Hits And Misses: Colts Best Players Step Up - Page 3
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1. Hits: Kenny Moore II
Kenny Moore II: Obviously any time you do something that’s never been done in a franchise’s history you have had a career day. But let’s look at the timeliness of the two pick sixes by Kenny Moore II. The first one came late in the first half as Carolina seemed on the verge of getting the deficit back down to one score (13-6). And then early in the 4th quarter, with the Colts leaking some serious oil, a 20-10 Indy lead grew back to 3 scores on Moore II’s 66-yard INT return. These interceptions weren’t just turnovers to Moore. They turned into 14 total points, and that was really needed on a day the Colts offense was struggling.
2. Hits: DeForest Buckner
DeForest Buckner: If it weren’t for Kenny Moore II’s historic day, we would be talking more and more about the afternoon for DeForest Buckner. It was No. 99 wrecking things early for the Panthers. Buckner finished the game with 4 tackles, 1 sack, 2 quarterback hits and 2 passes defensed. It was Buckner who also had a key interior pressure on the first pick six by Kenny Moore.
3. Hits: Matt Gay
Matt Gay: Are we to the point where a 57-yard field goal outdoors is taken for granted at this point? I’d hope not. What a signing Matt Gay has been for the Colts. Gay’s late-half make from 57 was, of course, a big kick, pushing the Colts lead to 13-3. Think about what a miss would have done there to the score, and also give Carolina some nice field position late in the first half. A field goal of this distance wouldn’t have been attempted last year, not it almost seems like a guarantee.
4. Misses: Gardner Minshew
Gardner Minshew: A 17-of-26 day for 127 yards is an ugly passing afternoon. About the only Gardner Minshew positive from Sunday was him not turning the ball over. The passing offense had zero working down the field. Minshew led a Colts offense that punted on all 4 of its real drives in the 2nd half. Minshew looked like a gun-shy backup quarterback on Sunday.
5. Misses: Special Teams Mistakes
Special Teams Mistakes: If Carolina was going to make this interesting, they were going to have to drum up some things on special teams. Well, they created a couple of shorter fields via both return games (kick and punt). And then Isaiah McKenzie gifted the Panthers a free possession off a muffed punt early on. Brian Mason’s first year as special teams coordinator has had a few more hiccups than we were used to under Bubba Ventrone.
