Week 2 will feature a battle when the Denver Broncos (1-0) go on the road to face their second AFC South opponent to begin the season, the Indianapolis Colts (1-0). The Broncos struggled against the Tennessee Titans in Week 1, while the Colts manhandled the Miami Dolphins.
But that was last week, when teams had been preparing for their openers since the end of last season. Often, the following week produces very different results with less time to prepare.
Fans of both teams are probably asking whether last week was a fluke. The Broncos, including second-year quarterback Bo Nix, looked sluggish and out of sync offensively. They kept the Titans in the game far longer than they should have, and if not for their strong defense, the result might have been different with No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward threatening a comeback.
The Colts, meanwhile, dominated in all facets. Daniel Jones, Indianapolis' new QB1, looked like a new quarterback in his new digs. It was about as strong an opening performance as Indianapolis could have hoped for, particularly at the quarterback position, which was a major question mark entering the season.
Whatever the case, one team will be leaving Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday with its first loss of the season. Here are four bold prediction for the AFC tilt.
Colts fail to get takeaways, Bo Nix has bounce back game
Everyone is still talking about what Indianapolis did to the Dolphins last week, flat-out embarrassing them. The Colts forced three turnovers, all coming from Tua Tagovailoa in Miami’s first five drives of the game.
Bo Nix, meanwhile, is coming off a sloppy performance of his own with three turnovers. Is it the start of a sophomore slump, or just one bad game? We’ll go with the latter, mainly because Nix has Sean Payton coaching him up. He knows he's got to stay turnover free against the Colts.
“In the future maybe not be so aggressive, but at the same time that’s what makes us quarterbacks good,” Nix said. “It’s a fine line of being aggressive, but sometimes it just happens, and you just have to move on. I can definitely take a little bit more calculated attempts and that’s what I’ll attempt to do in the future.”
Could the Colts’ defense still be good? Possibly, but the Miami team they faced last week has plenty of red flags — with Tagovailoa being one of them. He’s long past being veteran, and while every quarterback has bad games, his performance looked like a veteran who may have taken a step back.
Daniel Jones performs well but reminds Colts fans of Giants days
The most surprising result from the Colts’ Week 1 performance was Daniel Jones. Jones has been heavily criticized since his time with the New York Giants, but in a new setting he looked like a completely different player.
Against the Dolphins, he completed 22-of-29 passes for 272 yards and one touchdown. He also ran for 26 yards and two more scores. Will that be the expectation every week? Shane Steichen and Colts fans are hoping so, but we’re still skeptical.
Much of what elevated Jones’ play last weekend stemmed from the Dolphins putting themselves in horrible situations and having to play from behind. While Nix could potentially do the same, as he did against the Titans, don’t count on the Broncos to give the Colts the same breaks.
Jones will do enough to keep his QB1 spot for another week, but he’ll also remind everyone why they still can’t fully trust him as a franchise quarterback. Plus, Denver's defensive front is going to test the Colts' new offensive line.
J.K Dobbins makes it two consecutive weeks with a touchdown
J.K. Dobbins had a solid start with his new team last weekend. While he fell just short of leading the team in rushing — finishing seven yards behind RJ Harvey (70) — he was the only back to score a touchdown. Dobbins also led the team in carries with 16. There’s no reason he won’t continue to get a steady workload against the Colts.
Sean Payton might still play it safe if he feels Bo Nix is struggling, but either way, expect Dobbins to score at least one touchdown on a goal-line run.
Broncos cover spread, win by six points or more
Maybe it was Daniel Jones’ impressive performance. Maybe it was Bo Nix’s lackluster outing. Or maybe it’s just the usual NFL tendency for close point spreads. Whatever the case, ESPN BET currently lists Sunday’s game with the Broncos favored by 1.5 points. It’s one of three games with that exact spread.
Could this game really be that close? It’s hard to trust this Colts team after just one game, especially considering it came against the Dolphins — a team that could end up being among the worst in the league this season.
The Broncos are the more talented team and better coached, though they may be a bit overhyped heading into the year. Still, they’re the safer pick in this matchup.
This won't quite be like last year's 31-13 beatdown, but Denver makes it 2-0 on the season.
