2024 Week 15: Colts 13, Broncos 31
This game seemed like it might be a rout of the Broncos. Indy was up 10-0 early in the second quarter and 13-7 at the half. Coming out of the break Jonathon Taylor ran for a TD that was called back because he dropped the ball before crossing the plane. After that mishap, Denver went a 24-0 run to win the game. Colts fans you can blame Jonathon Taylor (22-107-0; 1 catch for 4 yards) for this loss, he was the catalyst for the momentum swing.
This was a huge win for Denver (9-5) who are now firmly in the wildcard, one win clinches a playoff berth, and they could lose out and still make it. This was a lucky break for Denver but also a necessary learning experience for this young team.
Indy (6-8) needed to win this game in order to have the tiebreaker over Denver, and winning out from here still doesn’t guarantee them a spot because they lost the tiebreaker. The Colts could win out with an easy schedule of TEN, NYG, and JAX to close, but I suspect Anthony Richardson will Anthony Richardson all over himself in one of those games.
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QB Report:
- Well like I just said, Anthony Richardson (17/38 for 172 yards, 2 INT; 7 rushes for 46 yards, 1 TD) Anthony Richardson’d all over himself this game. His time in the league is close to over, teams don’t have the patience to develop young QB talent and the older QBs that were rejected when they entered the league are all turning out to be pretty good, so why wait? I understand it, the NFL is a business and the more you win the happier your shareholders (fans) are.
- The more Richardson plays the worse he gets, in 7 of his last 8 games he’s been at or below 175 yards, and in 8 of his 10 starts this year he has been at or below 50% completion percentage.
- Bo Nix (20/33 for 130 yards, 3TDs/ 3 INTs; 8 rushes for 23 yards, 1 TD) looked like he was going to Anthony Richardson all over himself, but instead showed signs of growth and greatness. At one point in this game, Nix was posting a (13/21 for 75 yards, 1 TD/ 3 INT) stat line… but he did what great quarterbacks do, he battled through the adversity and he led his team on a 24-0 run, scoring 3 touchdowns in the 4th quarter.
RB Report:
- Just like I talked about last week, the Broncos are going to ride with the hot hand, and that was Jaleel McLaughlin (7-21-0; 3 catches for 13 yards) until he left the game early, I don’t expect him to play in time for their crucial TNF game against the Chargers. Javonte Williams (6-15-0; 2 catches for 8 yards) was the other part of the RBBC this week and took over a larger role when McLaughlin left. I don’t want to play any of these guys in fantasy, it’s impossible to try and guess who’s going to break out if anyone does.
WR Report:
- Josh Downs (3-32-0/8) is a frustrating wide receiver to own in fantasy. In Redraft it’s time you give up on him if you haven’t already, in Dynasty hold where you can and hope AR is gone after this season.
- Devaughn Vele (0-0-0/1) was a ghost in this game. To me, he’s the best receiver Denver has but they make no effort to get him the ball. Just like Downs, quit in Redraft and hold where you can in Dynasty.
- Marvin Mims (4-20-0/4) has been nothing short of electric when he touches the ball, the first time going through the game there were 2 returns I thought he would break off for touchdowns. This is another case of Sean Payton being frustrating… after every game, he talks about how they need to Mims more involved on the offense but they never actually do it, just a few random screens or targets if Nix finds him.
image source: (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)