We're back with another edition of The Colts Show Mailbag, where I'll answer listener, viewer and reader questions here on Colts.com every week.
You can submit your questions to me a few ways: At Colts.com/Mailbag, on social media (like X and Instagram) and in the YouTube comments for the podcast.
We weren't able to get to a question on the podcast this week, but I got plenty here on Colts.com. The podcast this week features a conversation with safety Nick Cross, who talked about Lou Anarumo, watching Bob Sanders tape and his wild high school recruiting process. You can get the episode wherever you get your podcasts, including on:
Let's dive into the rest of this week's batch of questions:
Cheryl Kukla (Fishers, Ind.): How are we going to slow down Justin Herbert this coming weekend with our depleted secondary?
Jon Lowry (Peoria, Ill.) What is the status / timeline of Kenny Moore II's Achilles injury? Excited to have him back with the team riding high!
JJ Stankevitz: We'll see about Moore, who was a limited participant in practice on Wednesday for the first time since sustaining that Achilles injury in the Colts' Week 3 win over the Tennessee Titans. The Colts didn't place Moore on injured reserve after – which would've sidelined him through at least Week 7 – and that indicated he would at least have a chance to come back by Sunday's game in Los Angeles. But that's not a guarantee he'll play. We'll learn more when Friday's final practice report of the week comes out.
We'll also learn more about the status of Charvarius Ward Sr. (concussion) on Friday.
As for slowing down Herbert, a few things here. A huge key will be efficiency on early downs and then creating pressure on third down – which is the case every week, of course, but against a quarterback as good as Herbert it'll be critical.
On first and second down, the Chargers' offense is 16th in yards per play (5.4), 17th in success rate (33.9 percent) and 24th in EPA per play (-.040); making sure Los Angeles doesn't out-perform those averages is step one to then create some third downs where the Colts can get after Herbert.
Yes, Jacoby Brissett hit some big-time throws on third down last week – specifically, the third-and-15 and third-and-17 completions he found for first downs. But when he was pressured, Brissett completed just one of four passes on third down and was sacked twice.
Herbert, when pressured on third down this season, is 9/20 for 85 yards with two interceptions and five sacks taken; just five of those completions have resulted in a first down. When he's not pressured on third down, he's 24/34 for 242 yards with one interception; 21 completions have generated a first down, tied for second-most in the NFL when not pressured on third down.
So, sure, the Colts' secondary could again be depleted on Sunday. But this is a game where the Colts' pass rush may need to help out the guys in the secondary by consistently effecting Herbert, especially on third down.
Dave O'Brian (Indianapolis): With AR out on IR, how comfortable do you feel with Riley Leonard being QB2 in his absence?
JJ Stankevitz: A big reason why I'm comfortable, Dave, is Leonard at the very least is going to be exceptionally well-prepared if he needs to play. My Colts.com colleague Amanda Foster had a nice story on how Leonard is handling being QB2 this week here.
But going back to when the Colts drafted him, head coach Shane Steichen highlighted Leonard's athletic playmaking ability and how he led Notre Dame to the College Football Playoff championship game last season.
"I just think the athletic ability that he has at the quarterback position, what he was able to do at Notre Dame this year, leading them to the National Championship speaks volumes of the player and the competitor that he is," Steichen said. "Just to add that depth in that room is big."
Matt Stuthers (Pine, Ariz.): Let's have a little fun with this one. What is your best rebuttal to statements like these?
- They have a cupcake schedule!
- They SHOULD have won against those teams!
- They haven't played any good teams!
My favorite is simple, "The Colts should have won and did. I can't win with you, so I'll let the Colts keep doing the winning."
JJ Stankevitz: This is a fun one. Let's start with the top two here, which are in reference to four of the Colts' five wins coming against teams under .500. Those four wins:
- Week 1: 33-8 W over Miami Dolphins (1-5)
- Week 3: 41-20 W over Tennessee Titans (1-5)
- Week 5: 40-6 W over Las Vegas Raiders (2-4)
- Week 6: 31-27 W over Arizona Cardinals (2-4)
What do you notice about those scores?
Three of the four are by 21 or more points. The Colts, from 2022-2024, had zero wins by 21 or more points. The 2025 Colts are the only team in the NFL with three wins by 21 or more points entering Week 7; the Detroit Lions and Houston Texans have had two apiece.
For some more context here, in 2024, 13 teams didn't have a single win by 21+ points. Of the 11 teams that had three or more wins by 21+ points, nine made the playoffs (the New Orleans Saints and Cardinals were the outliers).
The point being: For the most part, beating multiple teams by three touchdowns is a sign of a good team.
As for the last question – the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Rams are good teams. The Colts won narrowly over Denver, then lost a close game in Los Angeles. A winning formula for any team is to beat up on "bad" teams and then compete in one-score games with good teams. So far, that's exactly what the Colts have done.
Maverick Wilkins (Indiana): Starting at Week 7 and looking forward to Week 18 it is a pretty rough schedule. Do you think the Colts will pull through and have a top 4 seed in the playoffs or do you think they will start to slip from the playoff picture?
JJ Stankevitz: Good question here from Maverick, since I've caught myself looking ahead a bit too even after this weekend's trip to face the 4-2 Chargers. Here's the Colts' remaining schedule:
| Week | Opponent | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | @ LA Chargers | 4-2 |
| 8 | vs. Tennessee Titans | 1-5 |
| 9 | @ Pittsburgh Steelers | 4-1 |
| 10 | vs. Atlanta Falcons (Berlin) | 3-2 |
| 11 | BYE WEEK | BYE WEEK |
| 12 | @ Kansas City Chiefs | 3-3 |
| 13 | vs. Houston Texans | 2-3 |
| 14 | @ Jacksonville Jaguars | 4-2 |
| 15 | @ Seattle Seahawks | 4-2 |
| 16 | vs. San Francisco 49ers | 4-2 |
| 17 | vs. Jacksonville Jaguars | 4-2 |
| 18 | @ Houston Texans | 2-3 |
By future opponent winning percentage, the Colts have the fifth-hardest remaining schedule in the NFL (.565). A lot can change between now and early January, of course, but the thing I'm circling here is the Colts facing the Jaguars and Texans four total times over the final six weeks of the season. Odds are, that stretch will be where the AFC South is decided (don't discount Houston making a run after their bye week; their defense is outstanding and C.J. Stroud is a good quarterback).
The flip side here is all these teams are looking at the Colts and saying to themselves – that's going to be a tough game. And for a lot of the reasons I outlined in the previous question, I'd expect the Colts to continue to be competitive as they navigate a challenging stretch of their schedule.
