The Colts moved to 2-2 on the season after nearly blowing a 17-3 first-half lead. The final was 27-24 in favor of Indianapolis, but the second half was a choppy performance on both sides of the ball. Obviously, the biggest story during the game was the hip pointer injury that Anthony Richardson sustained in the first quarter. He did attempt to come back, but the pain seemed too severe. After visiting the locker room, he returned to the sidelines, but Shane Steichen kept him out of the game out of an abundance of caution. As much as we wanted to see Richardson get back out there, it was the right decision as the Colts had an early lead.
Let’s jump into some quick postgame analysis from Week 4.
The Calls For Joe Flacco Will Likely Increase
As we have seen, and that I wrote about, the chatter for Joe Flacco will likely increase again this week. With Anthony Richardson leaving with a hip pointer in the first quarter, it was the 39-year-old veteran coming in relief. He played as you would expect a veteran to play at a moment’s notice. Flacco finished 16/26 with 168 yards and 2 touchdowns.
He managed the game almost flawlessly and kept the team afloat as the defense began to sputter in the second half. If you thought the chatter for the benching of Richardson was loud last week, this week could be deafening. I will continue to preach patience with Richardson, and he will not improve by sitting on the bench. He is 22 years old and is still in the extended rookie season after missing most of last season. Flacco was brought in, for this reason, to keep the ship steady when Richardson cannot play.
Shane Steichen Continues To Adapt
Shane Steichen has shown his ability to adapt to whatever quarterback he has to coach. The list includes Philip Rivers, Jalen Hurts, Justin Herbert, Gardner Minshew, Anthony Richardson, and now Joe Flacco. While it appears that Richardson will return next week, Steichen again showed he can adapt on a whim and change the scheme and play calling.
In the small amount of time, we saw Richardson this week you could tell he was confident, and Steichen was calling some aggressive plays, especially with the deep throw on the first play of the game to Micheal Pittman Jr. Outside of the first few drives in the second half where Flacco struggled, the play calling from Steichen was much improved this week. The early second-half offensive struggles could have been attributed to a halftime change from Pittsburgh as Flacco is a more pocket-oriented and field general quarterback.
The most impressive coaching we saw from Steichen and his staff was the plan for superstar DE TJ Watt. Even with an in-game change of the scheme, the plan to contain Watt did not change. Braden Smith contained him (with some help at times) to the tune of only 2 tackles and only two quarterback pressures — an absolutely masterful execution of their plan to contain TJ Watt.
Defense Bent But Never Broke
The defense was completely dominant in the first half, holding Pittsburgh to only 3 points. The run defense issues have improved, and the missed tackles we have seen were not an issue this week. The second half was a different story as Pittsburgh seemed to figure out some things offensively and made the game interesting. Through all the faults in the second half, the defense made plays and forced some turnovers at key moments. The final drive saw Justin Fields fumble a snap for a massive loss and the drive ended with Jaylon Jones stopping George Pickens with some sticky coverage.
Considering where this defense was in the first two weeks of the season, the improvement must be commended. Are there aspects of the scheme and coverage to clean up? Absolutely. The pass rush continues to be a force even with Kwity Paye out and Tyquan Lewis was not 100 percent and did leave with an injury. The secondary was banged up this week without Kenny Moore II and I thought they played well enough. They never let the game get completely out of hand.
The Colts have an opportunity to continue their defensive improvement as they head to Jacksonville next weekend. They will look to exercise their demons in Jacksonville given the last time Indianapolis won in Jacksonville was a decade ago.
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