The difference for the Indianapolis Colts run defense when Grover Stewart was on the field versus when he was off against the Houston Texans was massive.
On the day, the Texans offense dominated the Colts defense in the run game, totaling 213 rushing yards–159 of which came from Joe Mixon.
According to NFL Next Gen Stats, the Colts defense allowed 4.0 yards per rush and a 42.3 percent success rate when Stewart was on the field.
However, when Stewart was off, the Colts allowed 7.8 yards per rush, with the Texans having a success rate of 78.6 percent.
The Colts faced a similar issue in 2023 from a run defense standpoint. Through their first six games last season, the Colts gave up 3.7 yards per rush when they had Stewart on the field, according to ESPN. Over the following six games when they were without Stewart, the Colts surrendered 4.9 yards per rush.
When Stewart isn’t on the field, the Colts are relying on Raekwon Davis, Taven Bryan, and Adetomiwa Adebawore to fill in. Bryan and Adebawore are both more so pass rushers than run defenders and have struggled in the run game.
The addition of Davis this offseason in free agency was supposed to help bolster the run defense depth and provide a needed boost.
However, he would play just 18 snaps, with the perhaps the Colts still working him back after he missed most of training camp, and didn’t record any tackles or pressures in that game by PFF’s metrics.
With a player of Stewart’s caliber, there is going to be a drop-off in play against the run when he’s not on the field–he’s just that impactful.
With that said, the Colts have to find a way to function on those plays without him. If they can’t, as we saw this past Sunday, there is a massive negative trickle-down effect to the rest of the defense when the opposing run game can’t be stopped.