What do Andrew Luck and MacGyver have in common? MacGyver is expected to take a piece of scotch tape, some chewing gum, a paper clip, and a bit of brain power and save the day. Andrew Luck? Same deal, but no paper clip. That’s about what the Colts will look like tomorrow night when they travel to face the New England Patriots in a Thursday Night football showing. On offense, no T.Y. Hilton, Jack Doyle, Marlon Mack, or Denzelle Good. That doesn’t include Ryan Kelly and Anthony Castonzo, who are questionable to play.That paints a bleak picture for an offense which has struggled mightily to be consistently effective. Then there’s the defensive side of the ball, where things don’t look all that much more reassuring. Out are Kenny Moore, Quincy Wilson, and Hassan Ridgeway. Darius Leonard and Clayton Geathers are both listed as questionable as well. If they are able to play, they’ll likely be less than 100%, as Leonard had an ankle injury and Geathers a knee issue. To add a final measure of insult to it all, Adam Vinatieri is questionable with a groin injury. It wouldn’t surprise me to hear that Frank Reich had thrown out his back on the plane and Matt Eberflus has the flu. If nothing else this is a prime example of the poor position that Thursday night games put teams and players in. The NFL touts player safety as the utmost important, so much so that they would add rules that make sacking a quarterback without getting a flag nearly impossible to understand. They do this and tell players with a straight face that these rules are about their safety and well-being, while setting them up to play games which don’t afford them nearly enough time to recover from the physical toll taken by the prior week of football. This is an absolutely brutal list of injuries, and it is tough to see this team being very competitive given what they’ll be missing. In the NFL anything can happen, but with so many pieces missing across the team as a whole, this game is going to be a tough one.<doc-sep>The hits keep coming for the Colts. The injury report for tomorrow night’s game has been released and seven players have been ruled out. This could be an issue. The Colts have been hurt with injuries all year long. But now it might have reached its peak. Seven players have officially been ruled out of tomorrow nights matchup against the Patriots, and six more are listed as questionable. Jack Doyle misses his third straight game with a hip injury. T.Y. Hilton is out with a hamstring as well. Those two losses are huge because those are Andrew Luck‘s favorite targets. Having neither of them is tough going against the defending AFC champions. Marlon Mack is also ruled out. The offense is missing three of its most key pieces with those three out. Denzelle Good will not play after tragically losing his brother. So they will be down two right tackles with Joe Haeg still out. It will probably be Braden Smith at right tackle now. Kenny Moore and Quincy Wilson are out with concussions. That’s a killer to be without their best corner and their nickel guy. Nate Hairston is also questionable with an ankle injury. So if he is out, they would be without 3 of their top 4 cornerbacks. The players listed as questionable are also an issue. Ryan Kelly is in that group with a hand injury. Anthony Castonzo has been upgraded to questionable as well. They can’t afford to be without both of those guys. They can be without one, but not both. Darius Leonard is also questionable with an ankle. He is the Colts’ best player and they need him badly. Clayton Geathers is also questionable with a knee. Losing both of them would be bad, but losing Leonard would be devastating. Hopefully that group of guys ends up being okay and can play Thursday night. Otherwise, it might get really ugly.<doc-sep>The New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts both are dealing with myriad injuries heading into their Thursday night clash at Gillette Stadium. Eight Patriots players are listed as questionable for the game: tight ends Rob Gronkowski (ankle) and Jacob Hollister (chest), wide receiver Josh Gordon (hamstring), cornerback Eric Rowe (groin), linebacker Elandon Roberts (calf), defensive end Geneo Grissom (ankle) and defensive tackles Adam Butler (knee) and Danny Shelton (elbow). All seven players were limited in Wednesday’s walkthrough, with Gronkowski and Rowe returning to practice after sitting out Tuesday’s session. Hollister, Rowe and Grissom did not play last Sunday against the Miami Dolphins, and Gronkowski, Roberts and Butler all left that game with injuries. Offensive tackle LaAdrian Waddle (illness) and linebacker Brandon King (foot) both were removed from the injury report. The Colts, meanwhile, ruled out seven players for their first visit to Foxboro since the 2014 AFC Championship Game. Wide receiver T.Y. Hilton (chest/hamstring), tight end Jack Doyle (hip), running back Marlon Mack (hamstring), cornerbacks Kenny Moore (concussion) and Quincy Wilson (concussion), defensive tackle Hassan Ridgeway (calf) and offensive tackle Denzelle Good (not injury-related) all will not play against the Patriots. The Patriots sit at 2-2 after defeating the Dolphins 38-7. The Colts are 1-3 following a 37-34 overtime loss to the Houston Texans.<doc-sep>The Indianapolis Colts went through another walkthrough Tuesday rather than holding an actual practice after the physically taxing overtime loss in Week 4. It’s likely the Colts will continue to do walkthroughs with only one practice remaining before the Thursday night matchup at Gillette Stadium against the New England Patriots. Here’s a look at the injury report from Tuesday: Player Position Injury Status Jack Doyle TE Hip DNP Nate Hairston CB Ankle DNP T.Y. Hilton WR Chest/Hamstring DNP Ryan Kelly OL Hand DNP Darius Leonard LB Ankle DNP Kenny Moore CB Concussion DNP Hassan Ridgeway DT Calf DNP Quincy Wilson CB Concussion DNP Anthony Castonzo OT Hamstring LP Clayton Geathers SS Knee DNP Marlon Mack RB Foot/Hamstring LP Eric Ebron TE Shoulder/Knee FP Malik Hooker FS Groin FP Adam Vinatieri K Right Groin DNP Anthony Walker LB Knee FP Deznelle Good OT Non-injury related DNP The Colts will release the injury designations on Wednesday ahead of the Week 5 matchup with the Patriots. Turning around on a short week isn’t easy, especially after the type of game the Colts played just two days ago. The Colts offense will likely be severely undermanned with the possibility that Castonzo, Doyle, Hilton and Mack all miss the game. It will be interesting to see how the injury designations will turn out on Wednesday, but there is a high chance the Colts are without several starters for the primetime matchup.<doc-sep>
Tomorrow, the New England Patriots will play their fifth game of the season against the visiting Indianapolis Colts. Despite listing eight players as questionable, the Patriots are relatively healthy compared to their upcoming opponent as a look at the final injury report of the week shows: OUT Colts TE Jack Doyle (hip; DNP), WR T.Y. Hilton (chest/hamstring; DNP), RB Marlon Mack (hamstring; LP) CB Kenny Moore II (concussion; DNP), DT Hassan Ridgeway (calf; DNP), CB Quincy Wilson (concussion; DNP), OT Denzelle Good (not injury related; DNP) While no Patriots have been ruled out, seven Colts will not take the field tomorrow – including starters T.Y. Hilton, Jack Doyle and Kenny Moore II. Hilton and Doyle are two of Indianapolis’ most productive pass catchers, while ex-Patriot Moore is tied for the team lead in interceptions. All three players will be missed. QUESTIONABLE Patriots: TE Rob Gronkowski (ankle; LP), CB Eric Rowe (groin; LP), DT Adam Butler (knee; LP), WR Josh Gordon (hamstring; LP), DE Geneo Grissom (ankle; LP), TE Jacob Hollister (chest; LP), LB Elandon Roberts (calf; LP), DT Danny Shelton (elbow; LP) Colts: OT Anthony Castonzo (hamstring; LP), CB Nate Hairston (ankle; LP), OC Ryan Kelly (hand; LP), LB Darius Leonard (ankle; LP), SS Clayton Geathers (knee; LP), K Adam Vinatieri (right groin; LP) All three of the Patriots to miss yesterday’s practice returned to the field today, with two of them being listed as questionable: tight end Rob Gronkowski and cornerback Eric Rowe. The two starters will likely be game-time decisions tomorrow and it would not be a surprise if they are ultimately held out of the contest despite practicing in limited capacity today. The same has to be said about defensive linemen Adam Butler and Geneo Grissom, tight end Jacob Hollister and linebacker Elandon Roberts. Meanwhile, the other questionable players – wide receiver Josh Gordon and defensive tackle Danny Shelton – are expected to play tomorrow. Both were active on Sunday as well after being listed on the injury report leading up to the game. REMOVED Patriots: LB Brandon King (foot), OT LaAdrian Waddle (illness) Colts: TE Eric Ebron (knee; FP), S Malik Hooker (hip; FP), LB Anthony Walker (knee; FP) Backup offensive tackle LaAdrian Waddle was held out of yesterday’s practice but returned today and was subsequently removed from the list. Just like special teams ace Brandon King, he will be active tomorrow. Just like yesterday, wide receiver Julian Edelman is again not listed on the practice report as he has still not been activated to New England’s 53-man roster. The team has until tomorrow, 4:00 p.m. ET to do so.