- Keenan Allen makes his Indianapolis Colts debut: Some of the answers around how Allen will be used by the Colts were answered in this game.
- The Colts have their backup running back: Seventh-round rookie Seth McGowan has started all three preseason games.
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Detroit Lions @ Indianapolis Colts
Keenan Allen makes his Colts debut: The former Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver played four of six snaps on the first drive.
The Colts lost Michael Pittman Jr. via trade, leaving Alec Pierce and Josh Downs as the top two wide receivers on the depth chart. They added Allen during training camp to be among the top three receivers. Both Downs and Allen have historically played in the slot, so one big question was who would suit up in the slot. The other wonder was how snaps would be distributed in two-receiver sets. Downs hasn’t typically played in two-receiver sets, but Allen also didn’t typically play in two-receiver sets last season. Neither Pierce nor Downs played in this game.
The first question appears to be answered, as Allen was consistently lining up out wide in this game, with Coleman Owen or Anthony Gould in the slot. The Colts could have easily used Laquon Treadwell and Ashton Dulin out wide and moved Allen to the slot, and that arguably would be the better lineup and their likely route if both Pierce and Downs are injured. This suggests that Allen will be a Z receiver this season, leaving Downs in the slot in 11 personnel. The Colts only ran one play out of 12 personnel on the first drive, and Allen was on the field, suggesting they are comfortable playing Allen in that personnel grouping. However, that doesn’t speak to how much he might play it over Downs. It was worth noting that Allen left the game for two plays after making a 24-yard catch, suggesting his playing time will be at least somewhat limited.
Further down the depth chart, it appears Treadwell is the backup X receiver, even though Ashton Dulin was the backup X at times last season. Pierce is returning from the PUP list, but might not be ready for Week 1. If Pierce can’t play in Week 1, Treadwell appears to be the starter. Dulin played with the starters, but only in place of Allen at Z. Both Treadwell and Dulin were done at this point, with Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and seventh-round rookie Deion Burks coming in after them. Owen played ahead of Gould in the competition for the backup slot role, but got injured on his second play.
Seth McGowan plays ahead of DJ Giddens: McGowan appears to be the current favorite for the backup job behind Jonathan Taylor.
Giddens was drafted in the fifth round of 2025 to be the Colts’ backup running back, but Indianapolis later decided to add Ameer Abdullah for that role. They didn’t re-sign Abdullah, but drafted Seth McGowan in the seventh round to compete with Giddens. Giddens missed the first two weeks of the preseason with a hamstring injury, allowing McGowan to start both matchups.
In this game, McGowan played every snap with the starters. He also played the first few snaps of the second drive with backups before Giddens took over. This suggests McGowan is currently ahead of Giddens. This would make McGowan the back to draft in deeper leagues where most handcuffs are selected. However, if Taylor suffers a serious injury, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Colts traded for a running back rather than relying on McGowan.
Lions compete for the backup wide receiver spots: A knee injury landed Cedrick Wilson Jr. on injured reserve, opening a roster spot for another receiver.
Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams sit at the top of the Lions' wide receiver depth chart, and neither has played in the preseason. Isaac TeSlaa played a surprising amount over the first two preseason games, but was among the starters to sit in this showdown. Wilson had appeared locked into one of the backup spots, but now that he’s on injured reserve, he won’t be among the top backups.
Tom Kennedy is the next man up among the outside receivers, and appears to have secured a roster spot. He has played 30 games for the Lions over the last seven seasons, and he may be more involved this season than in the past. He is also competing to be a returner, and took the first punt return for Detroit in this game.
Greg Dortch appears to be the next man most likely to make the roster after only playing in the first half last week. He was playing in the slot in 11 personnel early in that game, but played longer than you would expect for someone who has a secure roster spot. Dortch is also in contention for the punt return job, but if Kennedy has won it, there is no guarantee Dortch makes the roster.
Tay Martin and Lucky Jackson were the other starters for this game, and there is a solid chance one of them will make the roster, although it’s also possible Detroit will sign someone who was released elsewhere instead of keeping one of these players.
Miscellaneous Notes
- The Lions continued to sit quarterback Jared Goff, running back Jahmyr Gibbs, wide receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams and Isaac TeSlaa and tight ends Sam LaPorta, Brock Wright and Tyler Conklin.
- Backup Isiah Pacheco remains out due to a back injury. It’s unclear whether Sione Vaki didn’t play because he is still injured, or if he was far enough up the depth chart.
- The Colts rested quarterback Daniel Jones, running back Jonathan Taylor and wide receiver Josh Downs.
- While Alec Pierce was activated off the PUP list earlier this week, he did not play in this game.
- Tight end Tyler Warren missed this game with a groin injury. Drew Ogletree and Will Mallory also didn’t play due to injury.
Chicago Bears @ Tennessee Titans
Coming soon!
Table Notes
- Snaps include plays called back due to penalties, such as offensive holding or defensive pass interference. The other three stats have these plays removed.
- Targets may differ from official NFL sources. The most likely discrepancy would be from a clear thrown-away pass, where the NFL may give the target to the nearest receiver, while this data will not.
- Carries are only on designed plays. Quarterback scrambles won’t count for the total number of carries in the game.
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