The Bad: Tight Ends in the Receiving Game
The offense struggled as a whole, but the tight ends weren’t anywhere to be found through the air in Carolina. Drew Ogletree and Kylen Granson would both be targeted, but Ogletree would grab the lone catch for 19 receiving yards. Granson saw 2 catchless targets and Ogletree 3.
On the year, the notable tight ends haven’t contributed too much in the passing game. Below are the numbers through nine weeks.
● Kylen Granson: 16 catches; 170 receiving yards (10.6 avg); 1 TD
● Drew Ogletree: 9 catches; 147 receiving yards (16.3 avg); 2 TDs
● Mo Alie-Cox: 5 catches; 72 receiving yards (14.4 avg); 1 TD
While these tight ends have made some red-zone impacts, the pass-catching just isn’t there completely, and it showed glaringly against the Panthers.
We’ll see if these three can bounce back with better numbers in the upcoming games while Jelani Woods still sits out with a hamstring injury.
The Good: Kenny Moore II
Colts cornerback Kenny Moore II had his best single-game performance of the season against Young and Reich’s Panthers offense. He would finish the contest with a stat line that will likely earn him Defensive Player of the Week honors.
Moore had 8 tackles, 2 passes deflected, 2 interceptions, and 2 defensive TDs. The cornerback is starting to look like his talented self again and will look to continue this performance. If he can keep this up, he’ll likely return to Pro Bowl status or better.
The Bad: The Entire Offense
The score looks deceiving, as when someone sees the 27-13 final, they might assume the offense at least performed serviceably. However, the Colts offense, whether passing or running, was plain bad against the Panthers.
The defense controlled the entire game, and Moore’s two defensive scores planted 14 points onto the final. Kicker Gay would notch two field goals for six points. The offense only mustered seven points and put up 198 total yards on the day.
Minshew went 17-of-26 for only 127 passing yards, 1 TD/0 Ints. Taylor, Zack Moss, and Minshew would tally only 78 rushing yards on 30 total attempts, with Taylor even averaging a mere 2.6 yards per carry.
For the Colts to only average 2.6 yards per carry as a team against a squad like the Panthers is unacceptable. Coming into this contest, the Panthers were one of the worst defenses against the ground in the NFL. While their passing defense is better, it still isn’t top-notch, even with the numbers being a bit misleading in the rankings.
This offense can’t play this way against the Patriots and defensive chess master Bill Belichek. If that happens, it won’t be a happy day in Germany. Look for Steichen to address this in the upcoming days as the Colts prepare to face off against New England.