The Denver Broncos play the Indianapolis Colts in Week 15, which is after their bye, and this is the winning formula to get the victory. The Colts are not a good football team and have recently benefitted from QB Anthony Richardson'd off-schedule ability late in games.
It's a huge reason why they won their Week 13 game against the New England Patriots. The Colts are 6-7 on the season and two games behind the Broncos in the AFC Playoff Picture. A win over the Colts in Week 15 would essentially knock them out of the playoffs, and would knock the Colts out of the Broncos way, which is huge.
The Colts have won their six games this season by a combined 19 points. They've never blown a team out or won a game by more than six points. They've lost their seven games by a combined 50 points, so they don't get blown out either.
This team keeps is close almost every single week, but just do not have the talent at QB to consistently win yet. Moreover, the formula to win in Week 15 is apparent, as their run defense is among the worst in football. They have allowed triple-digit rushing yards in all but three games this year, and they have four games allowing at least 150 yards in the ground, and another three allowing at least 200 yards.
Their defense is on the field quite a bit, which can also tell you that they aren't always the best at sustaining drives. Indy has given up the second-most rushing yards in the NFL this season. They allow 4.6 yards per carry, which is the fifth-highest in the NFL, and they do have the second-most rushing attempts against their defense.
It's a bad and sometimes horrific rush defense, and being that they are playing this game in Denver, the method of attack is obvious, right? With the home crowd on their side, it's crucial that Denver is able to establish the run game. Being able to extend drives allows them to keep Anthony Richardson off the field, who is a QB that enters into a new tier in the fourth quarter and is someone who is not at all afraid of taking shots downfield.
The Colts season is hanging by a thread as we approach Week 15, so this team is likely to be very desperate for a win. The hope here is that the Broncos can match their desperation in what could be the most crucial win in the post-Super Bowl 50 era.
