The Indianapolis Colts are coming off a dominant Week 1 performance against the Miami Dolphins who were considered to be in contention for the playoffs before the season began. The Colts face another AFC contender in the Denver Broncos and this matchup is crucial.

The Colts are looking to achieve a feat that they haven’t met since 2009. They are looking to start the season at 2-0 and on Sunday, they will have the opportunity to do so. While Week 1 was an absolute masterful performance, Week 2 is not going to be a cake walk. The Denver Broncos are coming off a sloppy win against the Tennessee Titans and are looking to get back on track in Week 2. They are still led by hopeful quarterback Bo Nix, and they are still in consideration to be a contender in the AFC. They also have plenty of talent, with most of it coming on defense. Daniel Jones and company will certainly have their hands full. Here are the results of the previous four matchups against the Broncos, all of which were under Chris Ballard:

The results being the Colts’ result.

With the exception of last year’s matchup, the previous matchups have been decided by the defense. Who can make a play when it matters most and who can avoid making a mistake that costs the game? The week will prove to be similar, but it is crucial that the Colts get this win to prove that Week 1 was not an anomaly.

The Colts Must Prove Consistency

One thing that the Colts have struggled to do over the past few years is be consistent. There are certainly moments throughout games where they put together a great scoring drive or the defense comes up with a big stop. However, the issue is that they have struggled to stream these kinds of feats along. Great drives gets nulified by bad defensive play or great defensive play gets nullified by a sloppy offense. Needless to say, Week 1 was the complete opposite. The offense, defense, and special teams all complimented each other and fed off each other. Thus creating the recipe for success in this league.

Everyone in the Colts organization is beaming with confidence and excitement, which is something that hasn’t been seen in a while. On Sunday, the Colts can make a statement to the league by saying that they are for real. Week 1 was just the beginning of more things to come and Week 2 can prove it. Thus fueling more excitement and more confidence in the weeks to come.

The Colts Must Prove Efficiency

While consistency is great, the ultimate key and the goal each time a play is called is efficiency. This was the reason why the Colts were able to be so dominant last weekend. They were efficient accross the board and it started with the efficiency of Daniel Jones. He did not have a single turnover and was only sacked once. He was able to hit the check down when required and was able to hit an explosive play when available. Jones was so efficient that he won Nickelodeon Valuable Player Award for Week 1. While not an award that one typically puts in their list of accolades, it does speak to just how good Jones was on Sunday. The Colts will need a similar performance out of him again against the Broncos.

This is not to say that Jones needs to be perfect, but the team cannot see the Jones of 2024 where he looked lost in the pocket, indecisive, and erratic with his accuracy. Jones needs to be a game-manager and that proves to be the recipe for the utmost efficiency and consistency in quarterbacks. The Colts don’t need Jones to take risks or be a hero. They need him to minimize mistakes, take what the defense gives, and rely on Jonathan Taylor.

If the quarterback of the team is confident and energized for each game, that permeates a locker room. Jones needs another efficient performance and capping it off with a win in Week 2 will be huge. He needs to prove to the fans and to the team that Week 1 was not a fluke, but rather that he can be the guy who can lead this team back to the playoffs.