The Colts have won three games in a row and they now control their own destiny as far as the playoffs are concerned.  If they win this Sunday they will be the AFC South Champions with either a #3 or a #4 seed.  The Titans have lost 7 of their last 8 games but they might be inspired to spoil  the Colts’ season.  They only lost by 2 points (30-28) in the first meeting between these teams just three weeks ago.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Colts have the ball:  The Colts are going to come out throwing against the Titans.  The Titans are giving up 251.7 yards passing per game so look for Manning to spread the ball around to Reggie Wayne, Pierre Garcon, Jacob Tamme and Blair White.  Joseph Addai, Dominic Rhodes and Donald Brown will also be active running the ball but they will have to earn every yard against a Titans’ D that is only allowing 3.9 yards per carry.

When the Titans have the ball:  The Colts need to key on stopping Chris Johnson and it won’t be easy as the Colts are giving up 132.1 yards rushing per game and 4.7 yards per carry.  The Colts can force Kerry Collins into making big mistakes if they can get a good pass rush on him this Sunday.  But, the Colts will need to key on stopping Kenny Britt (who has been outstanding this year) and TE Jared Cook who is developing into one of Kerry Collins’ favorite targets.

PREDICTION:  COLTS 30, TITANS 23

29-year old Robert Mathis and 30-year old Dwight Freeney still have a lot left in the tank for the Indianapolis Colts.  Mathis has played in 15 games for the Colts so far this year and he has 56 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 11 sacks and 1 forced fumble.  Mathis is the better all around player because he’s also a solid run defender which Freeney really isn’t.  Mathis has now played in 118 games in his first 8 years with the Colts and he has 348 tackles, 10 passes defensed, 74 sacks and 36 forced fumbles  Dwight Freeney has played in 15 games for the Colts this year and he has 24 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 9 sacks, 2 passes defensed and 5 forced fumbles.  He has now played in 132 games in his first 9 years with the Colts and he has 266 tackles, 14 passes defensed, 93 sacks and 41 forced fumbles.  The Colts have to be glad that Mathis & Freeney are showing no signs of slowing down as they are the two biggest impact players that they have on defense.

The Colts have claimed 26-year old cornerback Mike Richardson off waivers from the Chiefs.  Richardson played in 11 games last season for the Chiefs and he had 14 tackles.  He has now played in 21 games in his first two years in the NFL and he has 31 tackles and 1 forced fumble.  To make room on the roster for Richardson, the Colts have released 23-year old rookie CB David Pender.  Pender played in 3 games for the Colts this year and he made 2 tackles.  He was a undrafted rookie out of Purdue.  The Colts hope that Richardson will help them more on special teams then Pender would have.

The Colts played conservative yesterday on offense and just good enough to get the job done over a pesky Oakland Raiders team.  Peyton Manning completed 16 of 30 passes for only 179 yards with 3 TD passes and 2 INTs.  He also carried the ball 3 times for 25 yards (8.3 ypc) yesterday.  Dominic Rhodes led the way on the ground for the Colts in this game with 98 yards on 17 carries (5.8 ypc) showing that he still has a lot left in his gas tank.  Joseph Addai returned from injury to rush for 45 yards on 12 carries (3.8 ypc) with a TD run.  Donald Brown pitched in with 28 yards rushing on 6 carries (4.7 ypc) in this game.  TE Jacob Tamme led the way for the Colts in the passing game yesterday with 7 grabs for 78 yards (11.1 avg) with a TD grab.  WRs Reggie Wayne (3 rec, 40 yards), Pierre Garcon (3 rec, 35 yards, TD) and Blair White (2 rec, 20 yards, TD) also pitched in for the Colts in the passing game.  The Colts finished up with 191 yards rushing on 39 carries (4.9 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 30 passes for 179 yards in this game.

The defense was pretty solid in this game for the Colts.  LB Tyjuan Hagler (9 tackles and 1 pass defensed) and safety Antoine Bethea (8 tackles) led the way for the Colts in this game.  LB Gary Brackett (7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1/2 a sack and 1 QB hit) and DE Robert Mathis (6 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1.5 sacks and 4 QB hits) also had big games for the Colts’ D yesterday.  The Raiders finished up with 80 yards rushing on 20 carries (4.0 ypc) and they also completed 29 of 42 passes for 210 yards.  The Colts did have a big blip on special teams though as Jacoby Ford of the Raiders returned the opening kickoff of this game 99 yards for a TD!  The Colts are now 9-6 on the season.  They can clinch the AFC South next weekend with either a win over the Titans in Indy or a Jags loss in Houston.

The Colts will win the AFC South if the can beat the Raiders in Oakland and the Titans in Indy.  This weekend is the tougher task of the two because the Colts just have not played well on the road where they are 3-4 on the year.  The Raiders beat the Broncos last weekend and they can still win the AFC West with 2 wins + some help.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Colts have the ball:  The Raiders are a blitz happy team with 40 sacks so Peyton Manning is going to have to get rid of the ball quickly on Sunday.  That shouldn’t be a problem for him.  Manning needs to make sure that he throws the ball to Pierre Garcon, Blair White and Jacob Tamme because the Raiders are going to pay special attention to Reggie Wayne.  The Colts hope to run the ball a little more than usual in this game with Joseph Addai & Donald Brown against a Raiders’ D that is giving up 130.9 yards rushing per game and 4.5 yards per carry.

When the Raiders have the ball:  The Raiders average 157.5 yards rushing per game and 4.9 yards per carry so the defense is going to have to tighten up the chinstraps.  Darren McFadden, Michael Bush and Marcel Reece give the Raiders a very talented and deep corps at RB.   The Colts are going to have to get after Jason Campbell when he drops back to pass because Jacoby Ford, Louis Murphy and Zach Miller give him three big play receivers.

PREDICTION:  RAIDERS 27, COLTS 23

The Indianapolis Colts have signed 29-year old safety Ken Hamlin.  Hamlin played in 7 games earlier this year for the Ravens and he had 3 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception.  Hamlin has now played in 105 games in his first 8 years in the NFL and he has 489 tackles, 50 passes defensed, 5 sacks, 5 forced fumbles and 15 interceptions.  This was a nice pickup for the Colts as Hamlin should be able to help out both the secondary and the special teams.

The Colts have placed 25-year old WR Austin Collie on the Injured Reserve List due to a nasty concussion.  This is a huge blow to the Colts as Peyton Manning was 58 of 71 (81.7%) when passing to Collie.  Collie played in 9 games for the Colts this year and he caught 58 passes for 649 yards (11.2 avg) with 8 TD grabs.  He has now played in 25 games in his first two years with the Colts and he has caught 118 passes for 1,325 yards (11.2 avg) with 15 TD grabs.

The Jaguars cut the Colts’ lead to 27-24 with only 1:54 left in the football game.  That is when Jags’ kicker Josh Scobee tried an onside kick which Tyjuan Hagler picked up and returned 41 yards for a TD to put this game on ice.  Peyton Manning was solid in this game for the Colts as he completed 29 of 39 passes for 229 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs.  Donald Brown was the star of the show in this game for the Colts with 14 carries for 129 yards (9.2 ypc) with a TD run.  Dominic Rhodes pitched in with 9 carries for 26 yards (2.9 ypc) in this game.  Austin Collie led the way in the passing game for the Colts with 8 grabs for 87 yards (10.9 avg) with 2 TD grabs before leaving this game with a concussion.  The Colts finished up with 155 yards rushing on 24 carries (6.5 ypc) and they also completed 29 of 39 passes for 221 yards.

LB Pat Angerer (8 tackles) and safety Antoine Bethea (5 tackles, 2 passes defensed, 1 interception and 1 QB hit) led the way for the D in this game.  The Jaguars finished up with 67 yards rushing on 22 carries (3.0 ypc) and they completed 24 of 38 passes for 289 yards.  Mike Thomas of the Jaguars returned a punt 78 yards for a TD in this game so it wasn’t all good for the Colts’ special teams in this game.  With this win the Colts have tied the Jaguars atop the AFC South with a 8-6 record.

The Colts need to win this game, period.  If the Jaguars beat them then the only way the Colts could maybe make the playoffs is with wins against the Raiders and Titans with some big time help.  The Jaguars are super hot right now, winning 5 of their last six games.  Keep in mind that the Jags beat the Colts 30-28 earlier this year and they will win the AFC South if they can sweep the Colts.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Colts have the ball:  The Colts are going to have to attack the Jaguars early and often through the air.  The Jaguars are giving up 258.3 yards passing per game so far this year and they don’t have much of a pass rush.  That is a lethal combo when you are trying to defend Peyton Manning.  Manning will have to have faith in some of his other receivers because the Jags are going to likely be giving special attention to Reggie Wayne.  It’s too bad that the Colts suck at running the ball because the Jags’ don’t have a good run D.

When the Jaguars have the ball:  The Jaguars rushed for 174 yards on 35 carries (5.0 ypc) in the first meeting and that’s the same gameplan they will likely have this Sunday.  The Colts are giving up 141.1 yards rushing per game and 4.8 yards per carry so I think they are going to have a hard time stopping Maurice Jones-Drew and Rashad Jennings.  David Garrard will likely take some shots down the field to Mike Thomas & Marcedes Lewis off of playaction.

PREDICTION:  JAGUARS 33, COLTS 30

Peyton Manning turned things around last night for the Colts and they needed him to overcome another poor effort from the defense.  Manning completed 25 of 35 passes for 319 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs as both of his TDs went to Pierre Garcon.  Javarris James led the way for the Colts on the ground last night with 49 yards rushing on 17 carries (2.9 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Donald Brown pitched in with 38 yards rushing on 15 carries (2.5 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 24 yards (8.0 avg).  WRs Reggie Wayne (4 rec, 106 yards), Pierre Garcon (6 rec, 93 yards, 2 TDs) and Blair White (7 rec, 52 yards) led the way for the Colts in the passing game.  The Colts finished up with 87 yards rushing on 32 carries (2.7 ypc) and they also completed 25 of 35 passes for 312 yards as they had possession of the ball for 32:31.

CB Jacob Lacey (8 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss) and LB Tyjuan Hagler (6 tackles, 1 fumble recovery) led the way for the Colts’ D in this game.  The Titans finished up with 121 yards rushing on 25 carries (4.8 ypc) and they also completed 28 of 39 passes for 244 yards.  The Colts are now 7-6 on the season setting up a huge game next Sunday against the Jaguars at Lucas Oil Field.