The Indianapolis Colts defense gave up a lot of yards to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, and missed tackles were a major contributor to that overall problem.
The Jaguars offense finished this game with 37 points and just shy of 500 total yards of offense. The bulk of that damage was done through the air, with Trevor Lawrence putting together a very efficient performance where he threw for 371 yards, but running back Tank Bigsby also had a 65-yard run as well.
Colts Film Room over on X did the leg work and noted that the Colts allowed 231 yards after the catch versus Jacksonville. They also allowed 5.61 yards after contact per rush attempt.
For some context, out of the 28 teams who played in Week 5, the 231 yards after the catch allowed ranked 26th and the yards after contact figure ranked 28th.
Or in short, there were a lot of missed tackles.
Unfortunately, this missed tackle issue that we saw on Sunday wasn’t a one-off performance, but has been something that the Colts have dealt with all season. Entering Week 6, their 46 missed tackles are the third-most in football, according to Pro Football Reference.
On Tuesday when meeting with reporters, defensive coordinator Gus Bradley noted that the Colts’ defenders are making contact but not finishing the tackle–as the yards after contact figure illustrates.
Bradley added that tackling in space is a particular issue and that better pad level, wrapping up, and swarming to the ball carrier are all needed remedies to fix this big problem.
While improved tackling certainly won’t fix all of the problems on defense, oftentimes executing the fundamentals correctly can go a long way in providing the overall unit with stability.
A key factor in turning things around defensively for the Colts is going to start right here with being a better tackling team.