On Tuesday afternoon, Indianapolis put two backs on Injured Reserve, while adding two more to the active roster. The Colts also released one running back from the practice squad, and added another back to the practice squad. Fullback Robert Hughes and starting running back Donald Brown will both be on Injured Reserve for the rest of the season. To fill those spots, running backs Mewelde Moore and Deji Karim have been signed on. Running back Davin Meggett was signed to the practice squad, replacing Alvester Alexander, who was released.

Donald Brown, who was a first-round draft pick by the Colts in 2009, began the season as the starting back for Indianapolis. Brown had been dealing with a knee injury for much of the season, and then was sidelined earlier this month with an ankle injury. Brown has only had double-digit carries three ties over the last seven games, and has not ran for over 85 yards in any game this season. Brown scored his only rushing touchdown of the season in week one.

With back-up rusher Delone Carter dealing with an ankle injury of his own, the bulk of the carries will be delegated to rookie running back, Vick Ballard. Ballard has held his own well when called-upon, but is still going to need help. Moore, a nine-year veteran who was released by the Colts earlier this season, could see some shared carries with Ballard over the last few weeks of the season.

First Road win since 2010? Check.  First Divisional Win? Check.  Rebuilding Project Ahead of Schedule?  Possible check.  Double the win total from last season? Check.  Hard to believe we are looking at a 4-3 Indianapolis Colts team that just pulled off their own Music City Miracle type win with the backwards dive of Vick Ballard.  But here we are and a few more wins for this Colts team could get them somehow in playoff position with as bad as the AFC is this season.  I still don’t think they’ll make the playoffs, but they could overshoot that 4-6 win total by a couple of games if they can get going.

Passing Game:  A

The game winning drive includes a game winning pass, so I have to give this an A.  Andrew Luck found Vick Ballard for a screen, and let him do his thing on the way to the end zone.

Running Game:  A

Who knew the Colts would out run the Titans 171-112?  That 5.0 per carry sure makes picking up another down easier as well. Donald Brown and Vick Ballard were a good tandem as each guy was able to pick up good yardage per carry.

Passing Defense :  C

Matt Hasselbeck goes for 236 yards with only 7 misses on his passing game.  That average of 8.1 yard per pass is way high, but with the Colts secondary, what do you expect?  He threw it around to all the different guys, and not one receiver really beat the Colts.  But giving up that big of yard per throw brings down the grade for me.

Running Defense:  B

Chris Johnson runs under 100 yards, which is bad for me as I have him in a fantasy league.  But it was good enough for the Colts to shut him down.  He had a week of 195 yards last week, so anything under that was probably good enough for the Colts.

Intangibles:  B

Getting a road win is never an easy task.  With as bad as the Titans are, some were counting this as an automatic win.  But then again, this isn’t a good Colts team, so they can’t chalk up anything as automatic. But finally putting away that 10 game road losing streak has to feel good.  Getting to 4-3 and surpassing last year’s win total has to feel even better.

Mathis went down in the second half of the win over Green Bay and did not return to the game. Brown was supposedly injured as he ran in the game-winning two-point conversion. Mathis, who currently has a league-leading seven-game streak with at least one sack, will be out for at least two weeks. Brown will be out for a few weeks as well, and has already went through surgery to repair damaged knee cartilage.

The Colts will most likely rotate several players in the absence of Mathis, but no substitution will be able to supplant the attention and intimidation that Mathis draws from opposing teams. The loss of Brown is disappointing as well, due to the fact that he was finally starting to look in good form as the starter for the Colts. Brown had 17 carries and 84 yards in the week six win.

Rookie running back Vick Ballard will take over the starting job for Brown. Ballard has shown good promise and strength in running the ball, so far this season, in a limited role. Expect Ballard to pick up well where Brown left off. Ballard has only has 21 carries for 41 yards this season, but most of those runs were short-yardage attempts. Ballard looked good in the preseason, and could do well with extended carries.