It’s do-or-die time
Offense
Another stinker for the Colts’ offense, who failed to score a touchdown, had way too many penalties, and finished the game with just 11 first downs. My biggest gripe with Reich used to be that his offense could not adapt to adverse situations, and needed everyone healthy and playing well in order to put up points. That is rarely the case at all in the NFL, as offenses need to be continously adjusting. Steichen’s first season was exactly that, as with a lackluster supporting cast, and an injury to the starting quarterback, his offense was still consistently putting up points and sustaining drives. This year, with Richardson back, a healthy offensive line, and perhaps the best wide receiver group the Colts had in ages, I expected a step forward from the offense.
Not only that has not materialized, but the offensive struggles resulted in the benching of AR, and the offense as a whole has been among the worst in the NFL. The Colts rank near the bottom in offensive EPA, a simply inexcusable number considering the amount of talent the Colts have at their disposal. Another issue that has been repeating itself is Steichen completely giving up on the running game, forcing Richardson to throw the ball a lot, and getting him consistently in third and long situations where his skillset struggles. This is a bad coached offense, with the flags, the miscommunications, and while Steichen excelled last year as a play-caller this season it has been dreadful.
It was a tough matchup against a stingy Lions’ defense, so with a more forgiving schedule for the offense on the horizon we will see how Steichen finishes the year. He is coaching for his job right now, and not a single performance like the one against the Lions will be allowed.
Grade: F
Defense
The Colts’ defense was up against their toughest game of the season, and they once again delivered. Giving up just 24 points against an offense of this caliber is impressive, and even more so considering that the offense did not give them a lead or enough time to rest up between drives. Goff was pressured at the right times, Amon-Ra St. Brown finished with just six catches for 62 yards, and the 24 points were the second fewest the Lions have scored this season.
I thought there was no way at all that Bradley would remain with the team after this season, and I was even in favour of him being fired mid-season after the terrible start, but now getting the starters back healthy his unit is starting to click. It helps having a player that can consistently win one-on-one matchups on the interior of the line, and Latu is starting to put things together as a pass-rusher. Along with the emergence of solid players in the secondary like Jaylon Jones, Sam Womack, and Nick Cross. Now if only the Colts had a playmaker at linebacker, the playmaker they never bothered replacing, this could be an above-average unit.
The schedule gets much better for the Colts’ defense, with games against the Patriots, Titans, Giants, and Jaguars on the horizon, so the unit could capitalize on the good times.
Grade: B
Special Teams
Matt Gay made both of his short field goals, Rigoberto Sanchez had an impressive game punting the ball (and he was required to do that a lot), and there were no issues on kickoffs and returns. Overall, another solid game for the special teams’ unit.
