Tag: Indianapolis Colts

We know that the Indianapolis Colts came away with a win against the Jets and what took place in that game. But what else happened around the rest of the AFC South in Week 11?

The Jacksonville Jaguars were again without Trevor Lawrence and found themselves on the road against the Detroit Lions, who cruised to a dominant 52-6 victory.

Jared Goff was lights out against the Jacksonville defense, completing 24-of-29 passes for 412 yards with four touchdown and he didn’t even play most of the fourth quarter.

Mac Jones, meanwhile, would throw for only 138 yards on 29 attempts with an interception. The Jaguars’ run game would average just 2.4 yards per attempt as well.

The Houston Texans would get back on track following two-straight losses to the Dak Prescott-less Cowboys. Houston jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead and piled on two takeaways against Dallas.

Running back Joe Mixon led the way with 109 rushing yards and three touchdowns, while CJ Stroud threw for 257 yards with an interception. Since Dallas was trailing by multiple scores early, it forced them to become one-dimensional, with Cooper Rush throwing the ball a whopping 55 times, which isn’t going to be a recipe for success.

Lastly, the Tennessee Titans would lose at home 13-23 to the Minnesota Vikings. Quarterback Sam Darnold bounced back against the Titans after two interception-filled games, throwing for 246 yards with three total touchdowns.

Will Levis would put up 295 passing yards on only 17 completions, but points were hard to come by for the Tennessee offense. Levis would throw an interception as well and the Titans mustered only one red zone visit, which did not result in a touchdown. Tennessee would rush for just 33 yards in this game, again, not a recipe for success.

AFC South standings

Texans 7-4
Colts 5-6
Titans 2-8
Jaguars 2-9

The Colts will return home in Week 12 for a challenging matchup with the red-hot Lions. Tennessee will travel to Houston for a divisional matchup with the Texans, while the Jaguars will be on their bye week.

Led by quarterback Anthony Richardson, the Indianapolis Colts snapped their three-game losing streak with a Week 11 win over the New York Jets.

Now at 5-6 on the season, the Colts still find themselves in the AFC playoff mix.

But before we look too far ahead, let’s take a look back at the Colts win with the best photos from Sunday’s game.

Following the Indianapolis Colts’ Week 11 win over the New York Jets, Pro Football Focus has reviewed the tape and handed out their weekly grades for each individual player.

So, on the defensive side of the ball for the Colts, which players stood out, according to PFF’s metrics?

But before we dive into that, I’ll start by saying that when it comes to player evaluation, while PFF’s grading system is helpful in quantifying performances, it is not the be-all-end-all either. It is one metric and should be treated as such.

However, with that said, when a player performs well, PFF’s grades will often reflect that.

Below is a look at PFF’s grading system to provide some context behind the numbers:

90.0+: Elite
80-89.9: High quality
70-79.9: Good
60-69.9: Above average
50-59.9: Average
40-49.9: Below average
39.9 or less: Poor

To see which Colts’ players on offense received the highest marks from PFF, click here.

CB Jaylon Jones

PFF grade: 83.7

GM Chris Ballard banked on Jones’ development in his sophomore season and he has delivered. Against the Jets’ specifically, Jones seemed to be all over the field. He was in on four tackles, including one by the line of scrimmage, and in coverage Jones allowed four completions on eight targets for just 36 yards with two pass breakups.

DE Kwity Paye

PFF grade: 82.7

Paye finished the game generating five pressures and recording two sacks, including the game-ender, as a pass rusher. He was also in on seven tackles, two of which were for a loss.

DE Laiatu Latu

PFF grade: 78.7
*LB Grant Stuard had a grade of 80.7 but played just 11 defensive snaps

Along with Paye, Latu put together an impressive performance at defensive end as well. Latu was credited with three pressures and a sack, while against the run, he made three total tackles, with two of them coming behind the line of scrimmage.

Honorable Mentions

CB Sam Womack: 69.5
DT DeForest Buckner: 65.7
S Nick Cross: 63.7

The Indianapolis Colts snapped their three-game losing streak with a come from behind win over the Jets in Week 11. Pro Football Focus has now reviewed the game-tape and handed out their individual player grades.

So on the offensive side of the ball for the Colts, which players stood out?

But first, my usual disclaimer, which is that while PFF’s grading system is helpful in quantifying a player’s performance, it is not the be-all-end-all. It is one metric and should be treated as such.

However, generally speaking, when a player performs well on he field, these grades generally reflect that.

Below is a look at PFF’s grading system to provide some context behind the numbers:

90.0+: Elite
80-89.9: High quality
70-79.9: Good
60-69.9: Above average
50-59.9: Average
40-49.9: Below average
39.9 or less: Poor

WR Josh Downs

PFF grade: 83.0

Downs was again excellent in this game–as he has been all season. He would catch all five of the passes thrown his way, totaling 84 yards and included a 31-yard downfield completion. Downs would also score a touchdown as well.

QB Anthony Richardson

PFF grade: 80.1

From an intangible standpoint, we saw Richardson throwing on time and within the rhythm of the play, while displaying excellent command of the offense. On the stat sheet, he completed 20-of-30 passes for 272 with three total touchdowns and 32 rushing yards. Richardson was particularly good in the fourth quarter.

WR AD Mitchell

PFF grade: 79.6

Mitchell only played 12 snaps but made the most of those opportunities. He caught his one target on a shallow crosser and turned it into a 33 yard gain that set up an eventual Colts touchdown from inside the five yard line. I feel like I’m yelling into the void here, but Mitchell needs more snaps.

Honorable Mentions

RT Braden Smith: 74.1
LG Quenton Nelson: 70.3
TE Drew Ogletree: 69.1

The overall performance that quarterback Anthony Richardson put together in the Indianapolis Colts’ Week 11 win over the Jets was already impressive.

He was often throwing on time and within the rhythm of the play, displaying excellent command of the offense. He finished the game completing 20-of-30 passes for 272 yards with an additional 32 yards on the ground and three total touchdowns.

But what takes this performance to the next level is how he performed in crunch time during the fourth quarter while trailing.

Following a Jets touchdown that gave New York an eight point lead, Richardson and the Colts’ offense responded with an eight play, 70 yard touchdown drive that took fewer than three minutes off the clock.

After a failed two-point conversion attempt, the Colts trailed by two. The Jets’ offense would then put together a long field goal drive that extended the lead to five and took 7:30 off the clock, giving Indianapolis the ball back with less than three minutes in the game.

But sparked by a 39 yard completion to Alec Pierce, Richardson would orchestrate another quick touchdown drive, capped off with touchdown run by Richardson.

When it was all said and done, in the fourth quarter alone, Richardson overcame an eight point deficit by completing 8-of-10 passes for 129 and two total touchdowns.

Anthony Richardson in the 4th quarter vs the Jets

🧊 8/10
🧊 129 passing yards
🧊 1 passing TD
🧊 1 rushing TD pic.twitter.com/Z0hGLTf3dt

— PFF (@PFF) November 18, 2024

The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Colts and keeps them alive in the AFC playoff hunt. But big picture, Richardson’s performance on Sunday–and in the fourth quarter–gives the Colts’ long-term hope as he showcased the potential that everyone knows is there.

The Indianapolis Colts announced on Monday that they have signed defensive tackle Trysten Hill to the practice squad.

After the team signed linebacker Liam Anderson from the practice squad to the 53-man roster on Saturday, they had an opening, so no corresponding cut had to be made.

Hill is a former second-round pick in the 2019 NFL draft by the Dallas Cowboys out of Central Florida. In addition to playing with Dallas, Hill has also spent time with Arizona, Cleveland, and with New England.

Over his career, Hill has played in 34 games, including five starts. In total, he has recorded 30 pressures and two sacks, according to Pro Football Reference. He’s also made 40 total tackles.

Hill has played 45 career special teams snaps as well, primarily on the field goal blocking unit.

Most recently, Hill appeared in two games with the Patriots last season, playing 14 defensive snaps.

The addition of Hill to the practice squad adds to the Colts’ defensive line depth, after they released Adam Gotsis from the 53-man roster over the week in order to make room for Anderson.

Along with Hill, Titus Leo is the other defensive lineman on the Colts’ practice squad.

Led by Anthony Richardson in his return to the starting lineup, the Indianapolis Colts snapped their three-game losing skid with a win in Week 11 over the Jets.

I’ve now had the chance to go back and rewatch the Colts’ performance and made note of my key observations as I watched the second time through.

– Terrific command and just control of the offense overall in this game from Anthony Richardson, but that fourth-quarter performance was particularly special. Trailing by eight and then by five, Richardson orchestrated two touchdown drives, completing 8-of-10 passes for 129 yards and two total touchdowns.

– I’ve discussed this already, but the gameplan we saw from Shane Steichen in this one was what I imagined we would see from the Colts all season with Richardson. It was a run-first approach with Jonathan Taylor heavily involved, as was Richardson, who had 10 carries of his own. Meanwhile, in the passing game, Steichen got Richardson on the move and in an early rhythm, dialing up a good mixture of downfield throws, along with underneath and crossing routes, which Richardson took advantage of.

– Jaylon Jones seemed to be everywhere. He had multiple pass breakups, was in on several tackles, including a few around the line of scrimmage, and even when he surrendered a completion, he was close by to limit the YAC.

– That was a rough sequence before half and coming out of it. With the defense dominating the first half, a Jets’ touchdown put them right back in it. Then to make matters worse, the Colts’ fumbled on their opening possession of the second half and the Jets scored two plays later. Just like that, New York had the lead.

– On the next Colts’ possession following that Jets’ touchdown, Richardson and Josh Downs connected on a huge 3rd-and-13 that ended up sparking a field goal drive instead of a quick punt and further compounding the miscues. Richardson and Downs also connected on a 3rd-and-9 on that drive as well, which included somehow completing the pass with a defensive lineman draped all over him.

– I wrote about this before the game in my key matchups, but Tanor Bortolini and Dalton Tucker faced a very difficult matchup against Javon Kinlaw, Quinnen Williams and the Jets interior defensive line, and it showed at times. Of the 11 pressures given up by the Colts, PFF credited Bortolini and Williams with eight of them.

– I’m going to keep saying this, but AD Mitchell needs more than 12 snaps. No one is expecting him to out-snap Michael Pittman, Josh Downs or Alec Pierce, and with the Colts heavy usage of just two or three receiver sets, finding those snaps can be challenging at times, but that’s up to Steichen to do. Mitchell brings added juice to the offense, and by bringing him along slowly, it’s only lengthening his learning curve. Ashton Dulin again out-snapped him.

– Something to watch moving forward is Taylor’s workload. He was out there for 63 of the 70 offensive snaps while Trey Sermon and Tyler Goodson combined for just seven snaps. It’s a good thing that your best players are on the field, but at running back, I do wonder how sustainable that amount of snaps is if this is going to be a weekly occurrence. The Colts chose not to address their running back depth in the offseason.

– A really nice day for Downs and Dulin as returners. Downs averaged 12.3 yards per attempt on three punt attempts and Dulin had a 43-yard kick return. Also, while we are on the topic of special teams, shoutout to Matt Gay, who was 3-for-3 on field goals, including a 56 yarder.

– To a degree, Breece Hall is going to find success no matter what, but where he took advantage of the Colts’ defense in the second half was on rushes outside the tackle box. Once he got in space with a few blockers, there were a few chunk runs that ensued. Hall averaged almost 5.0 yards per rush on 16 carries.

– There was a stretch in the second half where the offense went quiet, and a lot of that started with struggles on first down. The Colts remained committed to the run game–which was a good thing–but it was tough sledding. As a team, Indianapolis averaged only 2.6 yards per rush. That, plus penalties, put the offense behind the sticks and in some obvious–and disadvantageous–passing situations.