INDIANAPOLIS – Here’s our latest ‘hits and misses’ piece on 1075TheFan.com highlighting the good and bad from the previous game.
In coming back from a 24-3 deficit to make things interesting with the Titans, the Colts did have some promising moments from Sunday.
What was the good and bad from the Colts (1-2-1) falling to win a 4th straight game against the AFC South?
Hits
-Big Day For Tight Ends: Entering this season, one could make the argument the tight end group of the Colts was less proven than the wide receivers. That inexperienced bunch delivered some really nice things in Sunday’s loss to the Titans. Mo Alie-Cox led the way with 6 catches for 85 yards and 2 touchdowns. Kylen Granson continued his nice start to the season with 4 catches for 62 yards. And Jelani Woods added a 33-yard reception. Frank Reich was able to script some open field chances for these guys to make plays post-catch. That’s important for the passing offense trying to find more consistent production. The 180 receiving yards by the Colts tight ends on Sunday were the most in the NFL for a TE group this season.
-More From Alec Pierce: Sunday was a 4-catch, 80-yard afternoon for Alec Pierce. We saw Pierce once again haul in a contested go-route down the sideline. And then Pierce sprinkled in some other catches to show a little bit more of a route tree presence. That’s two really solid performances in a row for the second-round pick. With the type of attention Michael Pittman will continually receive, the tight ends and Pierce are going to be counted on a lot.
Misses
-Slow Starts: For the 4th straight divisional game, and the 4th time in the Colts last 5 games, Frank Reich’s football team found itself down three scores. In this league, when you dig such a massive hole, it’s virtually impossible to come back without perfect football the rest of the way. And the Colts felt that when Jonathan Taylor fumbled in the 4th quarter. These slow starts, in games with so much at stake, have to have Jim Irsay thinking about the state of the Colts and how locked in they are early in contests.
-Run Game: No stat from Sunday is more alarming the Colts averaging 1.7 yards per carry on Sunday. Against the NFL’s worst rushing defense, a Titans unit allowing nearly 6 yards per carry to start this season, the Colts had their worst rushing effort of the Frank Reich era. It was Jonathan Taylor often running into brick walls. And Taylor was unable to locate the few creases that were there. On the flip side of things, the Colts entered Sunday with the NFL’s best run defense (2.63 yards per carry allowed). And Derrick Henry ran for 114 yards on 22 carries (5.2 yards per carry). This is supposed to be the backbone of the Colts. It wasn’t anywhere close to that on Sunday.
-Matt Ryan’s Ball Security: Matt Ryan is quickly approaching a career-high just 4 games into his Colts tenure. That would be the most fumbles for him in a season. He’s now coughed it up 9 times. Throw that in there with 5 interceptions and the Colts are way, way too turnover prone at the quarterback position right now. These mistakes are obviously halting any potential for offensive drives, but it’s also putting the Colts defense in some awful situations having to defend short fields.
-Kicking Game: When the Colts went from Rodrigo Blankenship to Chase McLaughlin following the season opener, the thought wasn’t that they had magically found an answer to their long-distance kicking issues. And Sunday was another reminder of that. Unlike the majority of the NFL, the Colts didn’t feel comfortable attempting a kick in the 57-yard range in the 4th quarter, despite playing in a rather controlled climate. And then the 51-yard attempt by McLaughlin later in the 4th didn’t even sniff the uprights. It’s pretty rare in the NFL to see a team lacking such capability in even coming close to making/attempting such meaningful kicks.
