The Indianapolis Colts (4-2) are set to host the Denver Broncos (2-5) at Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday for a Week 8 matchup.
The halfway point in the season arrives with the Colts sitting in the middle of a favorable schedule that could help them create separation in the division and in the conference.
Here are the four biggest storylines ahead of the Week 8 matchup between the Colts and Broncos:
Malik Hooker returns
The Colts have been without one of their starting safeties in Hooker since he suffered a torn meniscus following the Week 3 win against the Atlanta Falcons. They’ve done a nice job filling in for him, but the former first-round pick brings a nice boost to the defense.
The Colts defense has been impressive in their last two games. They held the Kansas City Chiefs offense to 13 points in Week 5 and the Houston Texans offense to 23 points in Week 7.
Hooker’s return is huge for the defense because opposing offenses won’t want to test the unit downfield as much given his immense range and ball skills.
Emmanuel Sanders trade
Before the week of practices in preparation started for both teams, the Broncos made a deal to send one of their best offensive players in Sanders to the San Francisco 49ers. This changed the game plan a little bit for the Colts defense and only made their matchup more favorable.
With Sanders gone, the Broncos will be relying on second-year wideout Courtland Sutton to continue stepping up in a bigger role—as he has for the majority of this season. They will also be relying on DaeSean Hamilton to fill a bigger role.
The Colts defense has a favorable matchup against the Broncos offense, but the latter became even less explosive with the trade of Sanders.
Colts are favored
The Colts are relatively strong favorites at home against the Broncos in Week 8. Listed as 5.5-point favorites, the Colts should be able to come away with a win if all goes according to plan.
The Colts have won four out of their last five games—with the one loss coming as an upset against the Oakland Raiders. At home, Indy’s defense has a chance to shut down the Broncos offense led by Joe Flacco as long as they key on the running game.
The Colts have a stretch of games coming up in which they are likely to be favored, and it starts with this Week 8 matchup.
Jacoby Brissett has been on fire in the red zone
The Colts are still waiting to see if Brissett is the long-term answer, but he had his best game in Week 7. He threw for a career-high 326 yards and four touchdowns.
What has been an impressive start for Brissett includes his prowess in the red zone. Brissett currently leads all NFL quarterbacks with 13 touchdown passes inside the 20-yard-line. He also hasn’t thrown an interception in the red zone either.
The Colts don’t know what the future holds for Brissett, but he’s gotten off to a strong start helping lead Indy to a 4-2 record.
