5 Things Learned: Colts Defense No Shows In Loss To Saints

1. Colts Have A Cornerback Problem

Colts Have A Cornerback Problem: Did Tony Brown just get beat again? Sunday was easily the worst defensive performance of the 2023 season and this comes against a New Orleans offense that had been struggling to this point. You have invested too much in the defensive front to let Derek Carr have as much time to operate like he did on Sunday (Carr was hit 2 times in 27 attempts on Sunday). To see the Colts have this sort of cornerback problem comes as little surprise. It’s a group that Chris Ballard was fully committed to a youth movement throughout the offseason, and that hasn’t changed with two benchings of Darrell Baker Jr., a season-ending injury to Dallis Flowers, JuJu Brents dealing with several different injuries or even going back to the June suspension of Isaiah Rodgers Sr. Tony Brown has been mostly a career special teamer, and has played more so in the nickel/slot when asked to give some defensive snaps, but the Colts elected to use him as the outside/3^rd cornerback on Sunday. Brown got torched all afternoon long, to go along with a boneheaded penalty in the red zone on top of it. Per Next Gen Stats, Brown allowed 7 receptions on 7 targets for 187 yards and a touchdown. After the loss, Shane Steichen said they felt good about Brown going into the game and that’s why he wasn’t resolved. This is despite Brown not practicing on Friday as he was questionable for the game with a ribs injury. This performance from him was reminiscent of the poor game we saw from RB-Deon Jackson in the season opener. This is another reason why the early bailing/cut of 5^th round pick Darius Rush was puzzling. None of these Colts corners (outside of Kenny Moore), no matter their youth, were major investments, so keeping more of them, knowing it’s a season of trial and error, would have been wise. This eventual cornerback issue has really been bubbling over for years. The Colts haven’t drafted good enough at the position, and have had to make up for it with other acquisitions (free agent signings/trades). But they elected to stay away from those veteran moves in the 2023 offseason. When you do that, be prepared for moments like we saw on Sunday.

2. Forgetting About Jonathan Taylor/Run Game

Forgetting About Jonathan Taylor/Run Game: Yes, the usage of Jonathan Taylor after one of the best first quarters of his career, was head scratching. But the overall abandonment of the run game was even more mystifying. This was still a one-possession game well into the 4^th quarter, and yet the Colts seemed more content to put the game on the right arm of Gardner Minshew than Taylor/Zack Moss. After going for 82 rushing yards on 7 carries in the opening quarter, Jonathan Taylor carried it just 5 times the rest of the game (Shane Steichen said after the game that JT had no physical issues limiting his touches). During the middle part of the game, the Colts had a 5-series stretch where they scored just a combined 3 points, losing contain of the Saints as the Indy defense continued to wilt. And it was then that they really limited the role for Taylor, the unquestioned best offensive  playmaker. Such little usage for Taylor during this time could also be viewed as more of trying to find a pass game that was not potent at all. After Zack Moss ripped off a 41-yard run late in the third quarter, the Colts dialed up a double move to Michael Pittman Jr. Gardner Minshew heaved a prayer that was intercepted. Instead of the Colts taking a field goal in that situation, which would have given them the lead back, that INT was back-breaking in setting up consecutive Saints TD drives. Again, do not look at this final score and think the Colts had to chuck it to hang around. They went away from Jonathan Taylor (12 carries for 95 yards, 7.9 yards per carry) and Zack Moss (11 carries for 66 yards, 6.0 yards per carry), and instead had Minshew toss it 41 times, whereas their RB duo carried it just 23 times. Such an abandonment, after a great first quarter on the ground, just adds to the confusion from Shane Steichen.

3. Thinking About A Quarterback Change?

Thinking About A Quarterback Change? There’s a reason why I have this one as No. 3 on Sunday. I don’t think you bench Gardner Minshew just yet, but I do think it’s fair to think about the possibility, as we saw yet another critical turnover on Sunday. Minshew did have an accurate start on Sunday, and made around a handful of plays with his legs, too. But the turnovers, even if it was just 1 on Sunday, can’t be ignored. The late-third quarter interception from Minshew on Sunday came with the Colts down just 1 point and hovering around Matt Gay field goal range. It was such a costly INT, with Minshew chucking up a prayer for Michael Pittman Jr., as MPJ broke to the inside of the cornerback, with the ball traveling to the outside. We’ve seen the Sam Ehlinger song and dance before, so it’s not like a change would lead to vastly different results. And ignoring some of the plays Minshew made on Sunday would be unfair. But that’s now 8 turnovers leading to 44 points in the 3 games since taking over for Anthony Richardson. And it’s putting quite a lot of pressure on the other areas of the game.

4. Floundering At Home

Floundering At Home: What an incredibly disappointing game-ending feeling the Colts have given their home fans in the last year. The Colts have now lost 9 of their last 10 games at home, easily one of the worst home runs in the 40-year history of the Indianapolis Colts. With this loss, the Colts wrap up a stretch of 4 home games in 5 weeks going just 1-3 inside of Lucas Oil Stadium. This loss shrinks an already thinning margin for error as a 3-5 football team. As the mid-way point of the season takes place this week, the Colts have not positioned themselves as a serious playoff threat, a position that was probably expected at the start of the year. Entering Sunday, you had two 3-4 teams facing off, but two very different psyches (the Saints were clearly more upset with their play to this point, compared to the Colts). The more pissed off team could be seen in the play of the two squads on Sunday. Now, the Colts will have just 1 home game (11/26 vs. Buccaneers) in their next 6 weeks (3 road games, 1 neutral site game, 1 bye). Maybe that’s a good thing for the team given how its played inside of Lucas Oil Stadium as of late.

5. Trade Deadline Swing?

Trade Deadline Swing? Does this loss make the Colts more of a seller, at 3-5, with Tuesday’s trade deadline coming at 4:00 PM? Or does such an alarming cornerback depth chart have the Colts looking for one in the next 48 hours? So much of the trade deadline boils down to viewing yourself in buy or sell mode (as I wrote this past week). It’s hard to view the Colts in an honest way right now and see a potential playoff team. With that, will Chris Ballard face a bit of reality and explore moving pieces he views as not part of the team’s 2024 plans, and beyond? My guess is that’s unlikely, but you can’t ignore the state of this team after 3 straight losses, and the Jaguars (6-2) once again padding their AFC South lead on Sunday. We will see how Ballard chooses to operate at a time where a look into the long-term cannot be ignored.

6. Quick Hitters

-Injury Report: The following Colts were inactive on Sunday: RT-Braden Smith (hip), TE-Kylen Granson (concussion), DT-Eric Johnson II (ankle), CB-JuJu Brents (quad), CB-Ameer Speed, DE-Isaiah Land. The following players got injured and did not return: L

–Key Stat: The Colts got 23 carries and 161 rushing yards from Jonathan Taylor and Zack Moss on Sunday.

–What’s Next: The Colts (3-5) will now just have 1 home game in the next month and a half. It’s back-to-back games away from home before their bye week: at Carolina (1-6) next week at 4:05 and New England (2-6) in Germany the week after.