Colts Notebook: Colts Offense Rewriting History Book
INDIANAPOLIS – A trip to a place the Indianapolis Colts haven’t won very often greets them this Sunday afternoon.
For the 3rd straight year, the Colts (7-1) are taking on the Steelers (4-3).
What were the takeaways from the Colts first practice of Week 9?
-It’s the first practice of the week, but the Colts still have some defensive end depth questions this week. Samson Ebukam (knee) missed Wednesday’s practice, as he was originally listed as “week-to-week” after leaving the win over the Chargers. Tyquan Lewis (groin) was originally listed as “day-to-day” but he’s also now missed 4 straight practices. Does this mean another week for rookie JT Tuimoloau to have an expanded role? In a career-high 35 defensive snaps last Sunday, Tuimoloau had 1 quarterback hit and 0 tackles. Again, the lack of production from the edge group is a massive reason why I think the Colts need to look into making a trade deadline move. Past Super Bowl winners have always had a staple of being a top pass rush team.
-The Colts might have to use a new punt returner on Sunday. Anthony Gould (knee) left Sunday’s win over the Titans late and the Colts didn’t have any more punts to return in that game. In 2024, Josh Downs replaced Gould at times on punt returner. And the Colts could opt for veteran Ameer Abdullah, who returned punts last year for the Raiders. Special teams coordinator Brian Mason also pointed to having Coleman Owen on the practice squad as a possible option.
-Along with those injuries, a few more Colts starters missed Wednesday’s practice: DT-Grover Stewart (foot), WR-Josh Downs (hip), S-Nick Cross (shoulder). After playing 8 straight weeks, this is probably the lengthiest Wednesday injury report for the Colts in 2025.
-With DK Metcalf on the schedule this Sunday, I thought this could be a game for veteran Charvarius Ward to shadow the star wideout. But Ward is still on injured reserve for at least two more weeks. So how will the Colts plan for Metcalf? It’s probably more an answer in numbers than one individual. However, this could be the return for Jaylon Jones (hamstring). “We’ll see how this week goes,” is what Steichen offered up on Wednesday as Jones practices for a second straight week after missing more than a month. Jones was a full participant at Wednesday’s practice after being limited all last week.
-Still no Anthony Richardson Sr. (orbital fracture) update from Shane Steichen after a report the quarterback had surgery early last week. This is the third week for Richardson on injured reserve, so he must stay on IR through next Sunday’s game vs. the Falcons in Germany. The Colts have their bye following that.
-Not talked about enough, one of the best aspects to this 2025 Colts team has been the offensive line. And that includes the group’s overall health. The starting OL has been intact for 7 of 8 games this season, with Matt Goncalves missing the loss to the Rams the only absence all season. That’s rare in the NFL. And it’s not like the Colts have had starting offensive linemen miss many days of practice either.
-It’s a little surprising to see the Steelers at 4-3 given their stats don’t indicate much in the top half of the league. Outside of red zone play and turnover ratio, the Steelers aren’t one of the better teams in really anything, on either side of the ball. Defensively, they are struggling big time. Mike Tomlin is getting asked about taking over defensive play calls (he has said he won’t do that). The Steelers haven’t recorded a takeaway in a month, going 156 straight pass attempts without an interception. Shane Steichen has had quite a bit of success in recent years against Tomlin/defensive coordinator Teryl Austin. Steichen’s teams have scored 27, 30, 35 points in the last 3 years against Pittsburgh. As long as the Colts take care of T.J. Watt, everything is pointing to another massive day offensively.
-The Colts offensive stats are absolutely historic right now. A few of my favorites: the Colts have scored a TD or FG in 68 straight red zone trips. Per the Colts, the longest NFL streak dating back to at least 1993. If the Colts continue to lead the NFL in yards (385.3), they will become the first team to do that in franchise history since 1976. The Colts are the only team in the NFL to have scored at least 20 points in each of their 8 games.
-It’s unusual to see the Colts heading to Pittsburgh for a game as a road favorite. Since moving to Indy in 1984, the Colts are 1-9 in their games in Pittsburgh (underdog in 9 of them). The lone win as in 2008, with Dominic Rhodes recording the game-winning touchdown.
