Denver @ Indianapolis preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 14, 2017 ) Denver 25, Indianapolis 13

The Indianapolis Colts solidified their position atop the AFC South by knocking off the Houston Texans last week and are quietly establishing themselves as a solid candidate to steal the AFC from the New England Patriots. The Colts will try to push their winning streak to three in a row when they host the Denver Broncos on Sunday.

Indianapolis bullied its way to wins over Kansas City and Houston in the last two weeks and is realizing that life after Andrew Luck is possible with Jacoby Brissett emerging as an elite quarterback. "He's definitely not a game manager," Colts defensive end Justin Houston told ESPN about Brissett. "He's a game changer. That's big for us to have one of those guys on our team. And he's still growing. Sky's the limit." The Broncos are still looking for their own game changer under center and sit 29th in the NFL in scoring (average of 16 points) and 26th in average passing yards (207.9) behind veteran Joe Flacco. "It was all levels of our passing game (that) were problems," Denver coach Vic Fangio told reporters after digesting a 30-6 home loss to Kansas City in Week 7. "Protection sometimes, receivers not getting open sometimes, (the Chiefs) using good coverages for us that maybe we weren't ready for; it's certainly a problem we have to get rectified moving forward. ... It's disappointing not to be ultimately competitive out there."

TV: 1 p.m. ET, CBS. LINE: Colts -5. O/U: 43

ABOUT THE BRONCOS (2-5): Denver is going for addition by subtraction on offense after trading veteran wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders to the San Francisco 49ers on Tuesday in exchange for a pair of draft picks. "When we looked at it, Emmanuel had issues and we had issues," Broncos president and general manager John Elway told reporters. "That is why it was a good time for us to go different directions - for Emmanuel to go in a different direction and for us to go in a different direction. With that being said, we were able to get the value that we thought was fair. That is why we decided to make the deal." Sanders' position as the team's go-to receiver had already been overtaken by second-year wideout Courtland Sutton, who owns 54 catches for 564 yards and three TDs.

ABOUT THE COLTS (5-2): Brissett started 15 games in place of an injured Luck in 2017 and totaled 13 TD passes but is emerging as much more of a threat in the passing game after being firmly entrenched as the starter and is fourth in the NFL with 14 TD passes in 2019. Brissett enjoyed the best game of his career with 326 yards, four TDs and no interceptions in last week's 30-23 triumph over Houston, and Indianapolis is not surprised about his level of production. "He's the man," coach Frank Reich told reporters of Brissett. "We've believed that from Day 1. We've never wavered in our conviction on Jacoby. We all know; he knew it, too. You've still got to prove it. You've still got to put the offense on your back for this game and make the plays he made to win this game. He did it as well as you can do it."

EXTRA POINTS

1. Colts FS Malik Hooker (knee) sat out the last three games but is practicing and plans to play Sunday.

2. Flacco has been sacked 23 times - tied for fourth in the league.

3. Denver T Ja'Wuan James (knee) sat out the last six games but is practicing and could see snaps on Sunday.

PREDICTION: Colts 28, Broncos 17