The Indianapolis Colts have made their way into the win column with a 21-16 victory over the Chicago Bears on Sunday.
A day later, Pro Football Focus has had a chance to review the tape and hand out their grades. So which Colts’ players on the offensive side of the ball received the highest marks?
Now, before we get into that, I do always feel the need to throw out the disclaimer that PFF’s grading system isn’t the be-all-end-all. It’s one evaluation metric. However, generally speaking, players who performed well do receive good grades.
Below is a look at PFF’s grading system to provide some context behind the numbers:
90.0+: Elite
80-89.9: High quality
70-79.9: Good
60-69.9: Above average
50-59.9: Average
40-49.9: Below average
39.9 or less: Poor
So, with that in mind, here are the Colts’ three highest-graded offensive players from their matchup with the Bears:
Braden Smith
PFF grade: 84.0
Bolstering Smith’s overall grade were very high-marks as a run-blocker, as he received a grade of 85.9 in that category. In pass protection, Smith allowed one sack on 23 pass-blocking snaps, according to PFF. On Jonathan Taylor’s 23 carries, 13 went Smith’s way and towards the right side of the line.
Quenton Nelson
PFF grade: 82.5
Nelson was all-around solid for the Colts in this performance. He received a run-blocking grade of 76.4 and was excellent in pass protection, not surrendering a single pressure or sack in 23 pass-blocking reps.
Bernhard Raimann
PFF grade: 74.4
Please note: Trey Sermon had an overall grade of 80.5, but I did exclude him since he played just five snaps.
At left tackle, Raimann had a run-blocking grade of 68.1 and in pass protection, allowed just one pressure, but no sacks. The Colts established what should be their offensive blueprint moving forward with a heavy dose of Jonathan Taylor coupled with designed runs for Anthony Richardson. The two had 28 combined carries excluding kneel-downs.
Honorable mentions
Jonathan Taylor: 71.7
Alec Pierce: 66.3
Drew Ogletree: 64.2
