The Denver Broncos will be the road team as they square off against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 8. The Colts are extremely confident in Jacoby Brissett as their quarterback but the same can't be said for Joe Flacco and the Broncos.
During the offseason, John Elway decided it was best that Denver trade for Flacco from the Baltimore Ravens. At the time, Elway believed that it was a move that would help the Broncos get back to being a playoff team in 2019.
Despite his beliefs, his plan for Flacco hasn't gone according to plan to begin the season. Through the first seven weeks, the veteran quarterback has completed 65.7 percent of his passes for 1,648 yards, six touchdowns, and five interceptions.
Most recently, Flacco had one of his worst games of the season against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 7. The Delaware product threw for just 213 yards but he also fumbled it three times as the Broncos lost 30-6. With that in mind, what should we expect from Flacco against the Colts in Week 8?
The Colts defense is a decent group but injuries have prevented them from reaching their full potential. Darius Leonard returned to the defense last Sunday against the Houston Texans and he made a noticeable difference.
While playing the Texans, Indianapolis' defense did a considerably good job slowing down Deshaun Watson and Houston's high-flying offense. Altogether, they allowed 391 yards of offense but Leonard was able to get a game-sealing interception to end the game.
As everyone knows, Flacco's struggles have been well-documented this season in his first year in Denver. At this point, it might actually be better for him to play on the road; rather than play in front of his home crowd and hear boos throughout the stadium.
Last week against the Chiefs, Garrett Bolles and the Broncos offensive line was getting bullied. Flacco was sacked a season-high eight times and was under duress for the entire 60 minutes. There's a good chance that if he had a microphone on him, he would've been ‘seeing ghosts' too.
Indianapolis has just 16 sacks in their first six games (20th in the NFL) but it hasn't been hard to accumulate pressure against Denver. That likely won't change on Sunday when both teams face one another.
In light of that, Flacco is on track to have another game that provokes the Broncos fans into calling for Drew Lock to start. Furthermore, it wouldn't be surprising to see him throw for 180 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions in Week 8.