2020 Preview: Las Vegas Raiders vs Indianapolis Colts

In our final trip previewing each of the Las Vegas Raiders 2020 opponents, we look at the Indianapolis Colts.

While the 2020 football season is still months away, it’s never too early to start previewing the season. In this series, I’ll preview every game in the Raiders regular season and look into each opponent. In Week 14, the Raiders host the Indianapolis Colts.

Colts attempt to Bounce Back

The Indianapolis Colts are coming off a shaky 2019 season with a 7-9 record. With the departure of veteran quarterback Andrew Luck in 2018, the Colts brought in backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett and found minimal success in the offense. He threw 18 touchdowns, suitable for 26th in the league and threw six interceptions, good for eighth in the league.

During the off-season, the Colts made a critical personnel change in the offense by signing eight-time Pro Bowl quarterback Philip Rivers. Rivers has a total of 59,271 career passing yards and 397 touchdowns, good for sixth in NFL history.

To help Rivers out, the Colts drafted wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. in the second round. Pittman averaged a respectable 12.6 yards per reception last year at USC.

The Colts hope to bounce back into the playoffs this season, much as they did in 2018.

Defense wins games

As for the Raiders, they’re up against one of the most successful quarterbacks of all-time in Philip Rivers. Without a doubt, the defense will yet again be essential to defeating the Colts.

The last time the Raiders met the Colts was in 2018, when they fell to the now-retired Andrew Luck led squad, 42-28.

As mentioned before, the long-time quarterback is no longer with the Colts.

Having a new veteran quarterback in Rivers doesn’t mean the Colts will be instantaneously successful. Rivers has to learn an entirely new playbook under offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni.

Rivers needs to learn what works and what doesn’t work with his entire offensive squad. He needs to utilize running back Marlon Mack, who averaged 4.4 yards per carrying, as a second-down option to give him some more opportunities to work with on third-down.

In other words, the Raiders' game plan lies right in front of us. The defensive line led by defensive end Maxx Crosby needs to pressure Rivers as much as possible. The secondary consisting of safety, Damarious Randall, Johnathan Abram, and veteran cornerback Prince Amukamara, need to tighten up space as much as possible down the field, giving Rivers a hard time to find his new targets.

The key to success for the Raiders lies in the defense.

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