One of the major storylines through the first three weeks of the season has been how dominant the Indianapolis Colts defense has been. But just how dominant have they been?
Through the first three games, the Colts are at the top of the rankings in almost every statistical category. Thanks to strong execution and some poor competition, the Colts have fielded an elite unit through the first three weeks.
Here are some of the rankings for the Colts entering their Week 4 matchup with the Bears:
- Points allowed: 45 (1st)
- Yards per play: 4.4 (1st)
- Total yards: 676 (1st)
- Interceptions: 6 (1st)
- Third-down conversion: 32.2% (3rd)
- Pressure rate: 33.3% (3rd)
Suffice it to say, the Colts have been straight-up crushing their opponents—most of which has come in the last two weeks.
Will this continue? Probably not. The competition the Colts have faced to open the season hasn’t been strong at all and the schedule gets much tougher during the second half.
But while the competition hasn’t been strong, the Colts have done exactly what a dominant defense would do against lowly competition. They made it clear who the better unit was without question. Elite defenses not only keep bad offenses from scoring, they outright dominate them. The Colts have done that.
Indy gets somewhat of a stronger test in the Bears in Week 4 with Nick Foles being named the starting quarterback. Then they are on the road against the Browns, who have a strong offense and the Bengals have the pieces to surprise people.
So the competition will continue to get stiffer, which will provide us the chance to see just how legit this defense is.
However, through the first three games, the Colts have been outright dominant and are certainly headed in the right direction to finishing as a top-10 unit in 2020.