The Indianapolis Colts escaped Tennessee with a win to improve to 3-3 on the year. It wasn’t pretty, but as the old saying goes, a win is a win–and it was an important one to get for Indianapolis.
I’ve now had the chance to go back and rewatch the Colts’ performance and made note of my key observations as I watched the second time through.
– The success that the Titans offense did find on Sunday came in the run game. Indianapolis allowed 146 rushing yards to the Tennessee offense at 5.2 yards per rush.
– The Colts front also wasn’t able to drum up much pressure on Will Levis and against an offensive line that has given up a lot of pressures and sacks this season. In part, the Titans got the ball out of Levis’ hands quick but the Colts need more from their front.
– Even when Gus Bradley dialed up some blitzes, which is did on several occasions, the Colts weren’t able to get home.
– After getting shredded the last three games, the Colts pass defense held Levis to 95 total yards and a lowly 3.5 yards per attempt. Credit to Indianapolis for limiting the Titans, but as we saw, this is a very limited Tennessee passing game. The gameplan was to get the ball out of Levis’ hands with his pass-catchers doing the heavy lifting with some YAC.
– The difference in third down success was a key factor in this game. The Colts kept drives alive going 7-for-15 in those situations while Tennessee was just 4-for-11.
– Also noteworthy was the difference in penalties. The Colts were flagged five times for 40 yards and the Titans 11 times for 113 yards, several of which helped extend drives for the Indianapolis offense.
– That touchdown run from Tony Pollard on the draw play was rough for the Colts, to say the least. Missed tackles and poor angles galore on that play. A low point in this game.
– As expected against this Titans’ front, running the ball for the Colts did not come easy. However, Tyler Goodson was able to provide some much-needed juice, averaging 6.4 yards per rush on eight carries. As long as Jonathan Taylor is out, Goodson needs more opportunities. Trey Sermon averaged just 1.6 yards per rush on 18 carries.
– This isn’t a Titans’ front that has generated a lot of pressures this season, but the Colts’ offensive line did their job giving Joe Flacco time. The Titans didn’t record any sacks and was hit only twice on 38 dropbacks.
– I went into greater detail here, but Michael Pittman and Josh Downs both shouldered the weight of the offense in this one. Combined, the two made up the majority of Flacco’s production in the passing game, and going beyond the numbers, came through in some critical moments.
– There are long stretches in these games where moving the ball for the Colts offense doesn’t come easy, but the team has now scored on their opening drive in three straight games–in part a credit to head coach Shane Steichen for the opening play script he’s put together.
– Mo Alie-Cox obviously doesn’t have a ton of targets, but he’s generating explosive pass plays on a fairly regular basis this season.
– Certainly not a great showing from the defense, but they came through when it mattered. After the Colts took the 20-17 lead, the defense proceeded to for a three-and-out, an interception, and then a punt after just one first down.
– Rigoberto Sanchez is having a really good season.
– I said this last week but thought the same thing rewatching this week’s game: I would like to see Alec Pierce with more downfield opportunities earlier in the game. Again, it wasn’t until the fourth quarter where we saw the Colts making a concerted effort to push the ball downfield to him.
– The execution and play-calling on a few of those red zone possessions by the Colts offense, specifically inside the 10 yard line, was head-scratching. Like three straight runs between the tackles against one of the best run defenses in football.
– As mentioned, it wasn’t easy for Flacco and the passing game, but just like last week, when a fourth-quarter score was needed, he and the offense found a way into the end zone.