The San Francisco 49ers face the Indianapolis Colts this week, who just surrendered 442 yards passing and an 86% completion percentage to Lamar Jackson in Week 5.
While it isn't common for the 49ers to come into a game looking to attack teams through the air, they should consider this against the Colts. In Indianapolis' six games this season, the team has allowed the opposing quarterback to throw for three or more touchdowns in half of those games.
Teams are recognizing the strength that the Colts present up front, including former 49ers defensive lineman DeForest Buckner. They are responding by attacking the back end of the defense. According to Pro Football Reference, quarterbacks have a completion percentage of 70% or more when the nearest defender is a defensive back.
On top of the Colts' secondary being below average this year, the 49ers are looking to get wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk and other pieces more involved moving forward. This is the perfect "get right" game for Aiyuk, who surprisingly hasn't played a significant role in the offense this season.
As reported by multiple sources, Colts starting safety Julian Blackmon tore his Achilles and will miss the remainder of the 2021 season. Blackmon is a second-year player who is ascending towards stardom.
Colts insider Joel Erickson wrote via Twitter: "Julian Blackmon had played 97.2 percent of the defensive snaps at free safety since taking over for Malik Hooker last season."
But the injuries don't stop there for the Colts. Both defensive backs Rock Ya-Sin and Andrew Sendejo missed practice Wednesday and are trending in the wrong direction.
With the Colts dealing with injuries across their secondary, there is a real opportunity for the 49ers passing game to get back on track. Not just the passing game, but the 49ers as a whole need to bounce back coming out of the bye, which gave them an extra week to prepare.