The Indianapolis Colts (4-5) put an end to their three-game skid with a road victory over the Carolina Panthers (1-7).
It was a slow start with both teams going three-and-out on their opening drives and the Panthers punting it on their first three series of the first quarter. The Colts offense seemed to figure things out with three straight scoring drives to create a 13-3 lead late in the second quarter.
That’s when Kenny Moore II opened the game for Indianapolis. A pick-six right before halftime gave the Colts a 20-3 lead. Little did we know, that play by Moore II would prove to be vital to help keep Carolina at bay.
The Indy offense completely struggled in the second half. The Panthers were able to bottle up the rushing attack and Gardner Minshew was extremely ineffective with his arm to help keep drives alive.
Thankfully for Shane Steichen and his staff, the defense stepped up after giving up a touchdown to Carolina on their opening drive of the second half to make it a 20-10 game.
On the following drive for the Panthers, their offense was getting into scoring position and Moore II once again got his hands on the ball for his second pick-six of the game. That one pretty much put the game out of reach with Carolina’s offense burning too much time on a field goal drive and Bryce Young throwing his third interception on the following drive for their offense.
This wasn’t a pretty win for the Colts but as they say, a win is a win. Here are five takeaways from the matchup:
1
Game ball for Kenny Moore II
Sunday was a memorable day for Kenny Moore II. Not only because he was responsible for 12 of the 27 points for the Colts, but he also had his sisters in attendance to see one of the best games in his career.
It was kicked off when the Panthers were moving into field goal range before halftime but Moore II did a great job jumping on a route to get his hands on the ball and took it all the way for a 49-yard pick-six.
Kenny Moore II jumps the route for the pick-6 for the #Colts defensepic.twitter.com/xIZSWWWPrG
— Cody Manning (@CodyTalksNFL) November 5, 2023
The biggest play of the game came when Carolina was getting into scoring position to make it a one-score game down 20-10. Bryce Young sailed a ball while under pressure on a running back screen. It went right into Moore II’s hands and he did the rest on a 66-yard pick-six.
Kenny Moore II gets his second pick-6 of the game for the #Colts defensepic.twitter.com/FGgLZ1pUOt
— Cody Manning (@CodyTalksNFL) November 5, 2023
He’s the first player in Colts history with two pick-sixes in a game. He had the second most tackles (eight total, seven solo) for the defense as well as two pass defenses.
This has been a great bounce-back season for the Indy veteran cornerback.
2
Monster day for DeForest Buckner
Kenny Moore II wasn’t the only veteran to deliver for the Colts defense. DeForest Buckner got in his fair share of work being a problem for the Carolina offensive line all evening. He made an impact early in this matchup.
After Isaiah McKenzie muffed a punt to give the Panthers the ball at their own 48-yard line and a first down that got the offense to the Indy 41-yard line, Buckner showed up when the defense forced a third-and-10.
He split a double team to get a sack for a 10-yard loss to push Carolina out of field goal range.
DeForest Buckner splits the double team to get the third down sack for the #Colts defensepic.twitter.com/w0V3wqBA3E
— Cody Manning (@CodyTalksNFL) November 5, 2023
Buckner continued to be active throughout the game getting pressure on Bryce Young and batting a couple of his passes. He finished with four tackles (four solo), two TFLs, two QB hits, one sack, and two passes defensed.
He’s well on his way to another Pro Bowl nod and is making a case to make the All-Pro team this season.
3
Rushing attack struggles
This was a matchup that the Colts were supposed to get a big performance from Jonathan Taylor and Zack Moss but the rushing attack didn’t live up to the expectations. Outside the first field goal drive, both players didn’t find much success on the ground.
The Panthers’ defense took a similar approach that most defenses have against the Gardner Minshew-led offense. Load up the box and dare the quarterback to beat you.
The backs had little to no room to work with. The Carolina defensive front did a solid job keeping the rushing lanes tight and the backend didn’t allow them to bounce anything outside for an explosive run.
Taylor’s longest run of the game was 13 yards, which came on that first field goal drive. He ran the ball 18 times for 47 yards. The longest carry for Moss was eight yards, which also was on that same field goal drive. He managed 27 yards on his 26 yards.
Both players combined for 2.92 YPC. Shane Steichen should understand that defenses are going to continue to try to take away Taylor and Moss. We will see if he can make any adjustments next week against the New England Patriots.
4
Defensive front pressure Bryce Young
It wasn’t just DeForest Buckner who was getting after Bryce Young. It was also the rest of the defensive front that helped do their part to help out the leader of the unit.
According to Next Gen Stats, nine different defenders finished with multiple pressures on Young.
Nine different Colts defenders finished with multiple pressures against Bryce Young.
Kwity Paye led the unit in total pressures (5), while DeForest Bucker generated 3 of his 4 pressures in under 2.5 seconds.
All three interceptions came with pressure.#INDvsCAR #ForTheShoe pic.twitter.com/PiKisSD8hz
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) November 6, 2023
As it was noted, the pressure on the rookie quarterback led to his three interceptions. Two for Kenny Moore II and the first career interception for Segun Olubi.
Segun Olubi with his first career interception pic.twitter.com/zHgjMZ5lIE
— Cody Manning (@CodyTalksNFL) November 5, 2023
Dayo Odeyingbo is the only other player outside of Buckner who registered two QB hits. He also had a sack that ended the first half. Another notable day for a Colts defender was when Adetomiwa Adebawore got his first career sack late in the fourth quarter to help close out the game.
The Indy defense finished with four sacks and seven QB hits. This was a step in the right direction for the defensive front, a part of the defensive unit that can help out the young secondary.
5
Shaky day for Gardner Minshew
Gardner Minshew and the offense owe Kenny Moore II dinner in Germany all week. If it wasn’t for him, this game would’ve come down to who had the ball late in the fourth quarter and based on how the offense looked in the second half, that likely wouldn’t have favored Indianapolis.
As I mentioned, the Panthers did a great job at keeping the rushing attack in check and put it on Minshew to move the chains. Which he struggled to do throughout the second half.
The Colts punted on all of their second-half possessions outside of the final one when they kneeled out for the win. The offense was 4-of-13 on third downs which was primarily on Minshew not being able to connect with his receivers in those situations.
He struggled with his pocket presence, looking to escape at times even when the protection was there. Minshew also didn’t give his receivers a chance to make plays at times. His throws were inconsistent and when he was off, he was off by a wide margin.
He finished the game going 17-of-26 passing for a season-low 127 yards and one touchdown. In comparison, his previous season-low was 171 yards when he replaced Anthony Richardson in the win over the Houston Texans.
Shane Steichen’s offense is going to continue to struggle to close out games until they get more out of Minshew. He doesn’t need to be the reason why they win but unless he’s slightly more than a game-manager, the Colts won’t be able to make a push for the postseason come December.
