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INDIANAPOLIS – Here’s our latest ‘hits and misses’ piece on 1075TheFan.com highlighting the good and bad from the previous game.
It was a mixed bag from the Colts in Week 6, exiting with a winning feeling though, with a 31-27 victory.
What was the good and bad from the Colts (5-1) coming back to beat the Cardinals?
Hits
1. Hits: Daniel Jones 4th Quarter
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Starting Sunday’s 4th quarter, I didn’t envision Daniel Jones finding himself in this “hit” category. But Jones definitely deserves a spot after what he showed in the 4th quarter. With drives down 7 points, and then down 3 points, Jones went 7-of-8 for 76 yards and two touchdowns. He not only had some timely throws, but he did it under pressure, delivering some accurate strikes while taking hits. It was impressive from Jones in the game’s most critical quarter to deliver in such fashion.
2. Hits: Josh Downs
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Do not let a stat line of 6 catches for 46 yards and a touchdown be swept under the rug. Josh Downs has such great feel in creating yards after the catch, sometimes in a very subtle way. Downs had several critical third-down snags on Sunday and then turned them into something more with his creation with the ball in his hands.
3. Hits: Tyler Warren Usage
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Sunday was a 6-catch, 63-yard, 1-touchdown day from the rookie right end. That’s impressive for a tight end. But Warren takes it to another level in the variety of ways the Colts utilize him. It stresses the defense and allows for Shane Steichen to have so many wrinkles off of the attention No. 84 has already brought to the NFL.
4. Hits: Kwity Paye
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If anything, Paye entered Sunday as more of a “miss” than a “hit” this season. But the former first-round pick playing in a contract year showed up quite a bit on a day to forget for the defense. Paye had a career-high 7 tackles, 2 sacks and 3 quarterback hits on Sunday. One of those sacks was more effort-based on a 3rd-and-Goal from the 7-yard line with 1:06 to go, sacking a scrambling Jacoby Brissett for no gain. This was a much-needed game from Paye.
5. Misses: Defense
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Yes, the Colts have some cornerback injuries, but you were facing a pretty lukewarm Cardinals offense down their starting quarterback, top two running backs and seeing top wideout Marvin Harrison Jr. exit in the second quarter. And the Cardinals moved it all afternoon long, scoring a season-best 27 points, with Jacoby Brissett having one of his most productive days of his career. The Colts have some questions at every level of their defense right now and that comes at a time when the quarterback play on the schedule looks to be rising.
6. Misses: Injuries
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On the Anthony Richardson Sr. (eye orbital fracture) front, the Colts might go from the kicker tryout one week to the backup quarterback tryout the next week. We will see the severity on the eye injury to Richardson, with Riley Leonard thrust into backup duty just 90 minutes before Sunday’s kick. Are the Colts comfortable with Leonard as their backup? Then, with Charvarius Ward (concussion), his loss in the immediacy was obviously chaotic. But this is also his second concussion in a month, so that is something that you can’t ignore. The Colts cornerback depth is really being tested right now. Will the return of Kenny Moore II (Achilles) happen this week, after he’s missed 3 straight games.
