Baltimore Ravens vs. Indianapolis Colts: 3 key matchups to watch
By Joe Schiller
1. C.J. Mosley vs. Jack Doyle
It was a bounce-back game not only for Brandon Carr but for inside linebacker C.J. Mosley as well. He not stepped up against the Browns in the run game but looked much better against the pass. Tight end David Njoku was held without a catch and Seth Devalve was limited to just 32 receiving yards. The Ravens completely took away the passing game against the Browns and much of that success had to do with Mosley’s pass coverage in the middle of the field. He’ll face another tough matchup against Colts tight end Jack Doyle this week.
The Colts’ passing offense isn’t something to rave about but Doyle is the second-leading receiver behind T.Y. Hilton with 611 receiving yards and three touchdowns. He can prove to be a matchup problem at 6-5 and Mosley will have his hands full keeping Doyle away from the football. We aren’t going to see Brissett launch a lot of deep balls and Doyle is one of the receivers he looks to target in the short and intermediate passing game. The Colts are just 37.4% on third-down conversions this season and taking away Doyle lowers that even more.
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The key to this matchup is keeping Doyle from getting into the third level and beyond of the defense. Whether it’s getting a chip on him at the line of scrimmage or whatever it takes, Mosley and the defense must limit the tight end game as much as possible. Chuck Pagano knows the Ravens defense and he’s going to do his best to try to exploit it.