The Indianapolis Colts will be returning to practice following their bye week and while it was mostly quiet, there were some news and storylines to keep up with during the week off.
Even though the Colts will be looking to get ready for the Week 7 matchup at home against the Houston Texans, here’s a look at the biggest storylines during the bye week:
Kemoko Turay heading to IR
It’s interesting that the Colts have yet to place Turay on the injured reserve list after the second-year pass rusher suffered a broken ankle. It could be that they are simply waiting to make the move, but Turay is certainly heading to the injured reserve list.
The Colts will have to replace his production with a pair of defensive ends in Al-Quadin Muhammad and rookie Ben Banogu. The starters will remain Justin Houston and Jabaal Sheard, but Turay hitting the IR is a big blow to a pass rush that was hoping for a breakout from the Rutgers product.
Colts slide to second place
Entering the bye week, we talked about how the Colts could be the sole owners of first place in the division. That could only happen with a Houston Texans loss at the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.
That, of course, didn’t happen as the Texans went into Arrowhead Stadium and beat the Chiefs 31-24. Deshaun Watson didn’t it mostly himself as he had three total touchdowns—two of which were of the rushing variety.
After the Texans win, the Colts move to second place. They host the Texans in Week 7.
Justin Houston earned AFC Defensive Player of the Week
This is a bit of news that happened earlier in the week, but Houston was recognized during the bye week for his huge game against the Chiefs in Week 6. The league named Houston the AFC Defensive Player of the Week.
The Colts will need Houston to bring his A-game again in Week 7 against the Texans, who visit Lucas Oil Stadium. If the Colts are to have any success in stopping the Texans offense—and Watson himself—Houston and the pass rush has to get pressure on the young quarterback.
