Coming off of a surprisingly elite 11-5 season, the Indianapolis Colts head into the upcoming campaign with a loaded, young roster and high hopes for a championship run. To start the campaign, they'll have a difficult home matchup with the Seattle Seahawks, a more experienced squad with an elite offense and weapons all around.

For Indy, the sky is the limit in 2021, but the floor could also be low as well, given all of their young, relatively unproven talent. The most glaring question mark is the quarterback position, as the Colts acquired veteran Carson Wentz during the offseason, who has been notoriously inconsistent in recent years, and just rushed a recovery back from injury in order to play Week 1.

Aside from that, an injury to T.Y. Hilton means that the Colts skill position group consists of a plethora of youngsters, with budding star back Jonathan Taylor, quality backups Nyheim Hines and Marlon Mack, and an exciting receiver room with Michael Pittman Jr., Zach Pascal, and Parris Campbell. With a rock solid O-line, the ground game should be in good shape, at the very least. On defense, the Colts return much of a group that finished 8th in yardage allowed and 6th in takeaways. First Team All-Pro stalwarts Deforest Buckner and Darius Leonard headline a squad that could potentially make a leap into top-five territory.

It's an exciting group, and they can be serious contenders this year. Will the Colts get off on the right foot to start the season, or will the Seahawks play spoiler? Here are 4 bold predictions for the Colts in Week 1 against the Seahawks.

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4. Jonathan Taylor runs wild for 150 yards

While the Seahawks own an average defense, the Colts excel with a downhill running philosophy led by a daunting O-line and budding star sophomore Jonathan Taylor. This makes for a perfect storm for All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson to lead the Colts to a huge game on the ground, and for Taylor to get huge chunk plays early and often for over 150 yards.

3. Indianapolis defense struggles to contain Wilson

Despite a strong start on the ground, Indy will struggle on the defensive side of the ball, as even a group as talented as the Colts can struggle to contain a passing attack as dynamic as Seattle's. The Colts' strongest unit is their front-7, and the secondary will struggle to contain the electric duo of D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, as well as secondary weapons Gerald Everett and Chris Carson.

2. Carson Wentz struggles early, leads surging comeback

Wentz is coming back 6 weeks after an injury that could have sidelined him for up to 12, and it'll take a while to get his legs under him. However, Seattle's pass defense has holes in it, which Wentz will be able to exploit as he adjusts and the game goes on. He has made several adjustments to his mechanics in the offseason, and with such a solid amount of weapons at his disposal, he'll flash the game that had him as the MVP front-runner until he got injured back in 2017.

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1. Colts fall just short in promising OT-thriller

Though the Colts will be great in 2021, the same thing that was their downfall in the playoffs last season will haunt them in Week 1 – quarterback play. Carson Wentz may progress into an elite QB once again later on this year, but in an overtime setting where offense often prevails, Russell Wilson will reign supreme. However, with such a new group attempting to gel together, it will still be a promising start for the Colts, who will be true contenders in 2021.
PREDICTION: Colts 30, Seahawks 33