Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
These five Colts could see bigger roles in 2024.
With the page turning to the 2024 offseason for the Indianapolis Colts, it is time to take a look at which players are set to take on a bigger role.
There are a couple of players that made an impact in 2023 and have put themselves in a position to compete for an opening-day starting job. While there are a few that had some nice flashes this past year and will have a chance to carve out more playing time in the upcoming season.
Here are five players that are set to take on a bigger role in 2024:
The Colts’ stock report from the 2023 season.
When we take a look back at the 2023 season for the Indianapolis Colts, it was a good year for the franchise with several players having their best seasons of their career while having some setting new career-highs.
Finding players who raised their stock was easy but narrowing it down to a few was debated heavily. I went with the ones I believe saw a significant increase. As far as for players who saw their stock drop, that was a little more difficult.
There was a clear one who’s performance dropped off from 2022 but for the last two spots, I went with players that could’ve made more of an impact with their time spent on the field.
Let’s take a look at six Colts’ players who either saw a rise or fall in their stock from the past season:
Taking a look at eight Colts who could receive contract extensions this offseason.
Ever since Chris Ballard took over as general manager of the Indianapolis Colts, they have been a team not afraid to hand out contract extensions to players they feel have earned it.
This is a big offseason for a Colts organization that is looking to build a playoff contender after narrowly missing out on the postseason. Re-signing some pending free agents to new deals and handing out some contract extensions to players currently under contract will be two ways of doing so.
We’re taking two schools of thought here as it pertains to contract extensions. The first includes pending free agents we believe could earn a multi-year deal before the new league year arrives in March.
The other includes players going into the final year of their current contract. We’ve seen Ballard hand out extensions in the past when players have one year remaining on current deals before that final season arrives. In theory, these deals would likely get done during the summer after free agency and the 2024 NFL draft have already passed.
Admittedly, we’re casting a pretty wide net here. Not all of the players below will receive a new deal this offseason. In fact, the majority of them probably won’t. But if there’s a slight chance they might, we’re going to make the argument as to why it could happen.
Here are eight Colts currently under contract who could receive a contract extension during the 2024 offseason:
Dayo Odeyingbo is our Player of the Game from the Colts’ win over the Steelers.
Indianapolis Colts defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo continued his breakout season with another strong outing in the 30-13 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday. He earned our Player of the Game nod.
There were a number of worthy candidates for this recognition. Linebacker E.J. Speed had a fantastic day. Running backs Trey Sermon and Tyler Goodson stepped up into bigger roles while the offensive line play bully ball for the majority of the second half.
But Odeyingbo gets the shout-out here. He finished the day with four tackles (two solo), 1.5 sacks, two quarterback hits and one tackle for loss.
Odeyingbo came through with timely pressure throughout the entire game. He would have had an extra sack added to his total, but it was negated by a Jaylon Jones defensive holding penalty.
Odeyingbo has been a catalyst in the pass rush this season, which is exactly what the Colts needed to see out of the third-year edge rusher.
With three games remaining, the Colts will need him to continue coming through with consistent pressure from the edge as he did in this crucial win over the Steelers.
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Here are five takeaways from the Colts’ 30-13 win over the Steelers.
It looked like it was going to be another week where things were going to go wrong for the Indianapolis Colts.
Following a shanked missed 56-yard field goal attempt by Matt Gay, the Pittsburgh Steelers marched down the field for a touchdown, but missed the PAT attempt to make it a 6-0 game. On the following drive for the Colts, they would go three-and-out, and the Steelers blocked the punt to set up their second touchdown of the game for the 13-0 lead early in the second quarter.
Then the game got flipped upside down. Indy would score a touchdown to respond to Pittsburgh and would go on to score 30 unanswered points despite losing Michael Pittman Jr. and Zack Moss in the second quarter.
This win ended the eight-game losing streak to the Steelers and the Colts are now 7-0 when they have the lead at halftime.
This was a crucial win for Indianapolis with the Cincinnati Bengals winning early today to keep their playoff hopes alive entering the final three weeks.
Here are five takeaways from Indy’s victory:
Taking a look at the studs and duds from the Colts’ 30-13 win over the Steelers.
The Indianapolis Colts (8-6) continued their playoff push with a 30-13 win at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers (7-7) on Saturday.
It wasn’t pretty in the first half, especially as the Colts were down 13-0 early on after a missed field goal, a touchdown drive allowed and then a blocked punt that led to another Pittsburgh touchdown.
But the Colts were able to prevail thanks to some big plays by the passing offense after Gardner Minshew gave Indianapolis their first lead as they took a 14-13 halftime lead.
From there, the Colts outscored Pittsburgh 16-0 in the second half as they cruised to a convincing 30-13 victory.
Here’s a look at the studs and duds from the Week 15 win:
Taking a look around the AFC South entering Week 11.
At one point, it appeared the AFC South had a runaway favorite to win the division. Now, three teams are seemingly in the mix as the playoff picture comes into focus entering Week 11.
With all four teams in the division on the field in Week 10, two of them came away with wins on the road. The other two failed to enter the win column, scoring just nine combined points in their games.
Be sure to check out our friends over at Titans Wire, Jaguars Wire and Texans Wire to get all the news and analysis you need around the division.
Here’s a look around the AFC South at the division standings entering Week 11:
Here’s the stock report from the Week 10 win.
The Indianapolis Colts (5-5) fought their way to a gritty 10-6 win over the New England Patriots (2-8) in Frankfurt, Germany.
Now entering the bye with an even record and riding two consecutive wins, the Colts will use the week off to regroup and rest before the home stretch of the season arrives.
Now, it’s time to take a look at how this game impacted the stock of a handful of players.
When taking stock of a player’s performance, it’s best to be fluid. A player’s stock will fall and rise throughout the season so none of this is set in stone. However, it is important to take note of the narratives and storylines taking place as the campaign progresses.
A player’s stock can be impacted by factors such as their performance or the type of snaps they receive during the games.
Here’s a look at the stock report for the Colts following the Week 10 win:
Here are five takeaways from the Colts’ win in Week 10.
The Indianapolis Colts found a way to escape with a victory in Germany over the New England Patriots in a game that came down to the final two minutes.
This was a matchup that Indy should’ve easily won but their offense was ineffective after their opening touchdown drive. The Pats defense did a great job bottling Jonathan Taylor for the rest of the contest, which put the game on Gardner Minshew’s shoulders.
He was unable to get into a rhythm, and despite seeing little pressure, he played with happy feet and was inconsistent on his pass attempts. This allowed New England to hang in this game in the fourth quarter but the defense was able to close it out for the win. The Patriots were moving the ball well on the ground but an errant pass by Mac Jones led to a Julian Blackmon interception.
This would surprisingly lead to Bill Belichick benching Jones for Bailey Zappe on their last attempt to win the game in the final two minutes. The game ended on one of the weirder sequences I’ve seen.
On a play where it looked like the Pats had a false start, Zappe faked spiked the ball, and tried to force it into a covered wide receiver, and Rodney Thomas II got his hands on the ball to seal the win for the Colts.
This was by far one of the worst products the NFL has put in Germany but for Indy, a win is a win. Here are five takeaways from the contest:
Dayo Odeyingbo is our player of the game.
On Sunday, it was an international matchup for the Indianapolis Colts as they played the New England Patriots in Frankfurt, Germany,
In another game that defied logic, the Colts won 10-6. (Yes, that’s an actual score.)
Gardner Minshew played what felt like backyard football the whole game, and Patriots quarterback Mac Jones was benched in the fourth quarter for Bailey Zappe. In a wild turn of events, Zappe faked a spike as the team drove down the field to win the game, only for it to be picked off. (That really happened!)
In now what feels ginormous, Jonathan Taylor scored the game’s only touchdown, and it’s reasonable to assume he had a great day. Yet, his day was pretty lackluster compared to the bend-don’t-break play by the defense, who stepped up at clutch moments.
That included tons of activity and pressure by DeForest Buckner, a forced fumble by Zaire Franklin to add to his 15 tackles, sacks by Kwity Paye and Tyquan Lewis, and huge interceptions as the game was winding down by Julian Blackmon and Rodney Thomas.
However, Dayo Odeyingbo had one of his best games in a Colts uniform. He was all over the field. He earns this week’s Player of the Game honors.
Eins… Zwei… Drei@dodeyingbo giving everyone a counting lesson.
📺 NFLN
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) November 12, 2023
Odyeingbo had four solo tackles, three quarterback hits, three tackles for loss, and three sacks before halftime.
His early energy kept the Colts’ defense in the game and allowed them to keep the Patriots from extending drives. It was especially tough to miss Odyeingbo’s name on third downs.
Full credit goes to defensive coordinator Gus Bradley for finding ways to utilize “Hurricane Dayo.” His play, plus the never-give-up mentality of the defense, secured the win, getting the team back to .500 before the bye week.
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