The Indianapolis Colts may not be a championship contender this season, but they could end up being one of the more interesting teams to watch. In fact, their Week 1 home matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars could end up being one of the more underrated games of opening weekend.

This game marks the beginning of a new era in Indianapolis. Not only is it the debut of No. 4 overall pick Anthony Richardson, but also that of new coach Shane Steichen. Those two are starting their careers with a trial by fire, facing the class of the division in Jacksonville.

Understandably, the Colts are pretty sizable underdogs heading into this game. They play the games for a reason, though, and truly anything could happen on Sunday. With that said, here are three bold predictions for the Colts' Week 1 showdown with the Jaguars.

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3. Colts DE DeForest Buckner has 2+ sacks

For all the Colts' struggles last season, their pass rush was actually pretty solid. They finished the season with 44 sacks, tied with the San Francisco 49ers for 10th-most in the league. Indianapolis' pass rush figures to take a step back this season with the loss of Yannick Ngakoue, who led the team with 9.5 sacks last year. With DeForest Buckner still in the fold, though, opposing offenses still need to be on high alert.

Since coming over from the 49ers in 2020, Buckner has been excellent for the Colts. In three seasons, he has had 24.5 sacks and at least seven per year. He even managed to rack up eight sacks last year despite playing the entire season with a torn UCL. The Colts made him the second highest-paid defensive tackle in the league when they acquired him, and he has lived up to that billing so far.

Buckner has performed pretty well against the Jaguars in his career, recording 3.5 sacks in seven games. Last season, he had a big sack early in the Colts' home win over the Jaguars, forcing a 14-yard loss. Buckner will be eager to start this season on the right foot, and a multi-sack game against the Colts' division rival would do just that.

2. Colts QB Anthony Richardson avoids the turnover bug

Anthony Richardson is an athletic freak, possessing a nearly unprecedented mix of size and speed for a quarterback. That athleticism is what made him a top prospect in this year's draft, but the biggest knock on him is that he's still very raw. That manifests itself in a variety of ways, most notably in his propensity for turnovers.

Last season at Florida, Richardson threw nine interceptions, and most of them were due to poor decisions. The turnover bug also bit him in the preseason, as he threw an interception on his first drive against the Buffalo Bills. For Richardson to reach his sky-high potential, he must find a way to limit the giveaways.

It won't be easy to do that in his NFL debut, as Jacksonville forced 27 turnovers last season, tied for fourth-most in the league. If Steichen, who helped develop another dual-threat quarterback in Philadelphia Eagles star Jalen Hurts, can work his magic, then Richardson could blossom sooner than later. Probably a stretch, but hey, we're making “bold” predictions now, aren't we?

1. Colts upset the Jaguars

The Colts and Jaguars have one of the most interesting rivalries in the NFL simply because neither of them can win on the road. Jacksonville has won the last eight matchups at EverBank Stadium, including the infamous game that knocked the Colts out of the 2021 playoff hunt. On the other hand, Indianapolis has won the last five matchups at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Considering this matchup takes place in Indianapolis, that bodes very well for the Colts. Granted, this is probably the best team the Jaguars have fielded since that streak began, and probably the worst team the Colts have fielded. Still, this trend holds at least some water.

Right now, the Jaguars are five-point betting favorites and ESPN's FPI gives them a 64.5 percent chance to win. Given the apparent talent disparity between the teams, it makes sense why that's the case. However, don't underestimate the scrappiness of the young and hungry Colts. If the Jaguars aren't careful, the Colts could easily take them by surprise.