The Indianapolis Colts get their third win in as many games as they dominated rival Tennessee by the final score of 41-20. Offensively, this football team is an absolute powerhouse compared to last season. Last season, the Colts only scored more than 30 points three times. So far this season, they have twice in three games and nearly in all three games.
This football team has become more complete with a quarterback who can not only make every throw but is also accurate and can manage the game for the team. What Shane Steichen and Daniel Jones are doing so far this season is nothing short of extraordinary. The duo has arguably been the best so far in the NFL and, if we are honest, the most surprising.
For the group of you that read any of my content (Thank You), know that I was Team Richardson from the beginning, and I am fully on the Daniel Jones train now. There is no longer any valid argument to get you back on the Richardson train at this moment. The statistics speak for themselves so far. Throughout three weeks, he has 860 passing yards with 3 touchdowns on a 74 percent completion clip. Add three rushing touchdowns to get him to 6 total for the season. These are not just good numbers; they are MVP-type numbers.
It wasn’t just Daniel Jones who shone in this game; it was a complete team effort on the road, and let’s dive into some more discussion on what we saw in Sunday’s victory over the Tennessee Titans.
Overall Offensive Execution
I am not sure how deep we have to go to figure out whether the offense was more effective this week or against Miami. Honestly, it doesn’t matter as all performances so far this year continue to not only impress but also improve. The offense is structured around Jonathan Taylor and the ability to run the football, but make no mistake, it’s Daniel Jones who has truly opened a new level for this team.
You can argue who has been better on this offense between Jones and Taylor, but the ability of Daniel Jones to eliminate negative plays has been the difference. A post from Jim Ayello of The Athletic explained it all. When Jones was in New York, he ranked 35th out of 40 quarterbacks in negative plays with a nearly 10 percent rate. This season, his negative play rate has dropped drastically to a 2 percent clip, which puts him at the lowest amongst quarterbacks.
Last season, we did not see Anthony Richardson get the negative plays per se, but the “empty frames” were redundant. We saw plenty of three-and-outs due to his poor line of scrimmage reads and high rate of incompletions. We are truly seeing what Steichen and this staff can scheme up with not only Jonathan Taylor but also this entire offense with Jones in control.
Still Working Out The Kinks On Defense
I am not saying the defense was bad by any means this week. In fact, it was pretty darn good. As any writer must do, especially in victory, is to try to find some criticisms. Those criticisms this week would be a continuing theme of the weak pass rush and allowing some long drives.
Did the Colts have a larger margin of error this week after getting out to a large lead? Absolutely, but there were times when we saw some busted plays with the Julius Chestnut run and the long 4th quarter drive. That drive was a 16-play, 77-yard TD drive that the Titans scored on a 4th and Goal. Not the way you want a defense to finish the game.
As for the pass rush, it was improved, but we really did not see a bunch of mass pressure from the defense. The defense has 4 sacks this week, but never really thought Cam Ward ever got in serious trouble. His interception was not from pass rush; it was simply a poorly thrown, slow ball that Kenny Moore read perfectly. The game plan seemed to stop the run and let Cam Ward beat us with his arm. They were able to execute that, but they are still learning about this ever-changing scheme, and it will improve.
Looking Ahead To Los Angeles
For all the Colts “haters” in the media who have claimed they have played a weak schedule, the true test arrives next week. The Colts head to Los Angeles to take on the Rams (2-1), who lost unexpectedly on Sunday to Philadelphia.
This will be, without question, the toughest test for this Colts team so far this season. The Colts will likely be without Alec Pierce (concussion) as he works himself through the concussion protocol, while longtime Colts star cornerback Kenny Moore II is officially out for the foreseeable future after injuring his calf against the Titans. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported on Monday that Moore II is expected to miss a couple of weeks, but it is not a major injury. That’s a big loss for Lou Anarumo’s Colts defense, but thankfully, it seems like he will avoid the Injured Reserve altogether. As a corresponding move, veteran slot cornerback Mike Hilton reunites with Anarumo, as he was recently signed to fill the void.
We could see some more action from Adonai Mitchell next week, and look for Jonathan Edwards or Chris Lammons to return to the nickel spot for next week. For the offense, continue to play turnover-free football, and on defense, you will need to get pressure on quarterback Matthew Stafford. Watching Charvarius Ward vs Puka Nacua will be the key matchup next week as well. The Colts kick off at 4:05 pm next week in Los Angeles.
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