Hits And Misses: Colts Defensive Issues Rising
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1. Hits: Offensive Line
Offensive Line: A 180 flip from last week as the Colts had to re-tool their offensive line in Week 13. A 5-man grouping of LT-Bernhard Raimann, LG-Quenton Nelson, C-Danny Pinter, RG-Mark Glowinski, RT-Matt Goncalves helped control the line of scrimmage with a consistent ground game and kept bodies away from Anthony Richardson in pass protection. What a needed performance from quite the odd-looking OL. And if Ryan Kelly returns after the bye, the Colts could be turning back the clock to 2020 with the makeup of the group, flipping Anthony Castonzo for Raimann at left tackle.
2. Hits: Anthony Richardson’s Moxie
Anthony Richardson’s Moxie: Unlike the 4th quarter heroics against the Jets, this comeback win from Anthony Richardson came on a day when he wasn’t playing great football. Yet, he still had the fortitude to deliver on the 19-play drive on an afternoon he had just thrown perhaps the game-sealing interception. That moxie is such an important, yet borderline unteachable, trait for quarterbacks to bring on a weekly basis.
3. Misses: Defensive Issues Galore
Defensive Issues Galore: The NFL’s worst offense eclipsed 400 yards for the first time this season and a missed 25-yard field goal was the only reason why the Patriots didn’t have a season-high there, too. Simply, it’s hard to trust the Colts defense. They will play more pathetic offenses the rest of the way, so perhaps that helps. But this unit has once again not played like a playoff-caliber unit, ranking in the bottom half of the league in many defensive categories.
4. Misses: Contested Opportunities
Contested Opportunities: Whether it’s defending the pass, or catching the pass, the Colts have not been a great “contested moment” team this season. And that was the case more often than not on Sunday. Yes, you had the huge plays from Alec Pierce and Zaire Franklin/Julian Blackmon, but you also had potentially fatal drops from Kylen Granson and AD Mitchell. The Blackmon play was the only pass deflection the Colts had from a defensive back on Sunday, compared to 6 from the Patriots.
