Through six weeks of the 2024 NFL season, the Indianapolis Colts offense continues to be one of the best at generating explosive plays.
By these metrics–and most–an explosive play is defined as a rush of 10-plus yards or a pass of 20-plus yards.
The Colts’ explosive play rate of 12.1 percent is the third-highest mark in football, trailing only Green Bay’s offense at 13.0 percent and Detroit at 13.1 percent.
Explosive play rates through Week 6 pic.twitter.com/tCUqaXWZcr
— Football Insights 📊 (@fball_insights) October 15, 2024
Contributing to the Colts’ success in this area is having Jonathan Taylor at running back playing behind one of the best offensive line units in football.
Even with missing the last two games, Taylor still ranks seventh among all running backs in rushes of at least 10 yards and is third in rushes of 15-plus yards.
Another factor is the Colts willingness to push the ball downfield in the passing game along with having Alec Pierce on the receiving end of many of those throws.
Pierce’s six receptions of at least 20 yards are tied for the most at his position group and he leads the way with 295 total passing yards on downfield attempts. Overall, Pierce’s 28.3 yards per catch is the best in the NFL.
Among all quarterbacks, meanwhile, Richardson’s downfield pass attempt rate of 18.2 percent is the highest in football, according to PFF. In the last two games specifically with Joe Flacco starting, no quarterback has more pass attempts of 20-plus yards than him.
As we’ve seen, the big plays aren’t the issue for this offense. And while explosive plays are great and often lead to points, they also cannot be the only means an offense has when it comes to moving the ball.
Consistency in the short to intermediate passing game, along with not having Taylor these last two weeks specifically, has made sustaining drives difficult for the offense throughout the season.
The Colts will enter Week 7 ranked last in time of possession per game. As always, there are numerous elements in play contributing to that, but the boom-or-bust nature of the offense is one of those factors.
Then when struggling to move the chains, there is a negative trickle-down effect to the defensive side of the ball, forcing that unit to be on the field more often, which can lead to a big discrepancy in the number of plays ran between the two offenses. Naturally, more plays, means more opportunities, and oftentimes more points.
We’ve seen a lot of flashes from this offense. Now the next step is putting it all together. The run game when featuring Taylor, coupled with added consistency on those short to intermediate throws, along with the continued big play success is the recipe for what should be a difficult offense to stop.