8-2, after an ugly, hard-fought win. Travelling to Europe is always tough, and the Colts managed to go into their bye-week with a win that helps put away the ghosts that appeared after the loss to the Steelers. There were some other games with results that favor the Colts, as the Steelers and the Bills both lost on Sunday.
MVP of the Game: Jonathan Taylor
Hat-trick, game-winner, and this time really close to 300 scrimmage yards. The Colts have a very special player, who is having perhaps the most impressive season by an offensive player since LT’s 2006 historical year. There is just no stopping him, it is not only the big runs, which he had another one bouncing what seemed like just a 4-yard gain all the way to the house, but how he consistently gets extra yards that put the Colts’ offense in much more manageable situations. This offense works because Taylor is impossible to bring down behind the line of scrimmage, and it seems like he can always get you at least 4 yards, even if the offensive line allows some penetration.
Through 10 games Taylor now has: 1139 rushing yards on 189 carries (6.0 YPC), 15 rushing touchdowns, while also adding 30 receptions for 260 yards, and two touchdowns. The Colts have some tough defenses in the horizon, but playing like he is I don’t think there is one that can stop him.
Dud of the Game (The Grigsy): The refs
It was hard choosing a player for this award because no one was particularly bad. There were some bad performances here and there, but nothing bad enough to warrant getting the dud of the game award, so I’ll give this one to the refs.
There is a word here in Argentina for what the refs did to the Colts on Sunday, which is “muñequear”. There was not a glaring bad call, but there were several minor calls that ended up having a big impact on the game.
This was the first one and most surprising, JT clearly does enough to get the first down yet somehow the refs spot that ball 2 yards short. The play after that Jones threw an incompletion, and then the Colts failed to convert on 4th down. Then came the first defensive pass interference call on Mekhi Blackmon, which after watching the replay was at the very least questionable but I’ll give the refs the benefit of the doubt on that one. After the Falcons scored a touchdown in the second quarter, Ameer Abdullah returned a kick all the way to the 50-yard line, but it was brought back because of a phantom holding penalty on Ogletree. I looked at the replay several times and could not see what the refs were looking at. Because of the flag the Colts were forced to start their drive on their own 14-yard line instead of the 50.
The worst one came in overtime, and it is the worst because of what the stakes where at that point, and it give the Falcons a fresh set of downs when they were facing 3rd and 9. That is game-changing call that wasn’t so because in the end the Colts still managed to win.
Best play of the Game: JT’s 83-yard touchdown run
Clutch time in the 4th quarter, one-point game and facing a long drive ahead, Taylor does that. It seems like he gets stopped for “just” five yards, look at the play, it seems like there is no way that he manages to escape that, but he somehow takes it to the outside and then sprints down the sideline, led by two impressive blocks by Alec Pierce and Tyler Warren who sprinted down the field to make that long touchdown run happen.
Missed extra-points just cannot happen, and this is the second time that it happens to Badgley. The game ended up going to overtime, and had the Colts not managed to win that extra point would have been the reason for the loss. It is really hard to judge Badgley’s performance, I am not that tough on him for missing the 53-yarder because those are tough, and then he kind of redeemed himself nailing the 44-yarder to send the game to overtime. Keep an eye out for the Packers’ kicking situation today, as standout Lucas Havrisik could lose his spot with McManus returning.
Best position group: Safeties
Both Nick Cross and Camryn Bynum got to the quarterback on Sunday, with the former Viking getting the strip sack and the turnover on a free-rush to the quarterback. The safeties have been a big reason for the Colts’ improvement on defense this season, and once Charvarius Ward returns, with two shutdown corners on the boundaries the Colts could afford to leave Bynum as the single-high safety and put Cross in the box to help cover tight ends.
Unsung hero: Zaire Franklin
I have been very critical of Zaire in the past, but over the past couple of games he has been playing really good football. He seems a step faster, hitting holes in anticipation, and Anarumo is creatively deploying him as a pass-rusher. He even got the key sack in overtime to help the Colts win the game. He still struggles a bit in pass-coverage, but with him playing like this linebacker is not such a glaring hole for the Colts.
ROTW (The Tyler Warren Award): Tyler Warren
Another big game for Tyler Warren who was just one yard away from getting 100. He also had a massive impact on the game, catching a contested ball on 4th and 2 to keep the game alive allowing to get the Colts into field-goal range, and then hauling in what was a beautiful over the shoulder ball by Daniel Jones that helped seal the deal in overtime. Honorable mention to J.T. Tuimoloau, who played just 20 snaps but still managed to generate a bigger pass-rushing impact than Kwity Paye.
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