The Indianapolis Colts will take on the Baltimore Ravens in Week 3, and they’ll have the challenge of trying to stop Lamar Jackson and a talented offense.
By John Makuch
The Indianapolis Colts have a difficult matchup on the Week 3 afternoon slate in Baltimore against Lamar Jackson and the Ravens. Baltimore comes into this game at 2-0 after a key win against their rival Cincinnati Bengals who are off to a rough start. This Ravens offense looks dynamic and dangerous as usual, so the Colts will need to implement some strategies to shut it down as best as possible. They are one of those teams you know you won’t be able to stop, but they have been slowed down plenty of times.
In terms of storylines with Baltimore you obviously have the history of the Baltimore Colts, but their most recent matchup is one to look at. Back in 2021 the Colts were up 22-9 on these Ravens in the third quarter, but Lamar Jackson did Lamar Jackson things.
The Ravens came storming all the way back from that deficit to embarrass the Colts in primetime. Jackson threw for 442 yards and four touchdowns while completing 37-of-43 passes. This game confirmed a season that would not end well for the Colts, as they could not recover from falling to 1-4 on the year after that game
The Colts will look to prevent a similar performance from happening again. Here’s how the Colts can ensure that doesn’t happen in this showdown.
3) Stop Lamar Jackson from running all over this defense
The tried and true way to stop Lamar Jackson is to run a heavy amount of nickel packages to counter the speed of Jackson. This secondary will need to be ready to come down and stop his legs, so the corners may have to do their fair share of blitzing or playing a bit shallow to be ready.
A game against Jackson is always one of the tougher games to scheme for, so Gus Bradley will have his hands full in terms of where he wants to put guys. Look for someone like Julian Blackmon to make some big plays and potentially get thrown in on some pressures if need be.
At the end of the day though, Jackson is going to get his yards on the ground, it is just a matter of how much he affects the game with his legs. The Colts will have to give him a few runs to avoid big plays down the field, and this was not usually an issue as the team lacked playmakers, but now they have some decent deep threats.
The Ravens’ offense is so dynamic that even the best defenses struggle in these situations, but this team will need to find a way to hold Jackson’s mobility to a minimum if they want a chance to win. While that is much easier said than done, it will also be a good test for some of the younger defensive players that will see a unique offense that they will have to get used to in the AFC for a long time.
2) Shut down Zay Flowers and Mark Andrews
Speaking of some of those offensive weapons, the Ravens have some crucial playmakers on the offensive end. Mark Andrews is a staple when it comes to red zone packages for this Ravens offense, he has always been a favorite target of Jackson once the offense gets there.
Zay Flowers, the rookie out of Boston College has also burst out onto the scene in the first couple games of the season, and he’s made some big plays, most notably a 52-yard snag last week against the Bengals. He is expected to be a huge target for the foreseeable future for this team, so this secondary will need to lock in.
Andrews is getting back to full health now, and Flowers has a couple of games under his belt, so these are the two playmakers to really target. With the mobility of Jackson and a decent running game, the Ravens do like to run the ball in the redzone, but oftentimes old reliable Andrews is the go to option.
By forcing the Ravens to make other receivers beat them, this forces Baltimore to go into their depth which is not as strong as other teams. While that is all easier said than done, strategic double teams will have to be used here, and if this defense prepares well enough they can do as well as they can hope to shut down these guys.
These players are going to make some big plays most likely, but if the Colts find a way to shut them down, Baltimore’s offense will be forced to run the ball and run it well.
1) Focus on the run game beyond Lamar Jackson
When it comes to Baltimore’s rushing attack, this includes Lamar Jackson plus their decent talent at the running back position. While they lost J.K. Dobbins to injury, they still have Justice Hill and Gus Edwards to handle the rock.
They really only have these two running backs, but they do compliment each other well. Edwards is a very physical runner who will end up in short yardage and goal line situations, while Hill will get a good bulk of the carries becuase of his speed and elusiveness.
What makes these guys hard to stop is not just the physicality of their run game, but the option plays that Jackson’s speed opens up. Having to guess whether the speedy Jackson or the freight train that is Edwards will be coming at you at full speed is almost impossible to stop.
Studying and shutting down those option plays should have been a major focus on defensive meetings, so we will see how much they locked in on that aspect on Sunday. This also goes for RPO action, as the threat of Jackson adds a whole new layer to your usual approach.
The Colts will have a lot to work through before this tough matchup, but locking in defensively is going to be beyond important against this offense led by one of the best quarterbacks we have seen in a while.
Originally posted on horseshoeheroes.com