Following an 0-2 start to being the year, the Indianapolis Colts bottomed-out last week in ESPN’s power rankings, falling all the way down to No. 28.
However, after a win this past Sunday against the Chicago Bears, the Colts now jumped a few spots and are up to No. 24. They began the season at No. 18 in these rankings.
Determining these rankings for ESPN are more than 80 writers, editors, and TV personalities evaluating each team’s performance and then ranking them from 1-32.
After being run over in the first two games by Houston and Green Bay, the run defense found success against–albeit–a struggling Bears’ rushing offense, holding Chicago to just 63 yards on 28 carries.
The overall success that the defense had began there. Slowing the run put the Bears offense behind the sticks and forced them to rely on what had been an inconsistent passing game through the first two weeks.
On the other side of the ball, the Colts still faced their own inconsistencies in the passing game but seemed to establish the blueprint that they need to lean on moving forward, which is a heavy dose of the run game.
After a game in Green Bay where Jonathan Taylor had just 12 carries and Anthony Richardson one designed run, the duo combined for 28 rushes–excluding kneel-downs–and 128 yards with Taylor scoring twice. Continuing to find success on the ground will take some of the burden off the passing game.
Next up on the schedule for Indianapolis are the 3-0 Pittsburgh Steelers, who are No. 7 in ESPN’s rankings.
The Steelers offense, which ranks second in rush attempts per game and 12th in rushing yards will put the recent success that the Colts run defense had to the test. The same could be said on the other side of the ball with the Colts’ rushing offense tasked with facing a Steelers defense that ranks second in yards per rush allowed.