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Believe it or not, the Indianapolis Colts haven’t won in Jacksonville in a long time. The Colts haven’t beat the Jaguars on the road (in Duval County or London) since September of 2014. Now, the 2022 edition of this matchup just got more difficult for Matt Ryan and the Colts. The latest Michael Pittman injury update is that the star wide receiver is now out with a quad injury for this Colts Week 2 contest.

Michael Pittman injury update

Michael Pittman injury update
Michael Pittman Jr. | Bob Levey/Getty Images

On the Friday before the Colts vs. Jaguars Sunday tilt, head coach Frank Reich took the unusual step of making the standard Friday practice a walkthrough. His team is in the midst of an injury crisis after the Week 1 tie vs. the Houston Texans.

Ahead of that walkthrough, news broke that rookie second-round WR Alec Pierce is out for Sunday’s game, as is linebacker Shaquille Leonard.

On Saturday, the news got worse. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported a Michael Pittman injury update that said the Colts downgraded the WR’s status, and he is now out for Sunday.

This is a massive problem for Matt Ryan and company.

The Colts offense didn’t look good against the Texans. Ryan led a furious fourth-quarter comeback in Week 1 to earn the 20-20 draw, but before that, the team fell behind 20-3 midway through the third.

Pittman was one of the lone bright spots for Indy. The 6-foot-4, fourth-year wideout caught nine balls on 13 targets for 121 and a touchdown. The next-closest pass-catcher was running back Nyheim Hines, with six catches for 50 yards. The next-closest receiver was Ashton Dulin, with three catches for 46 yards.

With Pierce and Pittman out, Dulin, Parris Campbell, and Mike Strachan are the only three WRs left who caught a pass in Week 1.

The Michael Pittman injury update is terrible for the Colts and could cause the AFC South favorite to lose on the road vs. the Jaguars for the eighth time in as many years.

If this happens, it’s not the end for the Colts 2022 season, but it’s not good at all. The Jaguars and Texans aren’t as talented. So, even a 0-1-1, the Colts can still outpace them over the course of the season. And the Tennessee Titans could easily be 0-2 after a Monday Night Football matchup vs. the red-hot Buffalo Bills.

Even though the division might still be in play, that’s probably all if the Colts lose in Week 2. The AFC is so loaded this season that the chances of the AFC South getting a Wild Card team already look slim.

Week 2 for the Indianapolis Colts is now The Matt Ryan Show. And the 37-year-old QB needs to earn his big money, and the big draft picks the team gave up to get him.

All stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference

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Tim Crean

Tim Crean started writing about sports in 2016 and joined Sportscasting in 2021. He excels with his versatile coverage of the NFL and soccer landscape, as well as his expertise breaking down sports media, which stems from his many years downloading podcasts before they were even cool and countless hours spent listening to Mike & The Mad Dog and The Dan Patrick Show, among other programs.

As a longtime self-professed sports junkie who even played DII lacrosse at LeMoyne College in Syracuse, New York, Tim loves reading about all the latest sports news every day and considers it a dream to write about sports professionally. He’s a lifelong Buffalo Bills fan from Western New York who mistakenly thought, back in the early ’90s, that his team would be in the Super Bowl every year. He started following European soccer — with a Manchester City focus — in the early 2000s after spending far too much time playing FIFA.

When he’s not enjoying a round of golf or coaching youth soccer and flag football, Tim likes reading the work of Bill Simmons, Tony Kornheiser, Chuck Klosterman, and Tom Wolfe.