Source: David Berding / Getty
INDIANAPOLIS – The Colts (4-5) have reached the mid-way point of the 2024 season.
With 8 games to go, the Colts are clinging to Wild Card hopes with a very mixed bag in their units play in Shane Steichen’s second year at the helm.
Let’s hand out some grades to the Colts as we’ve reached the mid-way point of the season trying to climb back into the playoff picture:
1. Pass Offense: D
Source:Getty
Pass Offense: D
Evaluation: The issues in the Colts passing offense involves many parties—Shane Steichen, Anthony Richardson, Joe Flacco, pass catching personnel. But the entire operation has lacked efficiency and not been able to create enough big plays to overshadow the struggles with consistency. As the main quarterback of the unit, Richardson deserves the most blame, but support for him has been lacking as well.
2. Rush Offense: B
Source:Getty
Rush Offense: B
Evaluation: Expectations were high for the Colts rushing offense this season. I would say they’ve slightly unperformed those pre-season hopes, especially when the threat of Anthony Richardson hasn’t been in the lineup. When healthy, Jonathan Taylor has looked like his old/Pro Bowl self. The Richardson dual-threat element has been good for the team, with more debate on how much the Colts have committed to that. You are left waiting a bit though from the true run-game explosion. And if life with Flacco under center remains, creating more production here for Taylor, without Richardson next to him, is a must.
3. Pass Defense: C-
Source:Getty
Pass Defense: C-
Evaluation: Unlike the run defense, the pass defense bar entering this season was low. So it might be harder to give a strongly convicted grade on this. The Colts are 26th in both yards per play and yards per game allowed in the passing department, while ranking 22nd in sacks per pass attempt. The overall disruption of passing plays, via the rush or coverage, is still not at the level the Colts need it to be.
4. Rush Defense: D
Source:Getty
Rush Defense: D
Evaluation: Easily the most shocking grade for the 2024 Colts is this one. The run defense being stout/to above average has been a staple for years, especially with a healthy Grover Stewart in the lineup. The Colts are 31st in the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game. While the yards per carry is hovering more around middle of the pack, the historic nature to the outings Joe Mixon and Josh Jacobs created to start the season helped put the Colts in an 0-2 hole that has been hard to fully dig out of.
5. Special Teams: C+
Source:Getty
Special Teams: C+
Evaluation: This has been a mixed bag. The Colts have punted/returned well in that area as Josh Downs has provided a nice jolt to the punt return game. Conversely, Matt Gay ranks near the bottom of the NFL in field goal percentage and the Colts have struggled a bit with their overall coverage. Gay not giving the Colts the proper return on investment is probably the biggest knock on this group.
6. Overall Grade: C-
Source:Getty
Overall Grade: C-
Evaluation: This grade might have some variance depending on which side of the pool you are in—long term or short term. In the long-term pool, the “2024 is all about Anthony Richardson’s development” approach hasn’t gone according to plan. Richardson’s on-field growth has been stunted and the development was not trending in a positive direction prior to his benching. For those in the short term/win now pool, the Colts have continued ugly streaks in Week 1 (dating back to 2o13) and in Jacksonville (dating back to 2014), and a 1-3 start in the division has a decade-long divisional title drought looking like it’s not stopping. Playoff chances are a hair under a coin flip with 2 months left. It’s hard to find a ton of positives in this season’s start, no matter which side of the ledger you fall on.
