The Colts face yet another tough and critical home game as they

fight to drag themselves back into contention. They’ll host the Titans on Sunday in a game that will have implications deep into the season. Andrew Luck has never lost to the Titans Marvin Harrison Color Rush Jersey , and he certainly won’t be interested in starting now. Given the significance of this game, let’s take a look at some of the big matchups that will help decide Sunday’s game.Offensive line vs Jurrell Casey Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY SportsJurrell Casey is among the top defensive linemen in the NFL. He is not a statistical monster, but he is still a disruptive force against the run and pass, and easily the Titans’ best defensive player. This season he has 3.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and 7 tackles for a loss. When the Colts sat down to begin formulating their protection plan for the week, you can bet Casey was at the very top of their list of guys to deal with. The Colts offensive line is doing an incredible job protecting Andrew Luck, having kept him upright for 4 weeks running. They will have to come ready to go yet again against a creative and tough Titans defense. The Titans have a solid defense all around, but if Andrew Luck is given time to throw, the Colts are going to score points. The offensive line winning the battle up front will likely tell the story of this game and if Jurrell Casey is able to be a big factor, it will spell trouble for the Colts. Eric Ebron vs Titans’ SecondaryBrian Spurlock-USA TODAY SportsThe Titans enter this game having given up precisely 0 touchdowns to a tight end. That sounds pretty stunning if you don’t look through their schedule, but becomes a bit less shocking when you see the list of tight ends they have faced. Zach Ertz is by and large the only really talented player they have faced at the tight end position, and he gashed them for 110 yards, but no touchdowns. By comparison, Eric Ebron will step onto the field on Sunday with 10 touchdowns on the season and a habit of embarrassing defenses. I broke down every touchdown he has on the season here https://www.coltsfanshop.com/Tarell-Basham-Jersey , and his ability to end up all alone is almost as impressive as his ability to go up and get a jump ball. I am not going to say that Eric Ebron is definitely going to end that streak of no touchdowns by tight ends, but I am going to say that one of the tight ends on this team will. The Colts have used their tight ends too well, and are simply too talented at that position to be shut out. Kevin Byard will be a tough challenge for Ebron, but he made a talent like Jalen Ramsey look silly, and hasn’t exactly been up against scrubs all season. I don’t anticipate this game going all that differently in terms of the impact the tight end position will have for the Colts. Darius Leonard vs Dion LewisMatthew Emmons-USA TODAY SportsThe Titans have two solid running backs in Dion Lewis and Derrick Henry. Henry certainly has his strengths, but he is not the player that worries me with this Colts team. Dion Lewis has been a major weapon for the Titans over the last 3 games. He is averaging over 100 yards from scrimmage, much of it coming from the passing game. If Lewis can keep his momentum going this week and be an active part of the passing game, it is going to be tough on a Colts defense that couldn’t get a stop against a Jaguars team that killed them with short passes that went for long gains.To make sure that doesn’t happen, they’ll need a big performance from rookie linebacker Darius Leonard. Leonard is their most valuable playmaker on the defensive side of the ball, and has regularly made the plays they need in a pinch. He will need to be on his game because with Lewis catching passes and Mariota utilizing his mobility, this is a team that could present trouble for the Colts’ defense that has had trouble stopping just about everyone. If Leonard can create a turnover that may be all the offense needs to pull out a win.Frank Reich vs Mike VrabelMatthew Emmons-USA TODAY SportsIt is the showdown of two first time head coaches who will face each other twice each year. Both Frank Reich and Mike Vrabel have been lauded for the jobs they have done getting their respective teams ready to play. It would be pretty tough to argue that Vrabel hasn’t simply coached his team around the slew of injuries they have been dealt. Given all they have lost this season, having them still in contention is pretty impressive.Colts fans know the job Reich has done. While the numbers are still skewed against him in the win/loss column, that is turning quickly, and there are some very easy to measure changes that signal a very different team. For example, the fact that the Colts have been night and day different in terms of their ability to protect Andrew Luck. Additionally Tyquan Lewis Jersey , they’ve converted on 52.4% of 3rd downs, and are averaging 28.9 points per game for the season. Reich has this offense humming. This will be a very interesting matchup to see which coach manages the game better, who has their team prepared the best, and who is able to use their talent most effectively. In an offensively driven league, my money is on the brilliant and experienced offensive mind.So what about you? What matchup will you be watching this weekend? INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis Colts coach Frank Reich leaves nothing to chance.He and his staff spend hours meticulously poring through game tapes, crunching numbers and plotting strategy each week. There’s a meeting every Friday with the team’s two analytics experts in which everything from over-under projections to weather conditions come into play.Together, they try to plot out every conceivable game situation in hopes of simplifying the split-second decisions Reich makes each week.“They factor what’s the expected point total of the game, what’s the output of the other offense,” Reich said, explaining some variables used to create the charts. “It’s like there is a sliding scale and those things are adjusted. Really, they are quite sophisticated, quite complex and run off of literally millions of iterations.”Reich isn’t the only NFL coach to use analytics, but he might rely more heavily on the projections than other coaches — regardless of the results.Three times last weekend the Colts (6-6) found themselves facing fourth downs in field-goal position with Adam Vinatieri, the league’s career scoring leader, ready to kick. Three times Ryan Grant Color Rush Jersey , the charts indicated Reich should go for it. And all three times, Indy came up short.The resulting 6-0 loss at Jacksonville ended the Colts’ five-game winning streak, complicated their path to the playoffs and dealt Andrew Luck his first shutout as a pro.Reich had been here before, though.On Sept. 30, he also opted to go for the win in overtime against Houston. A failed fourth-down attempt allowed the Texans (9-3) to kick the winning field goal as time expired — giving them their first victory in a nine-game winning streak they’ll put on the line in Sunday’s rematch.Houston can clinch the AFC South title with a win and a Tennessee loss.Indy (6-6), meanwhile, lost two more games before rebounding with a five-game winning streak that put it back in the playoff mix and had some outsiders openly questioning whether the Colts would have been better off playing it by the book and going for the tie in the first Houston game.But inside the locker room, there is no debate.“It told us he believes in his team, he was not going to allow us to lay down, and we would fight till the end,” rookie linebacker Darius Leonard said. “Yeah, we lost the game. But when he said we’re going for it, everybody on that bench was behind him.”Players embrace Reich’s aggressive philosophy in large part because they understand the rationale for his decisions, and they know the former NFL quarterback does his homework.He asks the analytics specialists not just to contemplate the Colts’ potential game-day situations, but also to break down tape of every other NFL game and plot how the Colts would handle those decisions. Then Reich and Luck discuss the charts to assure everyone works from the same playbook.As a self-described nerd who runs his own book club https://www.coltsfanshop.com/Marshall-Faulk-Jersey , Luck understands what Reich’s philosophy is all about.“You play this game to win and he’s going to coach the game to win,” Luck said. “I think as players we obviously didn’t execute that one (against Houston), but I think that gave us a glimpse into how he coaches and his approach. We appreciate that. We want to go out there and win the game, and he gives us a chance to do that.”Not everyone adheres to the charts quite like Reich.“I think you have to have a great feel for what’s going on in the game. How is that game going? How did the opponent decide to play you? Are they playing you in this type of defense or that type of defense, or are they trying to attack your defense with these certain plays?” Texans coach Bill O’Brien said. “I think charts are great and they help you prepare, but at the end of the day, how is that particular game being played on game day is what’s most important.”Reich understands, even acknowledges, that sometimes coaches need to play a hunch or rely on their gut instinct. He’s done it, too.Even so, Reich believes there is power in numbers.“This is preparation, thought and detail that go into it. It’s not robotic,” Reich said, citing his decision to punt on fourth-and-1 Sunday when the chart said to go for it. “What the analytics tell us is that historical coaching philosophy has been a little bit conservative and that there are reasons to consider being more aggressive. Then you have to have the maturity and wisdom to interpret the chart the way that you think is best for your team. That’s the art of it.”100<button class="view-gallery">View Gallery</button> Gallery:View from the sidelines: NFL cheerleaders 2018Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports | Raj Mehta