If the Colts lose this game, they will lock up the #1 pick in the 2012 NFL Draft…..but the players aren’t throwing this game.  The Colts are playing their best football of the year with now as they have won two games in a row (over the Titans and Texans).  The Jaguars have lost five of their last six games and two in a row.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Colts have the ball:  I see the Colts coming out throwing the ball in this game.  The Jaguars’ secondary is in shambles and they don’t have a good pass rushing team.  WRs Reggie Wayne and Pierre Garcon are going to be free agents after this season is over, so they could be inspired to have big games against the Jaguars this Sunday.  Austin Collie and Jacob Tamme are solid underneath receivers, giving Orlovsky even more weapons to throw to.  Donald Brown and Joseph Addai will make the Jaguars pay if they put in too many DBs this weekend.

When the Jaguars have the ball:  The Jaguars are going to feed the ball to Maurice Jones-Drew.  The Colts are giving up 140.9 yards rushing per game and 4.2 yards per carry, so Jones-Drew is likely to have a big game.  The Colts will try to mount a good pass rush on rookie QB Blaine Gabbert in an effort to force him into making some big mistakes throwing the all.  The Jaguars don’t have any receivers that scare the Colts one bit.

PREDICTION:  COLTS 20, JAGUARS 17

The Colts have claimed 29-year old PR/KR Quan Cosby off waivers from the Broncos.  Cosby played in 10 games for the Broncos this year and he returned 27 punts for 269 yards (10.0 avg) and 17 kickoffs for 457 yards (26.9 avg).  Cosby has now played 3 years in the NFL and he has appeared in 42 games in which he has caught 6 passes for 71 yards (11.8 avg).  Cosby has also returned 97 punts for 968 yards (10.0 avg) and 33 kickoffs for 740 yards (22.4 avg) so far in his career.  He also has 13 tackles in his career.  Look for Cosby to return all punts and kickoffs for the Colts this weekend against the Jaguars.

The Colts have placed 27-year old linebacker Philip Wheeler on the Injured Reserve List, ending his season due to a foot injury.  Wheeler played in 13 games for the Colts this year and he had 84 tackles, 1 sack, 2 tackles for a loss and 1 forced fumble.  He has now played in 61 games in his first four years in the NFL and he has 220 tackles, 2 sacks, 7 tackles for a loss, 2 forced fumbles and 2 passes defensed.

31-year old DE Dwight Freeney has been elected as a starter in the Pro Bowl.  He has played in 15 games for the Colts so far this year and he has 18 tackles, 7.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 1 tackle for a loss.  I think this was a pick based on reputation because a lot of DEs have played way better than Freeney in the AFC so far this year.  Freeney has now played in 148 games in his first 10 years with the Colts and he had 285 tackles, 101.5 sacks, 43 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries, 14 passes defensed and 32 tackles for a loss.

Dan Orlovsky led the Colts on a 12-play, 78 yard TD drive with 2:01 left in the game.  He hit Reggie Wayne with a 1-yard TD pass with 24 seconds left in the game to give the Colts their second win in a row.  Orlovsky completed 23 of 41 passes for 244 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  Joseph Addai led the way on the ground for the Colts in this game with 59 yards rushing on 19 carries (3.1 ypc).  Donald Brown pitched in with 35 yards rushing on 11 carries (3.2 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 13 yards (6.5 avg).  WR Reggie Wayne (8 rec, 106 yards, TD) led the way for the Colts in the passing game.  WRs Pierre Garcon (6 rec, 50 yards) and Austin Collie (3 rec, 49 yards) also had solid games for the Colts last night.  The Colts finished up wit 95 yards rushing on 32 carries (3.0 ypc) and they also completed 23 of 41 passes (56.1%) for 225 yards as they had possession of the ball for 32:55.

The defense was pretty solid when it counted last night.  Safety Antoine Bethea led the way for the Colts on D with 9 tackles.  LB Kavell Conner (6 tackles, 1 tackle for a l0ss) and DE Robert Mathis (3 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 2 sacks, 1 QB hit and 1 fumble recovery) also had solid games for the Colts’ D last night.  The Texans finished up with 171 yards rushing on 31 carries (5.5 ypc) and they also completed 13 of 16 passes (81.3%) for 112 yards in this game.  The Colts are now 2-13 on the season.

The Colts finally broke the seal last weekend against the Titans, beating them 27-13.  The Colts are 9-0 at home against the Texans, which should give them confidence tonight.  The Texans lost 28-13 against the Panthers last weekend, as they had a 7-game winning streak snapped.  The Texans punished the Colts 34-7 in Houston in the season opener.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Colts have the ball:  The Colts finally had a good gameplan last weekend when they were a running team first.  Look for the same thing tonight with Donald Brown being the main man, getting help from Joseph Addai and Delone Carter.  The Colts need to have a good running game to help slow the Texans’ pass rush a little bit, and give QB Dan Orlovsky a chance to make some plays in the air.  Reggie Wayne and Pierre Garcon could have a rough time against the Texans tonight as opposing QBs only have a 64.9 QB Rating against them this year.

When the Texans have the ball:  The Colts are going to have to tighten up their chinstraps tonight as the Texans are going to try to push them around in the running game.  Arian Foster and Ben Tate are likely both going to have heavy workloads against a Colts’ D that is allowing 138.7 yards rushing per game and 4.1 yards per carry.  If T.J. Yates has time to throw the ball he’s likely going to be really effective as the Colts are allowing a 104.5 QB Rating so far this year for opposing QBs.

PREDICTION:  TEXANS 23, COLTS 13

The Indianapolis Colts smoked the Titans today behind an outstanding running game and a solid D.  Dan Orlovsky was a game manager today as he completed 11 of 17 passes for 82 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  Donald Brown had his best game of his NFL career today.  He carried the ball 16 times for 161 yards (10.1 avg) with 1 TD run.  His TD run was a 80-yard backbreaker in the 4th quarter for the Colts.  Joseph Addai (11 carries for 20 yards) and Delone Carter (3 carries for 19 yards) also pitched in for the Colts on the ground.  WRs Reggie Wayne (3 rec, 33 yards, TD) and Pierre Garcon (2 rec, 24 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Colts today.  The Colts finished up with 205 yards rushing on 34 carries (6.0 ypc) and they also completed 11 of 17 passes (64.7%) for 82 yards as they had possession of the ball for 28:03.

The Colts gave up a lot of passing yards today, but they also made some huge plays on D to even things out.  LB Ernie Sims (15 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss), LB Pat Angerer (12 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 2 passes defensed and 1 interception), CB Jacob Lacey (12 tackles, 2 passes defensed and a interception that he returned 32 yards for a TD) and CB Chris Rucker (11 tackles and 1 fumble recovery) led the way on D today.  The Titans finished up with 66 yards rushing on 19 carries (3.5 ypc) and they also completed 38 of 56 passes (67.9%) for 322 yards.  The Colts have broken the seal as they are now 1-13 on the season.

The Colts have played better since the bye week three weeks ago, but they still have not won a game.  The Colts lost to the Titans 27-10 in Tennessee in the first meeting between these two teams.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Colts have the ball:  The Colts are going to try to be more balanced in this game, but it won’t work if they continue to fall behind so early in games.  The Colts would like to run the ball with Donald Brown, Delone Carter and Joseph Addai against a Titans’ D that is giving up 121.8 yards rushing per game and 4.3 yards per carry.  The Colts should be able to pass the ball o.k. as long as Dan Orlovsky has time to throw the ball.  He will likely spread the ball around to Pierre Garcon, Austin Collie, Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark and Jacob Tamme in this game.  The Titans are giving up 240.4 yards passing per game this year, so there will be plays to be made by the Colts in the passing game.

When the Titans have the ball:  The Colts must stop Chris Johnson.  When he gets going, the Titans’ offense really performs at a high level.  The Colts are going to have to get after whoever starts at QB for the Titans (Matt Hasselbeck or Jake Locker), because if they have time to throw the ball, they are going to have success.  The Titans love to stretch the field throwing the ball to WR Nate Washington.  WRs Damian Williams and Lavelle Hawkins are also stepping up, so the Colts’ secondary is going to be tested once again this Sunday.

PREDICTION:  TITANS 24, COLTS 13

28-year old QB Dan Orlovksy has been starting slowly in games and finishing strongly in the 4th quarter.  He has played in 5 games for the Colts so far this year and he has completed 61 of 95 passes (64.2%) for 611 yards with 3 TD passes and 2 INTs (84.1 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 1 time for -1 yard so far this year.  If the Colts are going to win a game this year, they are going to need Orlovsky to play a solid game from start to finish.

The Colts were pathetic on both sides of the ball.  The score is a lot closer than the game was as Dan Orlovsky hit TE Jacob Tamme for a 13-yard TD pass on the last play of the game.  Orlovsky completed 17 of 37 passes for 136 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  Donald Brown (9 carries for 28 yards), Joseph Addai (2 carries for 16 yards) and Delone Carter (5 carries for 6 yards) led the way on the ground for the Colts in this game.  WRs Pierre Garcon (5 rec, 46 yards), Reggie Wayne (4 rec, 41 yards) and Austin Collie (4 rec, 25 yards) led the way for the Colts in the passing game yesterday.  The Colts finished up with 50 yards rushing on 16 carries (3.1 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 37 passes (45.9%) for 117 yards as they only had possession of the ball for 23:52.

The Colts’ defense was not too good yesterday.  Safety Antoine Bethea (11 tackles and 1 pass defensed), CB Jacob Lacey (9 tackles and 3 passes defensed), LB Philip Wheeler (9 tackles) and LB Kavell Conner (7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 fumble recovery) led the way for the Colts on D in this game.  Safety Joe Lefeged pitched in with an interception.  The Ravens finished up with 146 yards rushing on 37 carries (3.9 ypc) and they also completed 23 of 31 passes (74.2%) for 212 yards.  The Colts are now 0-13 on the season.