Two games into the 2024 season and the Indianapolis Colts, unfortunately, remain winless following a pair of losses to the Houston Texans and the Green Bay Packers.
In the grand scheme of the NFL season, there is still a lot of ball game left with 15 games still to be played, but some concerning trends have emerged. Ultimately, the Colts’ ability to overcome that will determine whether or not they can turn this season around.
So what do we make of the Colts first two games?
First down: More help for Richardson
Not to say that Richardson is blameless for the Colts early struggles on offense–Sunday against the Packers may have been his worst performance in his short NFL career. But growing pains were to be expected. I don’t think that there is anything that we’ve seen that should have been unexpected.
However, as a buffer for Richardson through these growing pains was supposed to be the help around him. But there hasn’t been a ton of it–or at least not consistently.
The defense’s inability to stop the run is putting the offense in difficult situations by forcing them to play from behind and limiting the number of times Richardson is able to touch the ball. Another side effect of this is the inability to lean on the run game. As good as Taylor was against Green Bay, he had only 12 carries.
The Colts pass catchers were also dealing with drops against the Packers, not coming down with contested catches, and struggled to create separation. Head coach and play-caller Shane Steichen should shoulder some of the blame as well with the offense struggling to find any sort of rhythm.
None of what was just mentioned is making Richardson’s job any easier.
Second down: An inconsistent passing game
As offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter mentioned on Tuesday, the Colts have to find ways to sustain longer drives on offense. More opportunities for Jonathan Taylor could be one path, but generally speaking, the short to intermediate passing games have to become more consistent.
In Week 1 against Houston, it was three explosive pass plays that allowed the Colts to put points on the board and hang with the Texans. In Week 2, the Packers did well at taking those opportunities away.
Explosive plays in the passing game are something every offense is chasing but it can’t be the only avenue for moving the ball through the air. That’s just not sustainable.
Consistently taking advantage of the short and intermediate throws to help set up short down-and-distance situations and to keep the sticks moving is where the passing game must improve. Getting Josh Downs back should certainly help.
Third down: A porous run defense
The Texans and Packers ran absolutely wild on the Colts defense during the first two games. Combined, the two teams have totaled nearly 500 rushing yards against Indianapolis.
As I’ve mentioned before, if the Colts are going to turn things around, it starts here. A bad run defense is too much to consistently overcome because of the negative trickle-down effect it has on the rest of the game–as we’ve seen the last two weeks.
Improvement is going to have to take a top to bottom effort on the Colts part. Gus Bradley has to try something different schematically, while the players have to perform better. Even if the other areas already mentioned end up improving, if the run defense remains this bad, I’m not sure it matters.
Fourth down: 0-2 Start is not easy to overcome
Beginning 0-2 does not bode well for the Colts playoff chances in a historical sense. Since 1990, 279 teams have started 0-2 and only 32 of them have made the playoffs.
Of course, those teams and outcomes have zero bearing on whether the Colts are able to turn things around, but already this early in the season they do find themselves in a must win heading into Week 3. As ESPN’s Bill Barnwell noted, since 2022, only the 2018 Texans overcame an 0-3 start to make the playoffs.