In the Colts’ loss to the Falcons, there were three positives and three negatives

| December 26, 2023 | Other Clubs | No Comments

Following a costly 29-10 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Christmas Eve, the Indianapolis Colts must examine what went well and what did not.

The Indianapolis Colts were essentially annihilated by the Atlanta Falcons on Christmas Eve, falling by a score of 29-10.

With the Colts now 8-7 and their playoff dreams possibly out of their hands, it’s time to look back at what went right and wrong in Week 16.

The Good: Colts Tight Ends

Colts tight ends Kylen Granson and Will Mallory sought to help lead the charge on a day when Gardner Minshew struggled to find open receivers.

With wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. sidelined due to a concussion suffered in Week 15, the Colts were low at pass-catchers, but Granson (5 catches, 62 yards) and Mallory (4 catches, 47 yards) led the team in receiving yards.

These two accounted for 109 of Minshew’s 201 passing yards. Mo Alie-Cox was also involved and targeted, but he was usually employed in blocking sets.

Expect head coach Shane Steichen to want to incorporate more Granson and Mallory into the vertical attack, as both have demonstrated talent in getting open and producing plays.

The Bad: Pass Rush on Taylor Heinicke

With Desmond Ridder on the bench, passing veteran Taylor Heinicke was given the start. With a fairly clear pocket, he sliced the Colts for 229 yards on 23 completions, including a touchdown ball to tight end Kyle Pitts.

The Colts had 46 team sacks and a top-10 pass rush coming into this game, but only defensive end Kwity Paye got to Heinicke, who operated with ease and little pressure from anyone.

This Falcons offensive line boasts talented players, but it has been inconsistent owing to strange play calls and injuries. Heinicke’s pocket presence, combined with the lack of Colts defensive pressure, resulted in an efficient day for the veteran quarterback.

With the Las Vegas Raiders and youngster Aiden O’Connell on the horizon, the Colts will try to get back to sacking quarterbacks and putting pressure on opposing offenses.

The Good: Linebacker E.J. Speed

On a day when the Colts’ defense struggled to make effective tackles, E.J. Speed stood out.

While Zaire Franklin had 12 tackles, Speed had 13, including 10 solos, two passes deflected, and one tackle for loss.

This was a bad defensive game for Indianapolis, so finding high-level positives was difficult, but Speed was one of them.

Expect Speed to play with more desire on New Year’s Eve, as his likely career-best effort was insufficient to push the defense to a higher performance.

The Bad: Stopping the Falcons Running Backs

The strategy was straightforward: don’t let Falcons running backs Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier get momentum and gash the defense for long runs. This would ultimately place the offense fully on Heinicke’s shoulders, allowing the Colts to get after him in the pocket.

These backs, on the other hand, dominated and set the tone for the whole game. The metrics from both ball carriers on the day are listed below.

  • Bijan Robinson: 12 carries for 72 yards (6.0 avg); 7 catches for 50 yards (7.1 avg)
  • Tyler Allgeier: 9 carries for 69 yards (7.7 avg); 1 catch for 19 yards

When everything was said and done, these two combined for 210 all-purpose yards, accounting for more than half of Arthur Smith’s offense (406 total yards).

This is a major boost for the Falcons’ confidence, but a tough lesson for the Colts. They haven’t been great against the run this year, and even with DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart on the field, they were dominated in the trenches.

The Good: Wide Receiver Josh Downs

Along with the aforementioned tight end tandem of Granson and Mallory, rookie Josh Downs was tasked with assisting Minshew with quick-release passes and did his best with scant NFL experience and offensive help.

He led the team with six total catches, although he was tackled almost every time for 39 yards. This lowered his average catch to 6.5.

However, with Alec Pierce underperforming, more burden was placed on Downs than was likely desired prior to the game.

Downs continues to demonstrate his number-one receiving talents, but he is still too young to be relied on so heavily with little else to aid him offensively.

The Colts have demonstrated to the league that they got Downs for a steal in the third round of the 2023 draft. Downs will attempt to increase his yards per reception in the final two games of the 2023 regular season.

The Bad: Blake Freeland and Offensive Pass Protection

Blake Freeland, a rookie fourth-round pick, demonstrated yet again that he is not an effective pass-blocking tackle, at least not this year.

While Freeland has shown flashes of great run-blocking, he has consistently been mediocre to bad in keeping pass-rushers away from Minshew. While Freeland was terrible, the rest of the offensive line struggled in pass protection alongside him.

Minshew was constantly under pressure and on the ground, being sacked six times and hit 11 times. Over half of Atlanta’s sacks were accounted for by Falcons defensive end Zach Harrison (2.0) and 16-year ageless wonder defensive lineman Calais Campbell (1.5).

This cannot continue, as the Colts will face Maxx Crosby (Raiders), who has crushed quarterbacks this season and has 13.5 sacks.

If Braden Smith is unable to play, might Freeland be benched in favor of veteran signee Jared Veldheer at right tackle? It’s a genuine possibility, as the Colts are still in the playoff hunt and need to keep Minshew upright to run Steichen’s system.

Tags:,

Related Posts

About The Author

alltimesportnews

Add a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *