The result of the turnover battle each week for the Indianapolis Colts last season was a perfect indicator of whether they were going to win or lose a game.
According to Sharp Football Analysis, the Colts were 0-6 last season when losing the turnover battle, 7-0 when they won it, and 2-2 when the margin was even.
We all know that the turnover battle plays a huge role in determining the outcome of games, but for the 2023 Colts, it was everything.
Compared to the rest of the NFL, when it came to both overall takeaways from the defense and giveaways by the offense, the Colts were about as average as a team could be.
The Colts concluded the 2023 season plus-two in turnover differential, which ranked 13th across the league. Their 24 takeaways were the 17th-most in the NFL, and their 22 giveaways were 16th.
Gardner Minshew would do well taking care of the football, with the Colts as a team only throwing 10 interceptions all of last season. However, the offense did lose 12 fumbles, which was the eighth-most.
With Anthony Richardson still relatively inexperienced with only 98 career dropbacks, there is likely still to be some sort of learning curve for him this season, which could result in turnovers.
Helping Richardson through this will be a quartet of playmakers around him, which includes Jonathan Taylor, Michael Pittman, Adaoni Mitchell, and Josh Downs, along with Shane Steichen’s proven quarterback-friendly offense to take some of the playmaking burden off Richardson’s shoulders and putting him in positions to be successful.
Internally, the Colts appear to be quite bullish about the players they already had on the roster at the cornerback and safety positions. This offseason, they didn’t make any outside additions at safety and at cornerback only did so on Day 3 of the draft.
“I think all those guys, obviously, we drafted two young guys, but I think with Jaylon Jones, Dallis, and JuJu, they’re long, rangy guys that are physical when they get up and press,” said Shane Steichen during minicamp.
“They got good vision. I love those guys. It’s a good room. A good competition there. It’s going to be a good competition, obviously, in minicamp and OTAs, but going into training camp is going to be big for all those guys.”
GM Chris Ballard says that he expects improved play, with health and the experience gained by this young unit last season being key reasons why. This then, hopefully, results in more takeaway opportunities, which means more chances for the Colts offense to put up points and fewer possessions for the opponent.
