. Yeah. When you look at the Chargers. For me, obviously Justin Herbert, but then I look at the receivers. That's a deeper
Starting point is 00:02:31 Keenan Allen, Ladd McConkey. If Quentin Johnson is able to get back out there, I know he was out last week, but then Trey Harris, the rookie, those are all guys that do more than just like their niche necessarily. They're like, they impact the game in a lot of ways, especially Johnson, who's really finally starting to break out. You got, again, Trey Harris, the rookie, he is one of those peripheral guys that does a lot of the little things, right, blocks very well. He's kind of a tenacious player. So you hate to have Trevory's word out against anyone, you know what I mean? But especially a group with a quarterback like this and a group of pass catchers like this,
Starting point is 00:03:09 that's a tough one. But with Kenny Moore out there, that's good. You know, you kind of fight fire with fire a little bit. Kenny's strength isn't his athleticism or what he does physically anyways. It's in his mind. So that definitely helps to have him out there for whatever his role is. Like he's been out for a while. So logic says he's probably not playing 60, 65 snaps.
Starting point is 00:03:32 So whatever that role is, that's certainly good. Downs and Doolin is where it gets super interesting because that obviously forces the Colts hand, makes A.D. Mitchell active. But does Anthony Gould finally get some run? Because I think he's only got like a dozen offensive snap so far. You're going to have to call a receiver up. So it could be Laquan Treadwell. if you're looking to kind of get a guy who could play some special teams but also back
Starting point is 00:03:58 things up on the boundary if that's what you're looking for i would imagine it's probably closer to treadwell than it would be like coleman owen we love colman owen great story um but treadwell is a guy they've trusted in the past to kind of fill in the gaps there yeah coleman owen's more if you need a like very much just a special teamer like if anthony if anthony were to go down it would be coleman owin coming up because owen can return punts too So very specialized. Right. Lequan Treadwell, I think, is kind of your Ashen, duel, and replacement where he might get some run on offense just in terms of being like a blocking wide receiver in tight, doing some RPO type stuff just because he knows how to get to his landmarks and such.
Starting point is 00:04:37 So, yeah, it'll probably be Treadwell coming up. You'll have Treadwell with Pittman and Alec Pierce. And then we'll just see how many snaps it comes down to with A.D. Mitchell and Anthony Gould there in the slot. Like, do they give them to Gould? like is Mitchell still in the doghouse probably at this point but easy enough in the doghouse to where Gould gets every snap over him will be the real question here I think we're going to see a lot of Anthony Gould on offense though for the first time he just makes more sense I think in the slot than 80 Mitchell does but let's kind of segue this Jake into our overall talk on the Colts
Starting point is 00:05:11 offense you know losing Josh Downs is the vital piece of this puzzle for the Colts you know when everyone is so specialized and you spread the ball so much with what the Colts do, Downs is their third down converter. He's their guy who, you know, he's probably a difference between scoring high 20s and than the 30s that they've scored every single week because he converts those key third downs, keeps the chains moving, and he even saw he caught a touchdown last week as well. So having no Josh Downs does hurt the process a little bit for the Colts. But overall, I think you and I are both liking this matchup for the Colts offense,
Starting point is 00:05:46 especially with the Chargers defense that has really, really strong. of what in recent weeks, particularly against the run, now the Colts leading, or the NFL's leading rushers coming to town and Jonathan Taylor. Yeah, this immediately looks like a huge opportunity for Jonathan Taylor to me. They do some interesting things. They have Derwin James close to the line of scrimmage quite a bit, but he has been pretty guilty of missing tackles. You see him diving at ankles and stuff and just, I don't know if it's taking bad angles,
Starting point is 00:06:17 but just not completing the process of getting to the ball necessarily. And so Jonathan already, like, leads the league, I think, in forced miss tackles. You've got him going up against a team that is near the bottom in, you know, allowing this tackles. And then, you know, they allow five yards per carry. They're near the bottom already in yards per game against the run. So like the obvious mode of attack is Jonathan Taylor here. But we've kind of seen that before where Shane's, psych and knows that. But at the same time, you can do some things through the air as well.
Starting point is 00:06:52 Like, Tua had some success against them last week, even without Tyreek Hill. You know, Jalen Waddle had a nice little game there. So there's some opportunities there. I do wonder if in the passing game, they're going to be focusing more on the intermediate and downfield stuff without Josh Downs, because I do think this defense, it's just they don't do a ton of different things in coverage and you see some opportunities for some big plays. The Colts love corner routes. At least they've had a lot of success with them like during the summer, at least from what I could tell.
Starting point is 00:07:27 It hasn't been like an enormous part of the offense yet, but I think you can have some successes there against this Chargers, this Chargers defense. So I don't want to downgrade their defense that much, but I thought I was going to be more impressed than when I watched them earlier. Yeah, and I think when you have a defense that struggles to tackle, the number one thing that tells me is they're an undisciplined defense, which I think is a big part of why they've had their struggles in recent weeks, why games have kind of fallen apart for their defense a lot, you know, where they started well against Washington, and it just kind of corroded with a lot of big runs and RPOs and play actions, just killing them in the second half of that game. And then Miami, one of the teams that runs a lot of RPO's, a lot of quick play actions where they're throwing to spots, really tore this defense apart last week in a big way, despite that offense being pretty poor. I think a lot of it just comes down to their, they're not that disciplined. They struggle on the edges in terms of defending the run and containing runs.
Starting point is 00:08:26 And I think that leaves this defense very susceptible to bootlegs, to long play actions, like outside zone play actions. And then obviously, when you're not play action, you're running off the tackles. I think this defense has really, really struggled in recent weeks. So I think for the Colts, that bodes well because what have they been really good at recently is running off the tackle, running to the outside with Jonathan Taylor, and then building their offense around the play action. They lead the NFL with a 65% run or play action rate or not play action rates, like action rate or something is what Ben Fennell calls it run, run action rate.
Starting point is 00:08:59 That's what it is. Run action. Runs or play actions, they're at a 65% rate right now. So most of their calls are either playing. action or run plays and that's a very beneficial offense going against a defense like this that is fairly undisciplined struggles to tackle gets the ball out in space to your playmakers and lets these guys go to work so yeah i think a lot of the colts game plan today this this week is just going to be make the chargers tackle us make them have to second guess themselves make them fit the run
Starting point is 00:09:27 when we're going play action make them second guess every run play that might be a play action make everything look the same and just kind of feed into their undisciplined nature you know I said this on the crossover yesterday, but the number one thing that beats the Chargers on Sundays is the Chargers. The Chargers are their number one enemy every single week. They always have random games where they just kind of shoot themselves in the foot. And I think as an offense that is just kind of clicking like the Colts have this week, the key is just don't shoot yourself in the foot. Let them make the mistakes, lean into their undisciplined style, use a lot of play action, run the ball really well.
Starting point is 00:10:00 And I think they can put up 30 plus points in this game easily. Yeah, same here. And again, you hate to not have Josh Downs, especially a guy that creates a lot of his own yards like that, makes a lot of guys miss. But Michael Pittman Jr. and Tyler Warren are more than capable of fighting for extra yards after the catch as well. So as long as you don't have Derwin James get like a kill shot on anyone like we know he can do, get him over aggressive, over pursuing. I think the Colts are going to wind up with a lot of hidden yards there as well. Yeah. All right, guys.
Starting point is 00:10:31 I think, real quick, I think one of our comments section actually just said that. I think Michael Pittman Jr. and Tyler Warner are the two guys that you want to get that ball too. Like your bruisers after the catch, you want to just beat down on this defense with your bruisers. Those are your two bruisers. And then once you wear a defense down with those guys in the passing game, it's the Jonathan Taylor show after that. So I think that's a good plan of attack here for the Colts, especially off of, again, play action and RPO type stuff. I think it can work really well for them. But yeah, coming up, guys, we're going to go to the Colts defense a little bit more.
Starting point is 00:11:01 dire straits in the cult's offense right now. We're going to talk about how they can have success against Justin Herbert and this Los Angeles Chargers offense. But first, this show is sponsored by BetterHelp. October 10th was World Mental Health Day, and this year we're saying thank you therapists. Life can be tough on and off the field. And behind millions of mental health journeys are therapists who showed up, listened, and helped people take a step forward. BetterHelp is shining the spotlight on those connections while also making it simple for you to find support wherever you need it. Therapy moments can be life-changing, whether it's learning to better connect with your kids, healing relationship, or finding healthy ways to manage stress.
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Starting point is 00:13:12 after you play your first $5 lineup. That's Code Locked on NFL for $50 in lineups after your first $5 lineup, Price Picks. It's good to be right. All right, welcome back every dayers. We are talking Colts and Chargers this Sunday, at 405 on Fox out there at SoFi Stadium. So again, just to kind of bring this back, injury-wise,
Starting point is 00:13:38 Kenny Moore is back. We'll see what his workload looks like. Charvary's word is still out. So that means cornerback-wise, you're probably looking at, you know, Mackay Blackman and Jonathan Edwards still on the outside. And then probably some mixture of Kenny Moore and Chris Lamont's at corner there in the slot.
Starting point is 00:13:56 They may call up Mitchell as well, who they did last week. So we'll see what. they do there. But yeah, again, starting with this passing game, you got to start up front. The O line is not great. Now, to their credit, it's very, very banged up. We're still waiting to see if Joe Alt is going to play because that's a huge deal. Obviously, Ray Sean Slater is out for the year. So just right away, they were kind of behind the eight ball there. They've only got one game this year with a positive grade as a group and pass protection. According to people, FF, so that just kind of goes to show you.
Starting point is 00:14:33 You watch a game, and Herber is under duress pretty commonly, but he's very good at moving through the pocket, getting outside, and then even when he's wrapped up, like, he is capable of getting rid of the ball until his butt is literally on the ground. So, yeah, he is someone you have to see the entire play through. Scary part of that for me is the Colts getting sacks and finishing sacks. It's not exactly their strong suit. A lot of quarterbacks are able to slip through those guys. I have no doubt that the Colts can get to Herbert, but he is one, he's like Ben Rathesberger
Starting point is 00:15:06 when it comes to escaping sacks. So, like, you have got to finish the play. Again, not the Colts strong suit this year. Yeah, Ben Rathsburger was a little bit faster as well. Routtsberger runs like you and skinnier and a better person. Yeah, like we get it all. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, I mean, Justin Herbert's the second best quarterback.
Starting point is 00:15:25 The Colts are going to face or have faced this year behind Matthew Stafford. Don't say that Desire of Franklin, not top five. No, not top. Well, I mean, that's still probably the second best quarterback they face this year. I mean, what's the next closest is Jacoby or Gino Smith, I guess? A lot of love for Jacoby in that building. Bo Nix, I guess, would be your next one. But, yeah, you know, I think Justin Herbert's a new challenge for this defense,
Starting point is 00:15:46 the defense that definitely struggled last week against Jacoby Brissette. And the Joe Alt injury status is going to be massive for this one, because it's the difference between having one major liability at offensive tackle, plus, I mean, look, Joe Alt without legs is probably better than the guys they've been rolling out at offensive tackle. But, yeah, they can get Alt back. That does help them quite a bit. But if Joe Alt doesn't play this week, then it's Bobby Hart and Austin Deculis who were cast off from the Texans and the Bengals offensive lines, who are two of the worst offensive lines in football.
Starting point is 00:16:19 And you really got to take advantage as a defensive line. As Jake said, I mean, you just got to get bodies on Herbert, knock him down a couple times, and really get into his head. he's a great quarterback really great quarterback i think the key for the colts though is just again make the chargers make the mistakes it's hard when you're the road team because typically the road team is more penalized in the home team and they have more of the procedural penalties but for the colts i think you got to lean into the bend don't break status of this defense and i'm not saying gus bradley it guys i'm not saying drop back into cover three all game long and sit back like you guys still have chances and take your opportunities to make
Starting point is 00:16:55 splash plays like if they're in a condensed floor formation, blitz the backside of the condensed formation. If they're going to be under center, again, getting Nick Cross and Kenny Moore involved coming off the edge to try to get some disruption plays in there. But I think for the most part, you know, I think you want to sit back, make the Chargers be perfect. Because what we've seen with this Chargers team this year, they tack on a lot of yards.
Starting point is 00:17:18 They run the ball fairly well. They throw the ball fairly well. They're top five offense and yards, 21 points per game on offense. they are really bad red zone offense this season they have a lot of turnovers on that side of the ball so make them just make more have to make all the play like again if you have them have to go 80 plays against you right that means they're controlling the ball but they're not going to be perfect for 80 plays they're going to have penalties they're going to have turnovers they're going to have mistakes that set them back and keep points off the board so look in a perfect world you shut
Starting point is 00:17:48 down herbert you hold them to 10 yards passing and we're having we're celebrating a 50 point victory but we don't live in a perfect world here we know who are rolling out here at corner and we know the situation with this defense i think the key really is when you have those opportunities for splash plays make the most of them get the ball back for the offense and let the offense go to work but make the chargers have to be methodical make the chargers have to go 10 plus plays on you if they want to score don't make it easy on them don't fall down in press man coverage don't have a dpi that's 50 yards down the field you know make them have to chug along down the field because this Chargers offense, despite being pretty good, despite all the injuries,
Starting point is 00:18:26 they make mistakes. Quentin Johnson's had a couple fumbles this year. Herbert throws some picks. They have a negative turnover differential, despite being one of the better teams in the ASC, make them make the mistakes. Don't give them freebies by giving them long touchdowns and explosive plays. Make them have to methodically go up and down the field. They'll make the mistakes. That's how they only score 10 points against a really bad commander's defense a couple weeks ago.
Starting point is 00:18:49 That's kind of the recipe for this. this offense, just make them have to be perfect because odds are Austin Deculis can't be perfect in a game or Bobby Hart can't be perfect and then take advantage of those splash plays when they're there. Yeah, without question. I've not heard of calculator or whoever you just said that offensive tackle is. But Bobby Hart, I know throughout, yeah, I know Bobby Hart has not been good throughout his career. Also has some very odd world views that we won't get into. But yeah, I'm going to shift to the run game here real quick. Now, they ran the ball on Miami, but that was Miami, who was the worst run defense in the league.
Starting point is 00:19:26 There were wide open spaces for them to run through, but they pick up what's there. You know, Hassan Haskins and Kamani Vidal, they do not really create their own yards. They're not really explosive runners. So I think as long as you're fitting to run well, you're where you're supposed to be and you're getting off of blocks, you're going to be able to kind of make that offense one-dimensional. And like you mentioned, the more you're passing, the more opportunity there is for mistakes. the more opportunity there is for you to put pressure on Herber and again he's a guy who it's just in his DNA to wait like he will string it out until the very last second to get rid of that
Starting point is 00:20:01 ball because he can't he's big and physical but at the same time that kind of creates errant throws and more opportunities for interceptions for guys that can bind him to be back there in the secondary so I do like how this matches up for the Colts they haven't been great against the run throughout the year but I do think you know if Zair Franklin and Jermaine Pratt are going to team up and do something well, it's probably going to be defend the ride. Yeah, no, I mean, look, the key to it this week is just whenever you get those couple opportunities for splash plays, make the most of them, make them happen.
Starting point is 00:20:33 If you have Herbert lined up, get him on the ground, if he throws a ball that gets knocked up in the air, come away with the interception, and then stand tall in the red zone. Again, I don't care if they finish this game with 700 yards on offense. If they're forcing in the field goals every time in the red zone, you're going to win this game. You have too good of an offense on the other side of the ball with the Colts offense. right now. I don't care how many yards an opposing team puts up on you. I don't know. I don't care how much effort they have to put in to getting to the red zone. Just don't let them
Starting point is 00:20:59 in the end zone. And you'll win games with this with this offense on the other side of the ball. So that's going to be the key for the Colts defense. Again, just capitalize on the couple takeaway chances that you get and force field goals. I don't, I'm Cameron Dicker. You know, he doesn't miss kicks, right? The kicker that doesn't miss kicks, one of the few ones in the history of football. Make him make him have to kick it 12 times on Sunday. I don't care. you know, and the Colts will have a chance to win. So, yeah, that's going to be key. Like, again, I don't care how many yards they put up.
Starting point is 00:21:26 Just hold them out of the end zone. But that'll be key for the Colts defense. But coming up, guys, we're going to give our final thoughts on this game. Do we think the Colts can emerge victorious and move to 6-1 with a firm stranglehold on first place in the AFC? More on that here in just a second. But first, Mazda crafts cars for those who do more than simply move from footwork to breath work, athletes sweat all the details.
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Starting point is 00:23:36 wrap myself even more into the cocoon that is the Colts in this one. I originally said 34 to 30 a win for them, which still may very well be the case. but I think the Colts defense, even without Charverius Ward, I feel icky saying that because I hardly ever like the defense when Ward's not out there. I still think they're going to do some good things. So I'll still give the Colts 34, but maybe it's like 3426 or 28, you know. I do still like the Colts to go over 30 on this defense.
Starting point is 00:24:09 I think Shane Steichen knows what to do against these type of defenses that aren't very exotic. like Daniel Jones obviously has been a perfect, you know, puppet for Stuyken being the puppet master of this offense in these scenarios. And then Jonathan Taylor is just an enormous advantage that the Chargers may not have an answer for. If Kalil Mack is out there, that helps them a bit, but it's not to be all in all. Like Kalil Mack is my age. We have very different physiques and strengths physically, but at the end of the day, you know, he's an older dude. Yeah, he's got a little bit more strength than you.
Starting point is 00:24:44 sure but but yeah like I feel like this is going to come back to hurt me because I'm usually pretty pessimistic on the Colts even during this season I'm I've usually been like the you know the enemy here the antagonist I guess to this Colts run at times but I just think a lot of people are giving a little too much love to the Chargers right now where after that first like after those first like three games they've been a very very different team they have very much struggled in recent weeks I think what they're one they've won one out of their last three with losses to the giants and the commanders the commander's game they weren't even remotely close in that game they got smacked around giants controlled most of that game and then it took them
Starting point is 00:25:22 kind of limping their way through miami to win that one so i don't think they're playing their best football right now i still think when you go against a quarterback of justin herbert's caliber there's always a chance that he just goes nuclear and it swings the entire focus of the game uh towards their offense but you know again at the end of the day the chargers biggest enemy are the chargers and they always find a way to hurt themselves. That's why, again, they're an undisciplined defense and misses a lot of tackles on offense. They struggle to score in the red zone. They haven't put up a ton of points, and they've turned the ball over a lot this year as well.
Starting point is 00:25:55 So I think the ultimate key for this game is just as long as the Colts don't just take a shotgun to their foot like they did the last time they were in Los Angeles and just continually shoot their own foot over and over again and still only lose by seven to a much better Rams team. I think this Colts team should be able to win. relatively comfortably. Yes, the Colts defense is not in the greatest place right now, but neither is the Chargers offense with their tackle play and their running back play. So I think that this Colts team should be able to win this game. And it's going to be, again, a real measuring stick for them going against a Chargers team where even if I don't think the Chargers are playing great football lately,
Starting point is 00:26:32 it would still be a statement win to say that you beat Justin Herbert on the road. So I actually, yeah, I think I would have the Colts like 34, 24, 24 in this game. I think the Colts are going to put up points again as long as they don't have the pre-snap penalties. They don't have the losses up front like they did the last time they were in L.A. I think they're going to put up points
Starting point is 00:26:51 pretty easily in this game. It just comes down to the Colts defense, not allowing big plays and holding them to some threes in the red zone. I think that would be the biggest keys. But yeah, I don't know. I feel weirdly confident with this game, like more confident even in this game
Starting point is 00:27:05 than I did in some of the other ones where the Colts ultimately won this year. It's just this chart. Chargers team, again, they're just a weird team. They hurt themselves so much, man. And I think for a Colts team that's like so fundamentally sound, like, again, outside the Rams game, this Colts team's been so good with just keeping the ball moving forward on offense, with taking the ball away, winning the turnover battle, not committing too many
Starting point is 00:27:31 egregious penalties. I think this Colts team's been really good with that stuff. It's kind of like the anti-that with this Chargers team, where the Chargers is getting in their own way so much. So I think when you place two teams against each other like that, the fundamental team will typically win. So I feel pretty good about the Colts chances, and I like them here on the road against the Chargers.
Starting point is 00:27:49 Really big opportunity, because obviously the Steelers fell last night. They were the number three seed in the AFC, and I believe the Chargers are number two. So if the Colts is the number one seed, have the number two and three seeds fall and add another win into their win column, then you're starting to get a cushion.
Starting point is 00:28:05 As much as I hate to say it, The Jaguars are sticking around, and I probably like them to win this weekend, too. So you got to keep it up because if the Jaguars overtake you for the division, that's just disgusting. Because also you go from like the one seed to now you're like in the wild card race. So you've got to keep the moving. We have to think about that, though, Jake. We don't have to look big picture yet. We're looking at the Chargers right now, Jake.
Starting point is 00:28:29 Okay, like calm down about the Jaguars until the second half of the year when we go at Jacksonville. That's when we can start getting nervous again for sure there. way. Yeah, but no, again, this stretch, this, this again starts a really critical stretch because again, after this, you've got Tennessee, which should be a win, and then you have those Steelers. So, yeah, these, if you can bank these next three wins, they're all conference games, two of the three are against teams you're directly competing with position for, so these are super, super important. So what do we have is our random predictions of the week here, Jake? where you used to do pretty decent on it.
Starting point is 00:29:05 What did we have last week? I think we missed. I said big man touchdown. Yeah, I had Tyler Warren going for pretty big day in week one. He led them in receiving, I think. Yeah, he led, I had more of like a hundred yard game, but like it looked like he was going that way early in that one. So let's say, let's say Anthony Gould goes for 75 plus.
Starting point is 00:29:28 Dang, okay, okay. So like throughout the summer, we've seen he's, he, they've used him more as a traditional slot. But when he got to the Colts, and he even showed this still this summer, he's a downfield threat. That's like his biggest asset. Like he's a return man so he can like make guys miss and pick up some yardage.
Starting point is 00:29:47 But like at his core, his most dangerous is as a downfield threat. And so the Colts could have two of those out there with Pierce and Gould. And the defense is going to be paying attention to Alec Pierce. So you could get one on one. You should get one on one opportunities for Gould. to just beat his man and get deep because it's not like they necessarily play a bunch of shell coverage
Starting point is 00:30:08 or anything like that. Like I think though, I think the opportunities could be there for Goulda at least pop a, pop one or two bigger ones. Yeah, I like that one. I was actually going to go back and say, Colts go back to their old days
Starting point is 00:30:20 of no more punting. And we don't see a punt from this Colts team on Sunday. Defensively for the Colts, oh man, what should we go with for this? I mean, the easy one is like a Laotu Lati. like two-sac game or something, you know, because he did that the last time they played LA and the last L.A. team had a rough offensive line as well. So you would think maybe against
Starting point is 00:30:41 an Austin Deculis and Bobby Hart, if those are your two tackles, we see a little bit better from from Laiatu-Latu. I want to go and say this colds defense has struggled to force fumbles. This year, they haven't really forced many fumbles. I'm going to say they forced two fumbles on Sunday. I don't know if they're going to recover both of them, but we'll say that they forced two fumbles on Sunday. Hey, the, the Chargers will cough it up. I mean, they're, their rookie tight end to Ron Day Gadson, the second, one of your draft darlings, he coughed it up a little bit last week.
Starting point is 00:31:12 So, I mean, they got guys who are kind of generous out there. It's the Chargers, man. They hurt themselves. So I know, look, I know if there's any Chargers fan that watches this or whatever, even if they're disagreeing completely with our takeaways, I know they're going to sit there being like, you know what, he is right about that at least. Like, they always charge her, you know, that's just what they do. but you guys let us know your predictions in the comment section.
Starting point is 00:31:32 We'll see you guys back here, what, around 8.30 or so, 8 o'clock on Sunday to break down all the action. Hopefully another Colts victory that goes the way Jake and I are expecting. But again, you guys let us know in the comment section below. And thank you guys for making Lockdown Colts your first listen today and every single day. The NFL season is here. So for your next listening, get a double dose of the Locked-on NFL podcast. Tyler the Madman Rolling gives you a shot of NFL espresso to start your day.
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