Boring. Slugfest. Incompetent offenses.
Just a few things that come to mind that came from the Indianapolis Colts’ win over the Denver Broncos on Thursday night. Both offenses displayed bad football throughout the night and the box score shows it when neither team found their way into the endzone.
The defenses certainly did their part. Creating turnovers and getting after the quarterback often. Just when the Broncos looked like they were going to walk away with a win, there was a question pass play called when the Colts had zero timeouts and Stephon Gilmore intercepts the ball to give his team a chance to win the game.
Indianapolis marched down the field to tie it up, then went on to do the same thing with the opening drive of overtime to take the lead from Chase McLaughlin’s fourth field goal.
But it wasn’t going to be easy for Indy. Denver got off a couple of explosive plays to get the ball in the redzone and found themselves in a fourth-and-one at the five-yard line. Nathaniel Hackett elected to go for it but Gilmore ended up making a great play to get the deflection to end the game.
This was one of the ugliest wins in franchise history but the Colts now find themselves with a 2-2-1 record while having a shot at the AFC South.
Here are my five takeaways from the sloppy Thursday night game:
1
The defense did its job
As much as I want to lean into the negatives from this game since the Colts ended up pulling off the win then let’s start with a positive. It was Gus Bradley’s defense. While the offense was sputtering and failing to help out the team, his unit kept the Broncos in check all night and never broke when it got down into the red zone.
The credit goes to the defensive front who dominated in the trenches and were getting after Russell Wilson. The effort was led by DeForest Buckner. The defensive tackle had his best game of the season and was constantly affecting the pocket. Buckner ended his night with eight tackles (four tackles), one TFL, two QB hits, and two sacks.
The defense had four sacks and eight QB hits in total. Their effort was backed by the secondary as well. They limited explosive plays, outside of when Rodney Thomas II was tripped up by a ref on a 51-yard completion that put Denver in the red zone. The rookie safety would’ve made a play on the ball if that doesn’t happen.
The defense did a good job at getting their hands on the ball often tonight. They finished with seven pass deflections. One of the most important ones came when Kenny Moore II was able to dislodge the ball out of the receiver’s hands. It would’ve been a touchdown if he doesn’t make that play.
The night was capped off by Stephon Gilmore. The veteran cornerback’s interception and a pass deflection on the final play helped win this game.
This game is really something else. An end zone interception for the @Colts, and Indy is still in this! 😮#INDvsDEN on Prime Video
Also available on NFL+ https://t.co/qcjXnKGOp7 pic.twitter.com/95qRekrIi6— NFL (@NFL) October 7, 2022
Gus Bradley’s unit has steadily improved over the first five games. Indianapolis needs that to keep trending in their direction while the offense attempts to find some type of identity.
2
Another disappointing game for the offensive line
Now let’s take a look at some of the bad. To no surprise, it’s another takeaway looking at another poor performance from the offensive line. Just minutes prior to kickoff it was revealed that there was a shuffle across the offensive line. Bernhard Raimann got the start at left tackle while Matt Pryor flipped to right tackle, and Braden Smith slid inside to right guard. This was a surprise since the major change came in a short week.
Despite the change, it was the same story for the Colts. Matt Ryan was under constant duress throughout the night. Raimann struggled in his first career start. Multiple penalties and getting beat by defenders. The rookie is going to have his lumps but he had a rough night.
Matt Pryor was once again struggling to pick up stunts and couldn’t even get a hand on Baron Browning. Frank Reich might want to consider playing Dennis Kelly at right tackle if Smith is going to stay inside.
Ryan Kelly did leave in the first half and Danny Pinter took over at center. To their credit, there were times Ryan had time to throw and they started to get some push late in the game. They started to open some holes for Deon Jackson.
The Colts ended up giving up six sacks and 12 QB hits. I’m not sure what needs to be done to fix this part of the offense but it keeps holding them back.
3
Matt Ryan's turnovers are a problem
There is a lot to be blamed on the problems on the offense but Matt Ryan’s inability to protect the ball in the first five games is a real issue. The Colts had plenty of opportunities to take the lead but they once again failed to sustain drives and when they would have a positive drive they would fall flat on their face when they crossed midfield.
After punting on their first four drives, the Colts finally started to move the ball on offense. With the ball at Denver’s 24-yard line, Matt Ryan had plenty of time to look for an open man and he failed to see the defender watching his eyes stare down Kylen Granson. Caden Sterns jumps in the passing window and gets the first turnover of the game.
His last interception came at a bad time. Grover Stewart blocked the Broncos’ field goal attempt but Ryan would three plays later turn the ball over. He once made an awful decision and threw it into coverage. I understand he’s been under duress but veterans like him shouldn’t be making those types of throws.
Ryan also had a couple of fumbles off sacks. The ball bounced Indianapolis’ way but that now gives him 11 fumbles on the season. They got the win but they won’t get much more if their quarterback doesn’t start protecting the ball.
4
A couple rookies shine
A pair of rookies were vital parts in finding a way for the Colts to win this game. Even though the offense was struggling to move the chains, Alec Pierce flashed throughout the night and had Matt Ryan looking his way often. He had a couple of impressive catches that came when it looked like it was either going to be picked or at least end in a pass deflection.
Alec Pierce is HIM #Colts pic.twitter.com/KfLYNajGxC
— Indy Source (@SourceIndiana) October 7, 2022
Pierce’s role has grown over the last three weeks and he looks like he has supplanted himself as the No. 2 wide receiver on this team. The rookie finished with eight receptions for 81 yards on nine targets. He was the leading receiver.
Then on the opposite side of the ball, it was Rodney Thomas II. The rookie safety made his second career start and show off his free-range ability in the backend of the defense. Early in the game, he was able to fly over and jump up to get his hands on the ball to prevent a potential touchdown.
He made sure to bring in his next opportunity. When Denver was marching down the field and looked like they were at least going to get a field goal, Russell Wilson lofted a ball into an area that he had no man near and Thomas II was able to get under it for the pick. He could’ve turned it into a pick-six if he doesn’t trip.
Rodney Thomas II gets his first career interception for the #Coltspic.twitter.com/9wzMYumW61
— Cody Manning (@CodyTalksNFL) October 7, 2022
The first-year player had five tackles (two solo), two pass deflections, and an interception. There should be three pass deflections in the box score if he didn’t get tripped up by the ref as I mentioned earlier. Now we will see if he can continue to get snaps once Julian Blackmon is fully healthy.
5
Active night for the kicking game
When you get a boring game like this, that usually means you are seeing the kicker and more specifically, the punter way too often. It was another rough day on third downs for the Colts, going 4-of-16 so Matt Haack got plenty of work in.
He punted seven times with a 44.3 average. Three ended up inside the 20-yard line and one was a touchback. Frank Reich can only hope he doesn’t have to see Haack on the field as much going forward.
The Indianapolis kicking game hasn’t been something the team can count on but Chase McLaughin was able to deliver for the team tonight. He was perfect on all four of his field goal attempts and had a long of 51-yards. McLaughlin had three 50+ yard field goals and he was able to hit some marks that Colts kickers haven’t done in some time.
Chase McLaughlin is the first #Colts kicker to make two 50+ yard field goals in one game since Adam Vinatieri did it also versus Denver on 10/27/19.
— Brett Douglas (@BaD0UG) October 7, 2022
The game-winning field goal also helped achieve a mark.
Chase McLaughlin is 4/4. It is the first time the #Colts have made four field goals since Week 10 of 2020.
— Brett Douglas (@BaD0UG) October 7, 2022
With how much the offense is struggling, McLaughlin will need to continue this level of play every week if they want to get on the scoreboard.
