In a must-win game to keep their playoff hopes alive, the Indianapolis Colts’ defense surrendered 38 points to the two-win Giants.
In addition to only having two wins, the Giants came into this game on a 10-game losing streak. And believe it or not, New York was also averaging just over 14 points per game–the worst mark in football.
However, on Sunday afternoon against the Colts, the Giants’ offense looked like a juggernaut, sparked by rookie receiver Malik Nabers and a number of big plays.
By my count, the Giants’ offense generated eight plays of at least 19 yards in this game. Most of those explosives came via the passing game, specifically to Nabers, who totaled 171 yards on just seven receptions with two scores.
According to Pro Football Focus’ initial metrics, they counted 14 missed tackles for the Colts’ defense, which obviously contributed to a number of those explosive plays. That tackling performance came just one week after having a season worst of 18 missed tackles against Tennessee.
Coming into the game, I thought that if the Colts could bottle up the Giants running game, which they did, that this would be the catalyst towards their success as it would put Drew Lock in obvious passing situations and allow the Colts’ pass rush to get after him.
But that wasn’t the case. Against a Giants’ offensive line that has allowed one of the highest pressure rates in football, the Colts pressured Lock on fewer than 30 percent of his dropbacks.
For some context, a season long pressure rate of 29% would rank 35th out of 43 eligible quarterbacks.
In addition to that, when Nabers was in those one-on-one situations and the pass rush isn’t getting home, allowing Lock to operate within the timing and rhythm of the play, he made the Colts pay.
Obviously, and understandably so, the defense is going to take the brunt of the criticism for this loss. But in addition to all the issues just mentioned, the special teams unit would give up a kick return for a touchdown, and the offense, while they put up a lot of yards and points, missed out on opportunities as well.
On one possession, Flacco faced quick pressure and threw an interception. Another red zone possession ended with a sack and then one on a fourth down stop. Matt Gay also missed a 54-yard attempt as well.
The Colts came into this game allowing explosive plays at one of the highest rates in the NFL this season, along with also ranking among the worst in missed tackles. Ultimately, it was those lingering issues that played a major role in ending their playoff hopes.