The Indianapolis Colts got a much-needed win against the Chicago Bears, coming away with a hard-fought 21-16 win to move to 1-2 on the season.
As always, with the game having just wrapped up, let’s dive into our instant takeaways from what we saw.
– Against a Bears offense that has struggled through two games, the Colts defense did their job, for the most part, including winning the turnover battle and coming up with a big goal line stand in the first half. Chicago averaged fewer than 5.0 yards per play in the game.
– It’s amazing how much easier things can be for a defense–and the team–when the opponent isn’t running wild on you. The Bears came into the game averaging 3.5 yards per rush and didn’t even reach the 3.0 yard per carry mark in this game. It’s a struggling Bears offensive line and the Colts took advantage.
– Taven Bryan got the start in DeForest Buckner’s absence, but we did see Raekwon Davis lining up next to each other as well during running downs. Also, credit to the defensive ends and linebackers for not letting the Chicago ball carriers get outside. Yes, as mentioned, the Bears run game has struggled, but fundamentally, this was a much improved performance by the Colts.
– A big game and performance by Jaylon Jones, who came away with two interceptions–the first two picks of his career. In total, the Colts forced three takeaways, and did an excellent job at turning those turnovers into points.
– All-around, an excellent display of complementary football by the Colts.
– The pass rush went a bit quiet in the second half, but overall they were able to take advantage of a matchup against a Bears’ offensive line that entered the game allowing the ninth-highest pressure rate through two weeks.
– The Bears’ offense was just 9-for-21 on third downs. This success for the Colts started with slowing their run game, putting Williams and the offense in predictable passing situations where the pass rush could pin its ears back.
– Once again, the Colts offense feasted off of explosive plays. Anthony Richardson had two completions of 40-plus yards and Jonathan Taylor had a touchdown run of 29 yards.
– The passing game was, however, still very inconsistent on short to intermediate routes. On several of those passes, Anthony Richardson was quite inaccurate. This has made it difficult for the offense to sustain drives. Their ability to move the ball was again very boom or bust.
– With 23 carries in this game, getting Jonathan Taylor the ball was a much bigger emphasis for the offense. Taylor finished with 110 yards and 4.8 yards per carry, with a few really impressive runs.
– In his debut, Josh Downs caught three passes for 22 yards on five targets.
– Penalties were an issue for the Colts. They were penalized nine times for 78 yards. In a few instances, those penalties helped the Bears offense stay on the field, while on offense, penalties put the offense behind the sticks, which was tough to overcome.
– In a game where both offenses struggled, Colts’ punter Rigoberto Sanchez did a very good job helping Indianapolis win the field position battle.
– We are awaiting updates, but the Colts had late injuries to Dallis Flowers, Kenny Moore (hip), and Kwity Paye (quad).
– The Colts again lost the time of possession battle by 10-plus minutes. The offense struggling to move the chains contributed to this deficit.