If you couple a really good Detroit Lions team with a litany of self-inflicted mistakes by the Indianapolis Colts, well, that’s a recipe for a nearly impossible game to win.
Following the loss, the Colts are now 5-7 on the season, with their playoff hopes barely hanging on.
However, before we get ahead of ourselves and start looking down the road, let’s take a look back at Sunday’s performance with four key takeaways.
First down: More encouraging play from Anthony Richardson
Clearly, this wasn’t the outcome that the Colts wanted and Richardson’s stats aren’t going to accurately reflect his level of play. But overall, Colts fans should continue to be encouraged by what they saw from the young quarterback.
Similarly to last week, Richardson was throwing on time, in rhythm, and displayed good command of the offense. Those elements resulted in more accurate throws on the short to intermediate routes, with Richardson mixing in some downfield attempts as well. It was also good to see Shane Steichen again get Richardson involved in the run game.
Making things more difficult was that the Colts fell behind early in the second half, forcing the offense to get more pass-heavy, which isn’t necessarily conducive for a young quarterback, and Richardson also dealt with quite a bit of pressure, along with there being penalties that wiped out several positive plays.
Against the NFL’s best team and often put into some disadvantageous situations, Richardson remained poised. Whether it be Shane Steichen, Quenton Nelson, or Pro Football Focus, all agree that this was another encouraging performance from Richardson.
“I thought (Richardson was) really good, just like last week,” Nelson said via The Athletic. “Maybe even better this week just running and passing. I think he’s doing a great job and just raising his play week to week.”
Second down: Too many penalties
When it was all said and done, the Colts were penalized 10 times for 75 yards. Beyond the obvious, which is that these flags put the offense in difficult situations, behind the sticks and having to get back on track, these penalties also wiped out a number of explosive plays.
Due to various penalties on the offensive side of the ball, plays of 21 yards, 19 yards, 7 yards, and 30 yards were erased. A penalty also took away a fourth-down conversion from the offense in the second half, instead forcing the Colts to punt.
When facing a team of Detroit’s caliber, a clean game is a must, and for the Colts, the opposite happened.
Third down: The offensive line is a problem right now
Often contributing to those penalties was the offensive line unit for the Colts, who were flagged five times in this game. In addition to that, this group flat out struggled, which is becoming a concern in recent weeks.
Running between the tackles was again difficult for Jonathan Taylor, who averaged just 3.2 yards per rush on 11 attempts. Richardson, meanwhile, was pressured on 43 percent of his dropbacks–among the highest rates in Week 12–often having to make a throw with a defender in his lap.
Success for the Colts’ offense begins in the trenches. Getting the run game going is a must and we all know how important time in the pocket is for a quarterback.
Fourth down: Lions dominate in key situations
We saw first hand on Sunday why this Lions’ offense is so good. Getting pressure on Jared Goff–which is a necessity–is a tall task because of Detroit’s offensive line but also with their usage of play-action, misdirection, and screens, which takes away the pass rush’s bite.
This is also an extremely well-balanced offensive attack between their usage of the run and passing games, and just the variety of looks the Lions’ throw at opposing defenses. This is a well-oiled machine where the success often starts on the ground and then opens up the rest of the offense.
In those critical, must have it situations, the Lions were an impressive 9-for-15 on third downs. The Colts, meanwhile, were just 3-for-12. The difference in success often starts with the run game, with Detroit living in manageable down-and-distances while the Colts were frequently behind the sticks.
Then in the red zone, the Colts were 0-for-2 and the Lions were 3-for-4. Down 14-6 at halftime, the difference in the game at that point was that Indianapolis settled for field goals–again due to self inflicted errors–while Detroit found the end zone.
To state the obvious, touchdowns are better than field goals and third down conversions can lead to long drives and controlling the clock.