INDIANAPOLIS – Here’s our latest ‘hits and misses’ piece on 1075TheFan.com highlighting the good and bad from the previous game.
Certainly, the Colts had some highlights amidst the sting of yet another Week 1 loss.
What was the good and bad from the Colts (0-1) losing 29-27 to the Houston Texans on Sunday?
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1. Hits: Alec Pierce
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Alec Pierce: In case you had doubt, Alec Pierce is an incredibly gifted deep ball receiver. We have seen a flash or two of that in his first tow NFL seasons. But now Pierce has a quarterback who excels in giving him such opportunities and we saw that twice on Sunday. Pierce has an incredible knack for locating deep balls and doing such an impressive job at hauling those in. This can be a special, potent weapon for the Colts in 2024.
2. Hits: Anthony Richardson’s Big Plays
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Anthony Richardson’s Big Plays: The home run hitter was seeing the ball just fine on Sunday. Anthony Richardson completed 3 passes of more than 50 yards on Sunday (Gardner Minshew had 5 total completions last season). The first deep ball TD to Alec Pierce was one of the most impressive throws you’ll ever see. Richardson brings a special big play trait to the quarterback position and you saw that on Sunday.
3. Hits: Punt Block
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Punt Block: Part of the reason why Brian mason’s first NFL job is coordinating the Colts special teams comes from what the Zionsville native did at Notre Dame last year. Mason’s punt until last year at ND dialed up 7 blocked punts. That’s a crazy number in a 12-game season. Well, that was on full display Sunday when the colts dialed up back-to-back blocked punts (the second was officially ruled a fumble). In a game with some very sluggish moments offensively, these plays were beyond massive.
4. Hits: Pass Rush
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Pass Rush: In a game the Colts allowed scores on 6 of the 8 real drives Houston had and gave up 29 points, it is a bit odd to say the pass rush was pretty good. But it was. The Colts created consistent pressure on C.J. Stroud from a variety of guys, with 4 sacks and 10 QB hits in 32 pass attempts. That’s something the Colts need to try and become a constant.
5. Misses: Run Defense
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Run Defense: Sunday was one of the worst run defense efforts we’ve seen in the Chris Ballard era. The Texans bullied the Colts up front with Joe Mixon methodically dominating the Indy front 7. Mixon didn’t have a rush of more than 13 yards, yet ran for 159 yards, the most the Colts have allowed in 3.5 years.
6. Misses: Linebacker Playmaking
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Linebacker Playmaking: Off of the point above, what a very quiet day from their linebacker duo of Zaire Franklin and E.J. Speed. The highly invested Colts defensive like plays into this, but it’s hard to even recall a notable linebacker play from Sunday. It’s never a good day for the defense when your top two tacklers are your safeties.
7. Misses: Run Game
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Run Game: Yes, the overall run game was very poor on Sunday, especially when you consider the core belief it is for the Colts. Jonathan Taylor having 48 yards on 16 carries is not what the Colts are expecting this season.
8. Misses: Rookie Production
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Rookie Production: In different ways, the Colts didn’t get much out of top picks Laiatu Latu and AD Mitchell. Latu didn’t record a single defensive statistic in 31 snaps. While Mitchell had moments where he was certainly open, Richardson couldn’t find him, with just 1 catch for 2 yards in 5 targets. With how open Mitchell was on multiple occasions Sunday, there’s certainly some potential there for major production.
