Colts and Jets square off in a matchup of struggling teams with rapidly fading playoff hopes

Indianapolis (4-6) at New York Jets (3-7)

Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, CBS.

BetMGM NFL odds: Jets by 3 1/2.

Against the spread: Colts 7-3; Jets 3-7.

Series record: Colts lead 44-32.

Last meeting: Colts beat Jets 45-30 in Indianapolis on Nov. 4, 2021.

Last week: Colts lost to Bills 30-20; Jets lost to Cardinals 31-6.

Colts offense: overall (19), rush (14), pass (19), scoring (18).

Colts defense: overall (29), rush (30), pass (27), scoring (16).

Jets offense: overall (26), rush (30), pass (17), scoring (26).

Jets defense: overall (7), rush (25), pass (2), scoring (10).

Turnover differential: Colts even; Jets minus-4.

Colts player to watch

QB Anthony Richardson. Coach Shane Steichen announced Wednesday the No. 4 overall draft pick last year is back as the starter for the rest of the season after being benched for two games in favor of Joe Flacco. Richardson started Indy’s first four games, missed two with a hip injury and started two more before sitting. In his first six games this season, Richardson threw seven interceptions and four touchdown passes with a league-low 44.4% completion rate.

Jets player to watch

QB Aaron Rodgers. Things were looking up after a fantastic second half in New York’s win over Houston when he threw three TD passes and showed flashes of the four-time NFL MVP in his prime. But he followed that with a dud against Arizona, going 22 of 35 for just 151 yards. Rodgers completed just one pass of 10 yards or longer in the air and his 4.3 yards per attempt was the fourth-lowest mark of his career. His 86.8 quarterback rating ranks 23rd in the NFL and would be his worst mark for a season in which he started more than one game.

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Key matchup

Colts RB Jonathan Taylor vs. Jets defense. Taylor had his 20th career 100-yard game last week against Buffalo, becoming the third player this season to top 100 yards in the first half. Next up is a Jets defense that has struggled against the run and been plagued all season by missed tackles.

Key injuries

Indianapolis already is short-handed on the offensive line with RG Will Fries (lower leg) and Ryan Kelly (knee) out. If LT Bernhard Raimann (knee) can’t play, the Colts will be starting three rookies — RG Dalton Tucker, C Tanor Bortolini and LT Matt Goncalves — just as they finished against the Bills. ... The Colts’ other big question is WR Michael Pittman Jr., who was inactive last week for the first time since suffering a back injury that was expected to keep him out multiple weeks. ... Jets WR Davante Adams didn’t practice early in the week mostly because of an illness, but also because of a sore wrist. ... LT Tyron Smith was being evaluated for a neck injury suffered at Arizona. If he sits, rookie Olu Fashanu would get the start. ... LB C.J. Mosley (neck), DL Solomon Thomas (knee), CB Brandin Echols (concussion) and OL Jake Hanson (hamstring) didn’t practice early in the week. ... The Jets opened the practice window for S Chuck Clark, who’s on injured reserve with an ankle injury.

Series notes

The Colts have won three of the past four against their former AFC East rival. The winner of all four of those games topped 40 points. ... The Jets handed the Colts their worst playoff loss in franchise history, 41-0, in January 2003. ... The Jets also won the most significant game in the series, beating the then-Baltimore Colts 16-7 in the Super Bowl in January 1969 to deliver on Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Namath’s guarantee. That victory led to the 1970 AFL-NFL merger.

Stats and stuff

The game features a matchup of the NFL’s second-youngest starting QB — Richardson (22) — against the oldest in Rodgers (turns 41 on Dec. 2). ... The Colts have lost three straight, falling one game behind Denver in the chase for the seventh and final AFC playoff spot. New York is one game behind Indianapolis and Cincinnati. ... Indy is 1-4 on the road this season. ... Rookie WR Adonai Mitchell caught six passes for 71 yards, both season bests, and second-year WR Josh Downs had seven receptions for 72 yards in a larger role with Pittman out. ... Colts WR Alec Pierce leads the NFL with 22.4 yards per catch. ... Indy’s defense has six takeaways over the past three weeks against Houston, Minnesota and Buffalo. ... The Colts are one of five teams this season to allow nine or fewer points to opponents on their first possession. ... LB Grant Stuard’s 18-tackle game in Week 7 is tied for the NFL’s single-game high this season with Baltimore’s Roquan Smith. ... The Jets are 1-4 under interim coach Jeff Ulbrich, who took over for the fired Robert Saleh on Oct. 8. ... Rodgers hasn’t passed for 300 yards since throwing for 341 against Chicago on Dec. 12, 2021 — a span of 32 regular-season games and 33 overall, including one playoff game. It’s the third-longest drought in the past 20 years, trailing David Garrard’s 39 straight in 2005-08 and Alex Smith’s 35 from 2005-09. ... WR Garrett Wilson ranks second in the NFL with 65 receptions and fourth with 704 yards receiving. His five TD catches are already a season best. ... Adams has 20 catches on 39 targets for 206 yards and a TD in four games since being acquired from Las Vegas. ... New York missed 20 tackles, according to Next Gen Stats, in its loss at Arizona. The Jets also had 20 in their loss at San Francisco in Week 1. ... LB Jamien Sherwood had a career-high 17 total tackles against the Cardinals, tied for the Jets’ second-highest total since 2000 behind only David Harris (24 in 2007), according to TruMedia . ... Edge rusher Haason Reddick has just three tackles and a half sack in three games since ending his contract holdout. ... K Spencer Shrader made the first two field goals of his brief NFL career when he connected from 25 and 45 yards in his debut for New York.

Fantasy tip

Jets RB Breece Hall has one 100-yard rushing game this season, and none in the past four games. The Colts’ defense is among the NFL’s worst-ranked units and Hall could be primed for a breakout — on the ground and catching the ball out of the backfield.

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