5 Things Learned: Putrid Colts Offense In Primetime Loss

1. Shane Steichen’s Short-Term Decision Starts Poorly

Shane Steichen’s Short-Term Decision Starts Poorly: The decision Shane Steichen made this week was easily the biggest one of his young head coaching career. With the move to bench 22-year-old Anthony Richardson, and opt for 39-year-old Joe Flacco, Steichen made it very clear the offense should be performing better and that the veteran quarterback would help jumpstart that unit’s shaky play. Well, on this Sunday night, that decision looked awful, whether you’re looking at it in the long term, or the short term. More onus, according to Steichen, is now on the short term with this (head-scratching) move. Sunday had the most offensive ineptness all season long for Indy, with zero snaps in the red zone and a season-low in points (6), first downs (13) and total yards (227). Joe Flacco and the passing offense was terrible. And Jonathan Taylor had 48 rushing yards on 13 carries (3.7 yards per carry). Last season, Steichen found consistent offensive success, no matter the quarterback. The Colts haven’t sniffed that in 2024, with this one being the worst of the bunch.

2. Joe Flacco Struggles Mightily

Joe Flacco Struggles Mightily: So is now where we remind everyone that Joe Flacco entered Sunday night 8-16 in his last 24 starts? The Vikings defense had struggled majorly the last two weeks, and with the 30^th pass defense in the NFL. Flacco was rough early, and late, with manageable third-down situations, an area that playing him should lead to more success. While inserting Flacco into the starting lineup was supposed to revive a passing game struggling to find consistency (didn’t happen on Sunday night), his presence brings more run-game questions, which we saw. Flacco threw a brutal 3^rd-and-8 interception in the 4^th quarter with the Colts in field goal range of a one-score game. What the plan is at the most important position in sports is once again on the table for the Colts. And on Sunday this move was supposed to remove some of that concern for the rest of 2024. Instead of Anthony Richardson getting valuable reps, let alone in primetime, against an exotic/blitzing defense, it was Flacco playing terribly, on a 16-of-27 for 179-yard, 1 interception night, leading 9 offensive drives ending in just 2 field goals (1 after an interception gave the offense a drive starting in field goal range) and 0 touchdowns. You don’t start Flacco thinking the 3^rd down effort will be 3-of-11, but that’s what happened on Sunday night. Steichen was asked post-game if Flacco will remain his quarterback moving forward and said this: “Right now, yes.” Steichen said he never thought about putting Anthony Richardson in the game on Sunday night, with the Colts not playing AR in any short-yardage moments either.

3. Defense Bends Too Much:

Defense Bends Too Much: While the Colts defense had some really key playmaking early, it had the feeling of fool’s gold. That played out over the course of 60 minutes. Sam Darnold proved to be pretty accurate, something the Colts defense is prone to allowing. And the Colts had no answer for Justin Jefferson, with the stud wideout catching 5 different passes for at least 20 yards. Darnold had a career-high 82 percent completion percentage (highest in 69 career starts) and the Vikings had multiple first downs on 9 of their 10 drives, with all of those reaching Colts territory. Now, Gus Bradley’s unit also produced some timely plays from their stud defensive tackle duo and Nick Cross’ 4^th quarter INT could have been a game-changer with some offensive help. Certainly, the bigger unit issue on Sunday was easily the Colts offense. But you would have liked to see a tad more resistance from this group. It’s pretty rare to see a team have more than 90 percent of their drives in a game have multiple first downs.

4. Always Remember The Grover Play

Always Remember The Grover Play: At halftime on Sunday night, the only points of the game were courtesy of Grover Stewart tossing a 300-pounder out of the club (and a friendly whistle). Following a potentially back-breaking trick play that went for a first down on 3^rd-and-17, the Colts brought blitzing via E.J. Speed and Kenny Moore II. With the Vikings caught in a deep drop play-action, Stewart just tossed former 1^st round pick Garrett Bradbury to the ground, before delivering quite the blow to Sam Darnold, which knocked the ball loose. Per usual, Moore II was in the right place at the right time to scoop up the ball and return it 38 yards for the touchdown. While Stewart’s playmaking has had some quieter moments this year, this play was a reminder of the type of defensive tackle he is—not strictly a space eater, one capable of disrupting things individually. And credit to Gus Bradley for bringing some first-down pressure, which meant the Vikings had to single team Stewart. The play deserves mention even in a loss.

5. Consecutive Losses Again

Consecutive Losses Again: With Sunday’s loss, the Colts have now suffered defeats in consecutive weeks for the first time since Weeks 1 and 2 to start the year. Overcoming yet another of these is extra daunting with Josh Allen, Aaron Rodgers and Jared Goff on the horizon the next 3 weeks. In a week the Colts brought plenty of headlines into their building, they also put even more of a focus on a ‘win now.’ So every loss, with a 39-year-old quarterback, adds more scrutiny given the sudden change in focus for the rest of 2024. Does a team with a 4-5 record and with the Bills and Lions on the schedule in November become more of a sell team ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline? Or was the “win now” move to Joe Flacco not put the Colts in that territory?

6. Indianapolis Colts v Minnesota Vikings

QUICK HITTERS

-Injury Report: The following Colts were INACTIVE on Sunday: LT-Bernhard Raimann (concussion), DE-Genard Avery, WR-Anthony Gould, DE-Adam Gotsis, OL-Danny Pinter. These Colts got hurt on Sunday and did not return:

-Key Stat: DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart combined for 10 tackles, 3 sacks and a forced fumble on Sunday.

–What’s Next: The Colts (4-5) will return home in Week 10, after playing on the road each of the last two weeks. It’ll be the Buffalo Bills (7-2) playing inside at Lucas Oil Stadium this Sunday at 1:00 PM.