With roster cuts approaching, the Lions and Colts get one last preseason look Saturday afternoon at Lucas Oil Stadium, and there are plenty of moving parts on both sidelines.
Detroit enters at 1-1, while Indianapolis is still searching for its first exhibition win at 0-1-1. This will be the 25th all-time preseason meeting between the teams.
The Colts are expected to keep some of their starters on the field for a brief stretch, with head coach Shane Steichen saying the plan is for those players to log somewhere between eight and 12 snaps. Daniel Jones and Jonathan Taylor will not play, which clears the way for Anthony Richardson to start.
For the Lions, the biggest camp battle remains at backup quarterback. Undrafted rookie Luke Altmyer and veteran Josh Dobbs are still competing for the job, and Saturday gives both one more chance to make their case before the preseason wraps up.
The betting line and the on-field setup point to a game with plenty of audition tape, and the prediction here is Colts 17, Lions 13. Indianapolis is projected to grab its first preseason win in the finale.
One other number to watch: Detroit to top 100 rushing yards. FanDuel has that wager at +125, and it’s easy to see why it has appeal. The Lions have already cleared that mark in both of their preseason games, going for 129 rushing yards against the Bengals and 169 against the Commanders.
That ground game has been driven by a crowded backfield fight behind Jahmyr Gibbs and Isiah Pacheco. Sione Vaki, Jacob Saylors, Trayveon Williams and Roydell Williams are all trying to leave one last strong impression as they chase one or two roster spots.
Among that group, Saylors has been the most productive runner in the preseason so far, leading Detroit with 87 yards on 14 carries and a 6.2 yards per carry average.
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