The Indianapolis Colts (6-8) play host to the Carolina Panthers (5-9) on Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium as both teams look to get back on track and into the win column.
Both teams have combined for 10 consecutive losses and are out of the playoff picture in their respective conferences. But there is still football to be played, which means there are players to watch.
Here are four Colts to keep an eye on in Week 16:
DT Tyquan Lewis
Remember him? The highly-touted second-round pick from 2018 hasn’t done much since entering the league. Most of his struggles have been because of injury. But he’s been healthy lately and still hasn’t been making the type of impact expected of him from the interior.
In the last three games, Lewis has hovered around 35–40% of snaps played. That number should increase on Sunday with Denico Autry already being ruled out due to a concussion. Lewis hasn’t done much to prove he should hold a significant role in the future, but he will have a chance on Sunday.
Whether he will take advantage of his opportunities will be something to watch in this Week 16 matchup
RB Marlon Mack
It has been over a month since we’ve seen the dominant Mack attack. That’s mostly due to the hand fracture he suffered against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 12 but in the two games since returning he hasn’t gotten much going on the ground—albeit against two strong run defenses.
Sunday’s matchup doesn’t get much better for Mack to push his way toward his first 1,000-yard season. The Panthers are atrocious against the run, allowing the third-most rushing yards per game (140.2) and the most yards per carry (5.2) in the NFL. Their 26 touchdowns allowed are the most in the NFL by a wide margin.
If there is any game for Mack to return to form, it’s this one.
CB Rock Ya-Sin
Talk about coming off of a learning experience. The rookie in Ya-Sin had the pleasure of lining up across from the elite Michael Thomas in primetime. It went about as well as you’d expect with Thomas going off and catching all 12 of his targets for 128 yards and a score.
However, those moments are vital for the development of young players. How Ya-Sin responds this week is what is important. While he won’t be lining up across from an elite player like Thomas, he is going against one of the top emerging talents at the position in D.J. Moore.
Moore has 86 receptions for 1,174 yards and four touchdowns on the season in what has been a quietly strong sophomore campaign. It should be a fun matchup for Ya-Sin.
QB Jacoby Brissett
It has been a disappointing campaign for Brissett. Following the retirement of Andrew Luck during the preseason, there were hopes that Brissett would show strides of being a potential future centerpiece in the offense. Off the field, he has certainly achieved that with his leadership and intelligence. However, his play on the field has left much to be desired.
While the Colts are out of the playoffs, they will be tinkering with the offense a bit in the final two games. Head coach Frank Reich hinted they would do so in order to try some new concepts out for Brissett. It will be interesting to see if those changes will help shift the narrative currently surrounding the quarterback position.
It probably won’t but changes in the philosophy and concepts of the offense should have an impact on Brissett’s play. It will be interesting to see if that impact is positive.
