The Indianapolis Colts have no sense of direction right now.
The offense has no identity at the halfway point of the season and they are regressing quickly. The New England Patriots completely dominated the Indy offense.
Sam Ehlinger was under constant duress which hindered any chance they could move the sticks. The three points that Indianapolis scored came off a turnover that gave the offense great field position. The defense certainly did its part to win this game.
They only allowed 203 total yards and the only touchdown they gave up came off a blocked punt that gave the Pats the ball at the one-yard line. Speaking of the blocked punt, that wasn’t the only blunder for the Colts’ special teams.
Following the best drive of the first half for the Indianapolis offense, Chase McLaughlin missed a 39-yard field goal attempt that would’ve given them points right before halftime.
This is the third loss in a row for the Colts and this game gives you nothing promising about where the team is headed for the final half of the schedule.
Before they turn the page to the Las Vegas Raiders, here are my five takeaways from the embarrassing loss to the Pats:
1
Where is this offense headed?
It was no surprise that Sam Ehlinger had his struggles against the Patriots. He wasn’t the first and won’t be the last young quarterback that Bill Belichick has his way with. It wasn’t the best day for Ehlinger. He missed opportunities, the receivers weren’t getting open, and his offensive line wasn’t giving him much time. But you can argue that Frank Reich also didn’t help his quarterback.
The creative run plays from last week hardly happened. I understand that it didn’t help with Jonathan Taylor out of the lineup so the trust in the new backfield wasn’t there but you have to see if Ehlinger’s mobility can help with creating explosive plays. There were too many basic run plays on the first two downs that would put the offense in third-and-long situations.
Speaking of third downs, the Colts had easily their worst performance of the season in that department. They went 0/14 on third downs. The offense had seven total three-and-outs, a turnover on downs, and a pick-six. Just a putrid effort at sustaining drives.
The end result was 121 total yards on offense and three points on the board. Things are heading south very quickly for the Indianapolis offense and even a healthy Jonathan Taylor might not save them at this point. If you are looking for some exciting offense then you may not want to turn on a Colts game going forward.
2
Credit to the defense
The final score may not indicate it but it was a great effort by Gus Bradley’s defense today. It was a bend but don’t break effort for most of the afternoon by the defense. They did force four three-and-outs and the Patriots to punt the ball seven times. The front seven of the Colts’ defense had an outstanding day.
They held the New England rushing attack to only 2.5 YPC and the offense as a whole to 3.3 Yards per Play. Not only they were winning in the trenches on the ground but they were getting after Mac Jones often. Indianapolis finished with four sacks and seven quarterback hits.
That was led by DeForest Buckner, who looked unstoppable throughout the game. He had seven tackles (four tackles), one TFL, one sack, and three quarterback hits. The defense even made their attempt to spark a comeback in the second half. On New England’s first drive of the third quarter, Bobby Okereke made his best Shaquille Leonard impression with a peanut punch to force the fumble.
Bobby Okereke with the peanut punch to force the fumble for the #Colts defense!pic.twitter.com/4E7XwnPdRM
— Cody Manning (@CodyTalksNFL) November 6, 2022
Unfortunately, the Colts only managed a field goal to make it a 13-3 game. It was also nice to see Kwity Paye back and healthy. He made an immediate impact in his return by leading the team with eight tackles (seven solo), one TFL, one QB hit, and one sack. He’s had a bright Year 2 and is looking like he will be a cornerstone of the defense after this season.
Indianapolis was stiff on third downs. New England only converted six of their 17 third downs. If you take away the seven points from the blocked punt, Bradley’s unit only gave up 12 points. If the Colts had any resemblance to an average offense, then they should’ve had a chance to win it in the fourth quarter. You have to wonder when this will get exhausting for the defense as more losses come because of the offense.
3
Poor effort by the offensive line
Here I am, once again talking about another poor performance by the Indianapolis offensive line. One of the keys to winning this game was to dominate in the trenches. While the defense did its job, the offense failed at theirs.
Let’s start on the ground. If you take out Sam Ehlinger’s 39 rushing yards because most of that production came on scrambles, not designed runs. The Colts averaged 2.29 YPC. The offensive line couldn’t get any push against the Patriots’ front. They got a bullied. New England finished with eight TFLs.
Then to no surprise, it was another rough afternoon in pass protection. Another game where they struggled to pick up stunts and would lose one-on-one reps. Matthew Judon and Josh Uche led the way for the Pats with three sacks a piece.
Bill Belichick’s defense finished the game with nine sacks and 12 QB hits. It should be noted that Matt Pryor did get benched for Will Fries at some point in the game. He was once again not picking up stunts and giving up easy sacks for the defense.
Bernhard Raimann and Fries should start going forward so the Colts can see what they have in the young offensive lineman. This part of the offense isn’t going to get fixed overnight but it is certainly time to evaluate where they go with this part of the roster for the 2023 season.
4
Special teams blunders were a killer
You can always play the woulda, coulda, shoulda, card when you look back at a football game but Colts’ special teams made a big impact on the outcome in the first half. Just not in the way you wanted. It started halfway through the second quarter when the Patriots blocked Matt Haack’s punt attempt.
Textbook.
📺: #INDvsNE on @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/YN4lG7zNoS
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) November 6, 2022
New England was able to recover the ball at the one-yard line and it helped set up the only touchdown for their offense. That helped make it a 13-0 game. Despite that, Indianapolis still had a chance to climb back into the game with a two-for-one opportunity since they started the third quarter with the ball.
The Colts were able to put together one of their better drives of the game in the final minutes of the first half. After looking like they might get a touchdown, they had to settle for the field goal attempt and Chase McLaughlin was unable to make it from 39 yards out. That made a 10-point swing from the special teams.
If those two plays go the Colts’ way, it would’ve been a 6-3 game at halftime. You can’t expect to lose two of the three phases of the game and somehow find a way to victory.
5
Are things getting stale?
As I started this article with, where is this franchise headed? There were high expectations entering this season and things have collapsed so far that people are wondering if is it time for a regime change. After firing Marcus Brady, things didn’t look any better with Frank Reich taking more “command” of the offense.
The change of offensive coordinator led to 203 total yards of offense, three points, a pick-six, and failure to convert 14 third down conversions. There was a lack of creativity in the play calling and when it came, it got too cute. One play that sticks out was the Kylen Granson fullback handoff on a third-and-short.
It got stuffed and that led to the turnover on downs on the following play. What stuck out to me, for the most part, was that the Colts felt like they weren’t playing with any energy on offense. It felt like they were going through the motions and just got beat up by the Patriots’ defense.
You have to wonder if Frank Reich’s message to his team has grown tiring. The offense is his responsibility and nothing has improved this season. There were reports that his and Chris Ballard’s jobs were safe, but you have to question if that feeling remains the same for Jim Irsay after getting slaughtered by the rival Pats.
It’s clueless where the Colts are headed in the future at this point but one thing I can tell you is that they definitely aren’t headed to the playoffs this year.
