INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Colts (6-3) on Sunday play host to the Green Bay Packers (7-2) in their 2020 Week 11 matchup at Lucas Oil Stadium — and, accordingly, it's time to take a look at the team's unofficial depth chart for the game.
Here is a position-by-position look for the Packers matchup, with some notes for each unit:
OFFENSE
» WR: T.Y. Hilton, Michael Pittman Jr., Dezmon Patmon
» LT: Anthony Castonzo, Chaz Green
» LG: Quenton Nelson
» C: Ryan Kelly, Danny Pinter
» RG: Mark Glowinski
» RT: Braden Smith, Le'Raven Clark
» TE: Jack Doyle, Trey Burton
» TE: Mo Alie-Cox, Noah Togiai
» WR: Zach Pascal, DeMichael Harris
» WR: Marcus Johnson
» QB: Philip Rivers, Jacoby Brissett, Jacob Eason
» RB: Jonathan Taylor, Nyheim Hines, Jordan Wilkins
Notes:
» For a second straight game, Jacoby Brissett had just one offensive snap in Thursday night's Week 10 matchup against the Tennessee Titans, but he sure made it count, sneaking it into the end zone on 3rd and Goal from the 2 midway through the fourth quarter, giving the Colts the final cushion they needed in their big 34-17 road divisional win. Since Frank Reich was hired as the Colts' head coach and offensive playcaller in 2018, Brissett has moved the chains or scored a touchdown on 11-of-12 total rushing attempts on 3rd or 4th down with one to three yards to go. Talk about efficient.
» While rookie Jonathan Taylor earned his eighth start of the season Thursday night against the Titans, the Colts certainly ended up riding the hot hand at the running back position once again, this time going with third-year back Nyheim Hines. Hines played 39 total offensive snaps (56 percent) to 17 for Taylor (24 percent) and 14 for Jordan Wilkins (20 percent), and had 17 total touches on the night, finishing with 70 yards rushing and a touchdown, as well as 45 yards receiving and another score, for 115 total yards.
» Michael Pittman Jr.'s stock continues to rise, which was no more evident than on Thursday night against the Titans, when he not only paced all Colts wide receivers with 57 offensive snaps (81 percent), but he had a career day, with seven receptions for 101 yards, as well as a 21-yard run on a third-quarter reverse play. Also at wide receiver, Marcus Johnson didn't end up playing a single snap in the first half Thursday night, but played 18 second-half snaps; he was targeted with one deep pass attempt that was nearly picked off in the end zone by Malcolm Butler, but one of the veteran cornerback's feet were out of bounds when he caught the ball.
» With Jack Doyle missing Thursday's Titans game with a concussion, the Colts used a relatively heavy dose of both Mo Alie-Cox (46 offensive snaps; 66 percent) and Trey Burton (37 offensive snaps; 53 percent) at tight end. Undrafted rookie Noah Togiai also got in on the action, playing 16 offensive snaps (23 percent).
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DEFENSE
» DE: Justin Houston, Ben Banogu
» DT: DeForest Buckner, Tyquan Lewis, Sheldon Day
» NT: Grover Stewart, Taylor Stallworth
» DE: Denico Autry, Al-Quadin Muhammad
» WLB: Darius Leonard, Matthew Adams, Jordan Glasgow
» MLB: Anthony Walker, Zaire Franklin
» SAM: Bobby Okereke, E.J. Speed
» CB: Rock Ya-Sin, T.J. Carrie
» FS: Julian Blackmon, George Odum
» SS: Khari Willis, Tavon Wilson
» N: Kenny Moore II, Isaiah Rodgers
» CB: Xavier Rhodes, Tremon Smith
Notes:
» We seem to highlight this every week by now, but it's still notable how deep the Colts' rotation is up front along the defensive line. On Thursday night against the Titans, eight different defensive tackles and defensive ends played at least 28 percent of the snaps; even defensive end Cassius Marsh, who was just elevated to the active roster from the practice squad hours before the game, had seven defensive snaps (11 percent) on the night.
» It was mostly T.J. Carrie getting the snaps at cornerback in place of Kenny Moore II, who exited Thursday night's game with an injury to his ribs after logging 33 defensive snaps. Carrie played 32 defensive snaps and excelled at the nickel cornerback spot, finishing with one tackle and two passes defensed. Carrie, of course, also scooped up a blocked punt by linebacker E.J. Speed and ran it into the end zone from six yards out for a touchdown. Not a bad night for the veteran Carrie.»
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SPECIALISTS
» P: Rigoberto Sanchez
» PK: Rodrigo Blankenship
» H: Rigoberto Sanchez
» LS: Luke Rhodes
» KR: Isaiah Rodgers
» PR: Nyheim Hines, Isaiah Rodgers
Notes:
» On Thursday night, for just the sixth time of his career — and the third time this season — Rigoberto Sanchez had just one or fewer punting opportunities in a game. Sanchez punted once on the night, which came all the way towards the end of the fourth quarter — a 46-yard punt play. The Colts on Thursday also earned their first win of the season in a game in which Sanchez punted one time or fewer; he did not attempt a punt in the Week 1 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, and he attempted just one punt in the Week 5 loss to the Cleveland Browns.
