Game Preview, Week 8: Washington at Indianapolis

October 28, 2022

by Steve Thomas

Washington heads into Indianapolis in pretty good shape, certainly be their standards, with two wins in a row under their belt and the 3 – 3 – 1 Colts having replaced the old Matt Ryan with the young and inexperienced Sam Ehlinger.  It’s a game Washington should have a decent shot at winning, even on the road.  It goes without saying that Washington’s offense will need to play more like the decently productive unit of the second half against Green Bay last week, not the pile of steaming hot garbage from the first half.  It’s certainly possible.  Can this happen?  Will Washington actually start a new three game winning streak, something that seemed inconceivable early in the year?  We’ll see. Tune in this Sunday afternoon to find out.  Our game preview is below.

Game time & location:          Sunday, October 30, 2022, 4:25 p.m. ET, Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana; Gates                                                       open 2:25 p.m. CT

Television:                              FOX

Television announcers:        Brandon Gaudin, Mark Schlereth, & Shannon Spake

TV broadcast map:               click here

 

DC-area radio:                          Big-100 (WBIG-FM)

Washington radio network:   click here

Colts radio network:               click here

Satellite radio:                          SiriusXM: 226 (Colts broad.), 334 (Wash. broad.); internet: 831

 

Washington roster:                click here

Washington depth chart:     click here

Colts roster:                           click here

Colts depth chart:                 click here

Records: Washington: 3 – 4 (away: 1 – 2); Colts: 3 – 3 – 1 (home: 2 – 1)

All-time head-to-head record vs Colts: 10 – 21 – 0 (last 10: 4 – 6; streak: 0 – 4)

Last meeting: L, September 16, 2018, 9 – 21

Early odds: Colts, -3

3 KEYS TO THE GAME

Keep Sam Ehlinger in the pocket and make him uncomfortable

The Colts announced that Ehlinger was their new starting quarterback for the remainder of the season.  He is known to be a fairly mobile player, but one who has a weak arm by NFL standards.  He’s making his first professional start this week, so job #1 and #2 for Washington will be to put Ehlinger under pressure and not allow him to create momentum for his team by scrambling and making players.  This is probably the most important aspect of this game for the Redskins Washington.

Don’t let the Colts running game get going

This seems fairly obvious point, but Jonathan Taylor is a better back than he’s shown so far this season.  He’s suffered and missed time from an ankle injury, and Indianapolis as a team is terrible on the ground – they have averaged just 3.5 yards per carry this season, which is 30th in the league.  The last thing Washington needs to do is to allow Taylor to bail out the brand-new Sam Ehlinger by looking like the Taylor of old.  Keep an eye out on Taylor’s rushing averages and how many carries he gets early in this game.

Get the short passing offense going on a consistent basis

We all know Taylor Heinicke’s strengths and weaknesses, so I’m not going to repeat them here.  The bottom line is that Washington needs to transition its passing offense to a short to mid-tier game to account for Heinicke.  The team also needs to allow Heinicke get on the move via rollouts, because he’s better in that style of play.  For his part, Heinicke simply must avoid the terrible play he put on film in the first half of the Green Bay game.  If he can manage four quarters of solid short passing, Washington really should have a good shot at winning this contest.

3 KEY MATCHUPS

Jonathan Allen vs Quenton Nelson

This is a serious, big-time matchup.  Nelson might be the top guard in the NFL, and Allen is Washington’s defensive leader.  Washington will need to put big pressure on the new quarterback, and a big part of that job will fall to Allen.  He’ll have his hands full with the likes of Allen.  Honestly, I’m not sure whether Allen can actually win this battle, but it will definitely the one to watch in the interior this Sunday.

Benjamin St-Juste vs Michael Pittman

Somewhat improbably, St-Juste has become Washington’s best corner over his far more highly-paid veteran teammates, William Jackson III and Kendall Fuller.  Having Michael Pittman, who is Indianapolis’ best receiver, so keeping him in check will be important to limiting Sam Ehlinger’s chances to succeed in check.  This will be a fun battle to watch.

Saahdiq Charles vs DeForest Buckner

Buckner is the Colts’ highest-profile defensive lineman.  He’s going up against a backup guard in Charles; however, Charles surprisingly didn’t look terrible last week against the Packers.  He’ll have his hands full this week against Buckner.  Keep an eye out on who much interior pressure Heinicke is getting, because if it happens, it’s likely going to come from this matchup.

OFFICIAL INJURY REPORT (active roster only) (starters in bold)

LP – limited practice                          FP – full practice                    DNP – did not practice

NIR – not injury related                      Q – questionable                     O – out

D – doubtful                                        NL – not listed

Washington	Colts
DT J. Allen, NIR (rest); Wed: NL; Thurs: DNP; Fri: LP	DE K. Paye, ankle; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O
G S. Charles, illness; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: LP; game: Q	QB M. Ryan, right shoulder; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O
WR J. Dotson, hamstring; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O	DT G. Stewart, NIR (Rest); Wed: NL; Thurs: DNP; Fri: FP
LB C. Holcomb, foot; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O	LB G. Stuard, pectoral; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O
CB W. Jackson III, back; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O	WR K. Coutee, concussion; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP
TE C. Turner, concussion; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O	LB J. Doumann, abdomen; Wed: LP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP
WR D. Brown, groin; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP; game: Q	LB Z. Franklin, shoulder; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP
TE L. Thomas, calf, Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP; game: Q	CB S. Gilmore, NIR (Rest); Wed: DNP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP
RB J. Williams, knee; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP	C R. Kelly, knee; Wed: LP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP
T S. Cosmi, finger; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP	LB S. Leonard, back; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP
QB T. Heinicke, calf; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP	DE Y. Ngakoue, NIR (Rest); Wed: DNP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP
	LS L. Rhodes, shoulder; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP
	CB K. Moore, finger; Wed: NL; Thurs: NL; Fri: LP; game: Q
	DT D. Buckner, NIR (Rest); Wed: NL; Thurs: NL; Fri: DNP

 

STEVE’S PREDICTION

Washington wins 17 – 10.  This is a fairly even matchup, in that both teams are pretty mediocre.  Neither offense is particularly talented or successful.  Washington’s defense has had both good and bad moments this year, but has stepped up against lesser teams such as Chicago and Green Bay, so that bodes well.  Washington’s biggest advantage, though, is at quarterback.  Not because Taylor Heinicke is great, but because of Sam Ehlinger, who wasn’t particularly good in college by NFL prospect standards, has a weak arm, played very little as a rookie last year, and now is starting his first game.  Say what you will about Heinicke, but this week, it’s advantage Washington, and that will lead them to victory.