Colts Notebook: Tyquan Lewis Nearing Return

Source: Lauren Leigh Bacho / Getty

INDIANAPOLIS – The Colts will welcome one of the best teams in the NFL on Sunday afternoon.

It’s the potent Detroit Lions (9-1) taking on the Colts (4-6) at 1:00 PM in Week 12.

What did we learn from the Colts first practice (walk through) of the week?

No LT-Bernhard Raimann (knee) if the Colts had practiced on Wednesday. They held a walk through for the second straight Wednesday. Shane Steichen labeled LT-Bernhard Raimann (knee) as ‘week-to-week’ last Friday as the young left tackle missed the Jets game. In starting 3 rookie offensive linemen against the Jets, the Colts had arguably their worst OL outing of the year. Detroit is pretty banged up on their defensive front though, so maybe the issues there won’t be as abundant, if Raimann has to miss another week.

Undoubtedly, Sunday was Anthony Richardson’s finest hour as a pro. Now the question for Richardson becomes can he follow-up success with more success and string together some consistency? Richardson’s brightest moment collegiately came in a 2022 season-opening primetime win over Utah, in which AR combined for 270 yards and 3 touchdowns, including the game-winner. For the week after, some labeled Richardson a sleeper for the Heisman Trophy with a matchup against fellow NFL prospect Will Levis waiting the next week. Richardson responded to that game by going 14-of-35 for 2 interceptions and a costly pick 6 against Levis and Kentucky. Looking back on that game, Richardson admits he was too amped up. Some two-plus years later, how will Richardson handle this recent form of individual success/public praise?

The Colts believe Anthony Richardson gets something a bit extra from a run-game commitment early in a contest. That’s going to be interesting to watch as Richardson gets back to playing week after week. Does his body stay up with more hits on him? Does the run-game find more success/will the Colts stick with it even if it is tough sledding in that area? Do the Colts feel more confident in Richardson as a thrower to alleviate some of those extra hits? Again, what Richardson showed in that 4^th quarter, with his arm, is something we haven’t seen from a Colts quarterback in quite some time.

The Colts opened up the 21-day practice window for veteran DL-Tyquan Lewis (elbow). An elbow injury in Week 4 sent the versatile Lewis to injured reserve. Lewis had 1.5 sacks, 2 tackles for loss and 3 quarterback hits in his 4 games, all starts, played this season. He was playing north of 60 percent of the weekly snaps so his return would be welcomed in improving the edge depth. A reminder that opening up a 21-day window means Lewis can practice this week, and play as early as Sunday. The Colts have 21 days to either activate Lewis to the 53-man roster or leave him on injured reserve the rest of the season.

The Colts were hoping a week off for Michael Pittman Jr. would lead to a change in his back pain. But that didn’t happen, according to Pittman Jr. The veteran wideout returned against the Jets and played a ton (61 offensive snaps, 1 shy of his season-high), catching 5 balls on 8 targets. Pittman Jr. said his back status is still the same it was prior to sitting out the entire Bills week. So this will continue to be something to monitor with 6 games to go (7 weeks including the bye).

Jonathan Taylor played a season-high 63 offensive snaps on Sunday, despite having his ankle re-taped during the contest. Shane Steichen assured that everything is fine with Taylor though exiting a game in which he was held to 2.4 yards per carry (24 carries for 57 yards). It’s even more impressive what Anthony Richardson did against the Jets, given that he had hardly any run game to lean on.

The much-anticipated Grover Stewart/DeForest Buckner offensive package debut didn’t have much success with minimal blocking. But Shane Steichen isn’t writing off another wrinkle with those two on the goal line. “You never know,” Steichen said on Wednesday. “We might have something for them again.”

The Lions are really good, especially on offense. They are the only NFL team to have yet to lose a road game this season. Detroit has a tremendous offensive line, a vary of dynamic skill talent and an accurate quarterback in Jared Goff. The Lions rank 1^st in points per game at 33.6 (3 more points than any other team). They are 3^rd in yards per play, 8^th in rushing yards per play, 2^nd in passing yards per play. They have won 3 of their 10 games this season by 35-plus points. To put that into perspective, the Colts haven’t won a game by at least 35 points since 2009. And you have to go back to 1997 for the Colts franchise to find 3 wins of that margin or more (1 win in 2009, 1 win in 2004, 1 win in 1997).

Dan Campbell was once a Colts head coaching candidate. After Josh McDaniels turned his back on the Colts in February 2019, the Colts narrowed their focus on 3 candidates: Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich; Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier; Saints tight ends coach Dan Campbell. After the humiliation of what happened with McDaniels, Jim Irsay reached out to his close confidants so Reich’s history with the Colts (and even Fraizer) was always going to be a leg up on Campbell. Hindsight is very 20/20, but it’s interesting to picture the Colts with Campbell leading them as Andrew Luck returned from injury. Speaking of this, Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn also was a Colts head coaching candidate of Chris Ballard’s back during the 2023 cycle (in which Shane Steichen was hired).

As has been the case with many Colts home games this season, expect a strong contingent of visiting fans in the building on Sunday. The secondary ticket market for Colts/Lions is at the highest price point of games at Lucas Oil in 2024. That typically means an infiltration of fans making the couple-hour drive down I-69 to watch a season they’ve never had in franchise history. Sunday is likely to have a mixed fan reaction, similar to what took place with the Bears, Steelers and Bills inside of Lucas Oil earlier this year.

When you are 5-6 and looking up at the rest of the AFC playoff picture, every game matters with 6 to go in the season. But of the Colts remaining 6 games, this NFC contest is the ‘least’ important. If the Colts spilt their next two games—Lions and Patriots—heading into the bye week, you’d rather beat the Patriots for the AFC tiebreaker, versus the Lions. Again, every game certainly carries notable weight when you are under .500 in late November. But a loss on Sunday isn’t as catastrophic as one would be to the Broncos in Week 15, for example.

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