Tag: Indianapolis Colts

Over the last month of games, Indianapolis Colts defensive end Kwity Paye has been picking up pass rush steam.

During that span of four games, beginning with the Colts’ second matchup with Houston, Paye has recorded 14 pressures and four sacks, according to Pro Football Focus.

This included a five-pressure and two-sack performance this past Sunday against the New York Jets.

To put some context around those figures, among all defensive ends during that stretch, Paye’s 14 pressures are tied for the 14th-most in football. His four sacks, meanwhile, are tied for the fourth-most.

Coming off of an offseason, where Paye cut weight but put on muscle, he’s been one of the fastest pass rushers off the ball this season. According to ESPN analytics, Paye’s average time of 0.75 seconds across the line of scrimmage is the fifth-fastest in football.

The name of the game in football is getting after the quarterback. When done consistently, there is a positive trickle-down effect to the rest of the defense. Pressure disrupts the timing and rhythm of the play, often meaning less time in coverage for the secondary and potential mistakes from the quarterback.

Overall, the Colts’ pass rush unit as a whole has improved over the last month of play as well.

This also happens to coincide with the return of DeForest Buckner off of injured reserve. We all know that Buckner has the ability to fill the stat sheet himself, but his presence creates opportunities for others, with the attention that he draws helping to create advantageous or one-on-one matchups for his teammates.

Defensive coordinator Gus Bradley’s willingness to drum up pressures via blitzes has been a factor in the Colts’ causing more disruption as well.

Continuing to find that success, for both Paye and the rest of the defense, will be a must this week against Detroit’s Jared Goff, who can pick apart even the best defenses when he has time in the pocket. Creating that pressure, however, won’t come easy against perhaps the best offensive line unit in football.

On Wednesday, the Pro Football Hall of Fame again reduced its 2025 class list to 25 semifinalists, which includes three former Indianapolis Colts.

WR Reggie Wayne
DE Robert Mathis
K Adam Vinatieri

Wayne, who is currently the Colts receivers coach, would also spend his entire career in Indianapolis where he was a six-time Pro Bowler and one-time All-Pro. Wayne totaled 14,345 receiving yards in his career with 82 touchdown receptions over 211 games.

Mathis, meanwhile, played with the Colts his entire career, from 2003 to 2016, appearing in 192 games. Mathis finished his career with 54 forced fumbles, 108 tackles for loss, 141 quarterback hits and 123 sacks. Mathis was a five time Pro Bowler and one-time All-Pro.

Lastly, after 10 years in New England, Vinatieri would spend 14 with the Colts. With Indianapolis specifically, Vinatieri made 85.3 percent of his field goal attempts. He was a three-time Pro Bowler and a three-time All-Pro in his career.

Back in September, the NFL announced 167 modern-era nominees for the 2025 Hall of Fame class. That original list included eight former Colts members.

Since then, that number of nominees has been reduced to 50 and now to 25. From here, another vote will take place, trimming the number of nominees down to only 15 before the selection committee will place its final votes for the official 2025 class.

How do the Indianapolis Colts compare to their Week 12 opponent, the Detroit Lions, in key, game-defining statistical categories?

Of course, the game of football isn’t played on paper, but at this point in the season, each team’s stats do carry weight, and gives us a good idea of who they are in particular areas.

So, these numbers can give us some insights into who has the advantage on Sunday in a few specific metrics.

This can be especially helpful against an uncommon opponent like the Lions, who the Colts don’t see very often.

In an effort to keep things somewhat simple, I boiled this article down to the need-to-know statistics for this matchup. This includes the run game performance, passing game performance, pressures, turnovers, third down and red zone success, and points.

With help from Team Rankings and ESPN here is how the Colts matchup stat-wise in a few key categories with the Lions: