Justin Houston, Quenton Nelson named to PFF Team of the Week

Justin Houston and Quenton Nelson made an impression in Week 10.

The Indianapolis Colts suffered a horrendous loss at home against the Miami Dolphins, but there were some lone bright spots on both sides of the ball in Week 10.

Pro Football Focus was particularly keen on the performances of defensive end Justin Houston and left guard Quenton Nelson—both of which were named to their Team of the Week in Week 10.

LG QUENTON NELSON, INDIANAPOLIS COLTS

Nelson has now earned 70.0-plus overall grades and run-blocking grades in three consecutive games. Against Miami on Sunday, he earned an 84.2 overall grade, 89.6 pass-blocking grade and 77.1 run-blocking grade. He also allowed zero pressures across his 41 pass-blocking snaps.

EDGE JUSTIN HOUSTON, INDIANAPOLIS COLTS

Houston recorded six total pressures against Miami on Sunday, including four hurries, one hit and a sack. He also logged four defensive stops in the affair.

While the offensive line had some question marks in the upset loss, Nelson held his own for the most part. He was stout in pass protection and was solid when the Colts tried to run the ball—though they struggled to get much going in the latter area.

Houston has been the MVP for the Colts defense through nine games. He’s already up to 7.0 sacks and has one in each of his last five games. The veteran has been well worth the two-year deal he signed this offseason.

There is a bit of a snub, though. Linebacker Darius Leonard had one of the better performances at the position in recent memory, but somehow he didn’t grade high enough to make the list. He finished with 13 tackles (11 solo), one sack, one interception, two passes defended, two tackles for loss and a forced fumble.

Colts defense stepping up when needed most

Don’t blame the struggles on the defense.

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It’s hard to look at positives after a loss like the Indianapolis Colts just had on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins, but that’s where this article comes in to save the day.

Yes, the offense has played poorly the past three weeks, but how have the Colts stayed in every game? It’s because of their defense, a unit that has really stepped up their play since Week 4.

The first four weeks of the season the Colts allowed over 350 total yards of offense in three games, while also allowing over 24 points in each of those games. Another factor to their bad play to start the season was that they weren’t getting off the field on third down, giving up over 20 first downs in all but one game the first four weeks.

Credit the success to the return of some of their more important players returning—Jabaal Sheard, Darius Leonard, Malik Hooker—this defense has turned back into their form they had at the end of the 2018 season when they became a top-10 unit and allowed the Colts to go on a nine-game winning streak late in the season.

One player to highlight is Jabaal Sheard. He isn’t the flashiest player on the Colts and doesn’t always get the recognition, but he will here. First four weeks of the season the Colts allowed an average of 132.5 rushing yards per game. The last five? 81.8 yards per game.

Sheard returning to the right side allowed Justin Houston to return to his natural position at left defensive end, and the results have been positive. Since Week 5 Justin Houston has won Defensive Player of the Week (Week 5), has recorded a sack in every game, forced a fumble resulting in a safety and has provided the consistent pass rush the Colts need.

What is more impressive about this defense since Week 5 has been the offenses they’ve faced. Yes, the last three weeks it has been less impressive (Denver, Pittsburgh and Miami) but they played well versus two of the better offenses in the AFC in Houston and Kansas City.

The Colts were the first team to hold the Chiefs to under 300 totals yards of offense and 30 points since Patrick Mahomes has taken over at quarterback for the Chiefs.

Indianapolis was able to back up that performance by holding one of the best red-zone offenses in the NFL, Houston, to 2-for-5 scoring touchdowns in the red zone. Plus, they forced two fourth-quarter interceptions on Deshaun Watson, including the one that sealed the game.

One final point to make, this defense has really stepped up in the situational downs. In the first four weeks, the Colts defense was allowing a 48% conversion rate on third down (21/43). Whereas the last five games, they’re down to just 32% conversion rate, (21/65).

The red zone has made just as big of a difference. The first four games the Colts were allowing touchdowns on 75% of drives that got into the red zone, (9/12). While teams have gotten into the red zone more against the Colts recently, some due to turnovers by the offense, the defense is only allowing touchdowns on 35%, (6/17).

While fans can point blame many different ways each Sunday, they shouldn’t point to the defense as the reason the Colts have been sputtering recently. If anything, fans should applaud the defense for keeping the Colts in all these games recently.

The good, the bad and the ugly from Colts’ loss to Dolphins

The good, the bad and the ugly from Week 10.

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As the Indianapolis Colts (5-4) attempt to recover from what was an abysmal performance against the Miami Dolphins (2-7) on Sunday, it is important to look back at what went right and what went wrong.

While the takeaways from the game will be predominantly negative—because that’s how it works after a loss to a team like the Dolphins. But there were some positives that stood out despite the loss.

Here is the good, the bad and the ugly from Week 10:

The Good

LB Darius Leonard: He certainly looked like an All-Pro in this game. The Maniac led the team with 13 tackles (11 solo) while adding a sack, an interception, a forced fumble, two tackles for loss and two passes defended.

DE Justin Houston: The veteran edge rusher was solid against the run and extended his sack streak to five games. He has six total over that span.

Rookie CBs: The Colts relied heavily on rookie cornerbacks Rock Ya-Sin and Marvell Tell. Both held their own and made some big plays throughout the loss.

TE Jack Doyle: Ol’ Reliable was the lone bright spot in the offense on Sunday. He caught three passes for 44 yards and a touchdown.

The Bad

Offensive Line: They struggled in run blocking (3.8 yards per carry) and the right side was porous in pass protection, especially when facing a stunt.

Red Zone Offense: The Colts had their share of chances to score touchdowns. But they converted just one of their four trips inside the 20-yard-line.

K Adam Vinatieri: The good news is Vinatieri made both of his field-goal attempts. The bad news is he missed another extra-point attempt—one that cost the Colts a chance to tie the game on their final drive.

The Ugly

QB Brian Hoyer: What to say that hasn’t already been said. It was a feeble outing for the veteran, who tossed three interceptions and recorded a 38.8 passer rating. Suffice it to say the Colts need Jacoby Brissett to return ASAP.

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5 takeaways from Colts’ 16-12 loss vs. Dolphins

Takeaways from the Colts’ loss to the Dolphins.

There are some games that are too hard to comprehend and explain later on, and Sunday’s game between the Indianapolis Colts (5-4) and Miami Dolphins (2-7) is now one of them.

Well, let’s start off with the easiest point. The Colts lost. And what would follow that beginning? An extensive list of self-inflicted mistakes, turnovers, and uninspired play by a team who supposedly has postseason aspirations. Even though the Dolphins deserve credit for their 16-12 win, the focus will be all on the Colts. Nothing more, nothing less.

Here are five takeaways from the Colts’ upset loss vs. the Dolphins:

Hoyer was just… man, forget it

Last weekend, I made sure to give quarterback Brian Hoyer “his flowers” following his stand-in performance against the Steelers in Week 9. The 11-year veteran, despite throwing a pick-six earlier on, threw three passing touchdowns and kept the Colts in the game until the very end.

But as we fast-forwarded to Sunday’s game, none of Hoyer’s positive attributes were there to be seen. Despite facing a bottom-ranked Dolphins’ defense, Hoyer was held to 204 passing yards, hit on several occasions, and threw three interceptions. And to make the Colts’ latest QB1’s performance worse, some of his struggles can’t be reflected in his statistics.

For a veteran of his stature, Hoyer missed various, open receivers on passing plays and failed to make common adjustments with his pass protection.

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