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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.
Despite having a 10-point lead in Sunday’s second quarter, the Colts defense no showed in a 38-27 loss to the Saints in Week 8.
What was the good and bad from the Colts (3-5) losing their third straight game?
1. Hits: Josh Downs
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Hits
-Josh Downs: The Colts have a very, very good wideout in this third-round rookie. Downs had 7 catches on 9 targets for 72 yards against the Saints, including a spectacular third-down catch on the visiting sideline. Downs has been so darn reliable in the first half of his rookie season.
2. Hits: Run Game When Used
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Hits
-Run Game When Used: The “when used” caveat is a problem, especially when it’s not like the passing offense was some potent, efficient product on Sunday. Look at the stat lines for Jonathan Taylor and Zack Moss on Sunday—Taylor had 12 carries for 95 yards (7.9 yards per carry) and Moss had 11 carries for 66 yards (6.0 yards per carry). That is just the 3rd time in the 40-year history of the Colts where they have had a pair of running backs eclipse 6.0 yards per carry in a game, when carrying it at least 10 times. Those are eye-popping yards per carry numbers. And yet the Colts strayed away from using those two, especially Taylor, after one of the best opening quarters of his career. It was very head scratching.
3. Misses: Defense
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Misses
-Defense: This was the worst performance of the season for Gus Bradley. The defensive line was way too quiet in disrupting things for Derek Carr (2 hits against him). And the cornerback play was a disaster, with the depth being tested. The Saints hadn’t shown this season they were capable of a 38-point day, and it’s especially stinging when all 7 scoring drives went at least 58 yards. The 511 yards of offense for the Saints was the most for the franchise in 2.5 years.
4. Misses: Tony Brown
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Misses
-Tony Brown: We’ll, duh. Granted, what did you expect? Despite Tony Brown being a career special teamer, playing more so as a slot cornerback and having missed Fridays final practice of the week with a ribs injury, which had him questionable for Sunday’s game, the Colts gave him the important third outside cornerback duties. It was a disaster. Per Next Gen Stats, Brown gave up 7 catches on 7 targets for 187 yards, with a boneheaded personal foul penalty on top of that. The Saints rightfully picked on the former undrafted free agent all day long. And the Colts wanted no part of benching Brown in-game.
5. Misses: Abandoning Run
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Misses
-Abandoning Run: Similar to what we said above about the run game, it was mystifying go see Shane Steichen deviate from it so much. The Colts had numerous opportunities to go back to the run game but elected to ride Gardner Minshew for 41 pass attempts, compared to 23 combined carries for Jonathan Taylor and Zack Moss, with little involvement for either in the receiving game, too.
