SEATTLE – Welcome to what feels like one of the harder games to read in recent Seahawks’ history.
At the end of October, the Indianapolis Colts were 7-1 keyed by a defense considered one of the best in the NFL and an offense led by superstar running back Jonathan Taylor and quarterback Daniel Jones, who had gone from benched and then cut a year ago with the Giants to sudden MVP candidate.
Now Indy comes to Seattle at 8-5 and with both the defense and Taylor sagging some and Jones out for the season with an Achilles injury.
With Jones sidelined, the Colts this week lured 44-year-old grandfather Philip Rivers out of retirement and it was reported on Saturday that he will start against the Seahawks.
Rivers was reported to have shared time in practice taking snaps with the first-team offense this week with rookie sixth-round pick Riley Leonard, who is the other option for the Colts at QB. But while Rivers has 240 career starts Leonard has zero.
The Colts’ hope with Rivers is that the relationship the future Hall of Famer built during eight years working together with the Chargers and his knowledge of the offense will allow him to pick up where he left off when he last played in 2020.
Vegas is skeptical that can happen, installing the Seahawks – who have won three in a row and seven of their past eight – as 131/2-point favorites, the third time in four weeks Seattle has been favored by 12 or more.
But the presence of Rivers, Taylor (who still leads the NFL in rushing with 1,356 yards) and a defense allowing just 3.8 yards per rushing attempt, third in the NFL, is more than enough cause for concern.
Let’s take closer look at the matchup.
When, where: 1:25 p.m., Sunday, Lumen Field.
TV: CBS, Andrew Catalon (play-by-play), Charles Davis (analyst), Jason McCourty, A.J. Ross (sidelines).
Most recent game in series: The two teams haven’t played since the 2021 season, a 28-16 Seahawks win in Indianapolis in what was the last season for Russell Wilson as Seattle’s QB. The Colts last visited Seattle in 2017, a 26-18 Seahawks win. The Colts lead the all-time series 7-6.
Point spread: Seahawks by 131/2.
Key injuries: The Seahawks have no injury question marks entering the game after placing tight end Elijah Arroyo on Injured Reserve Saturday with a knee injury suffered against Atlanta.
For Indy, starting cornerback Sauce Gardner, who the team acquired at the trade deadline from the Jets, was ruled out Friday with a calf injury, the second straight game he will miss. The Colts also declared out starting right tackle Braden Smith (concussion). Smith will be replaced by rookie Jalen Travis who has no starts and 73 career snaps, 35 coming last week.
Last week’s games: The Seahawks improved to 10-3 with a 37-9 win at Atlanta while the Colts lost at Jacksonville, 36-19 to fall to 8-5.
The big story: Can the Seahawks stay focused and take care of business knowing what lies ahead?
Seahawks fans may be forgiven if they want this game to hurry up and get over with so everyone can start looking forward to Thursday’s Titanic tilt against the Rams, a contest that figures to decide the NFC West, if not the NFC as a whole.
The Seahawks, though, obviously can’t fall prey to such a feeling.
There’s also the chance that with a win they could move into first since the Rams have a tough game at home against desperate Detroit.
Safety Julian Love insisted this week the Seahawks’ focus is on the here and now.
“We have a shot to do something special, but it starts with Indy,” he said. “We said that last week against Atlanta that we can’t get to anything we’re about to get to if we don’t get through these guys. So it’s kind of like ‘all right, let’s be aware of where we are because it’s special right now. We’re in a good spot. But let’s be intentional.’”
Key matchup: Seattle defensive front against Taylor: This will be one of the biggest challenges to Seattle’s streak of going 22 straight games without allowing an opposing player to rush for 100 or more yards, two off the franchise record. The last player to do it was James Cook of Buffalo with 111 when the Bills beat the Seahawks 31-10 on Oct. 27, 2024, a game that probably marks the low point of the Mike Macdonald era.
Seattle ranks fourth in the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game at 91.4.
Now comes Taylor, who has rushed for 100 or more yards five times in 13 games, including 244 last month against Atlanta. With or without Rivers, the Colts are likely to hand the ball to Taylor a lot Sunday and hope it can take pressure off their passing game.
But while Taylor is one of the best backs in the NFL he gets a lot of help from an offensive line considered among the best in the league led by left guard Quenton Nelson. That Travis is stepping in for the injured Smith at right tackle, though, is something the Seahawks may try to exploit.
“I think it starts with up front for the Colts,’’ Seahawks defensive lineman Jarran Reed said. “They’re a very good front. Run schemes are really good. We’ve just got to execute our plays, play our game. We have to control the line of scrimmage.
Key player: Safety Nick Emmanwori: A string of solid games has Emmanwori suddenly listed second behind only Cleveland linebacker Carson Schwesinger in the Vegas odds for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors.
Emmanwori turned in a historic game last Sunday becoming the first player in franchise history to record a sack, a blocked field goal and an interception in the same game.
But he figures to get tested against the Colts as he is likely to often be matched up against Indy rookie tight end Tyler Warren, who is among the favorites for the Offensive Rookie of the Year award with 60 catches for 699 yards and four touchdowns.
Key stat: First-quarter scoring: The Seahawks and Colts are tied for second in points scored in the first quarter with 86 (6.6 per game) behind only the Rams, who have 90.
The Seahawks, though, haven’t scored a touchdown in the first quarter in their last four games and just nine points overall. This feels like a trademark game where you don’t want to let an underdog keep it close.
Two other key questions
Can Sam Darnold play a turnover-free game? Darnold leads the NFL in turnovers with 16 and is averaging one interception per game over his last nine. And looming ominously are the Rams on Thursday, a team that picked off Darold four times last month.
Everyone might feel better if Darnold goes into the rematch coming off a clean game.
Can JSN take advantage of a Sauce-less secondary? The Colts enter the game ranked 29th in the NFL in passing yards allowed and come to Seattle with injury issues in their secondary. Along with Gardner being declared out, cornerback Charvarius Ward was placed on injured reserve earlier in the week after he suffered his third concussion of the season.
That could mean some good opportunities for Seattle receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who rebounded from a season-low two receptions for 23 yards two weeks ago against the Vikings to catch seven for 92 at Atlanta.
Smith-Njigba has already set the team’s single-season record for receiving yards (he now has 1,428) but is also getting within reach of breaking the record he shares with Tyler Lockett for most receptions in a season at 100. Smith-Njigba has 89.
Prediction: The presence of Rivers is an ultimate wild-card. If he really is somehow the Rivers of old then this game could be a lot tougher for Seattle than the oddsmakers expect. The guess here is that Rivers has his moments but not enough to derail the steamrolling Seahawks.
Seahawks 27, Colts 13