Tag: keys for defense

Keys for the Colts defense vs. Bears in Week 4

Keys for the defense in Week 4.

The Indianapolis Colts (2-1) have been on a tear recently thanks to the dominating performances from their defensive unit. Now, that side of the ball gets a test with the undefeated Chicago Bears (3-0) in Week 4.

The Bears offense isn’t a unit that should scare anyone, but they do have the potential to put up points. Now with Nick Foles as the starting quarterback, it could keep the Bears offense more competitive throughout the game—evident from his 16-point comeback in Week 3.

Looking to keep their hot streak alive, here are three keys for the Colts defense in Week 4:

Allen Robinson must be contained

The Colts defense hasn’t been tested a whole lot this season, but they will have a challenge in stopping Robinson. The 28-year-old is the focus of the passing game for the Bears and will continue to be so for Foles. The Colts are seemingly getting Rock Ya-Sin back, but it will still be a tough challenge.

Robinson had a breakout game against the Falcons—a pretty bad defense—but the Colts have to be weary that he doesn’t take over the game. He has all of the skills in the world to be a true No. 1 wide receiver in the league, and he has to be the priority in the passing game.

Key on David Montgomery

With Tarik Cohen out for the season with a torn ACL, the Bears will be rolling with the second-year back in Montgomery for a three-down role. It will be the first time in his young career that we’ve seen him get this much work, but the Colts should make sure he doesn’t enjoy a big day.

The Bears offense doesn’t really have the weapons to dominate the game against what has been a dominant Colts defense. Stopping the run is their priority every week, but Montgomery is the only one they have to focus on in the backfield.

Keep getting pressure with four

Entering this week, the Colts are the team with the second-lowest blitz percentage in the NFL at just 11.8%. This is largely because they have been successful in getting pressure with just four pass-rushers. The opposition hasn’t been great, but the Colts are still dominating in the trenches.

The Bears have allowed 31 pressures in three games to open the season, per Pro Football Focus, so the Colts should be able to get to Foles without having to get too creative with their numbers. If they can generate consistent pressure with four as they have in the last two weeks, they should come out with another strong performance.

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3 keys for the Colts defense vs. Jets in Week 3

Keys for the defense in Week 3.

The Indianapolis Colts (1-1) saw a major resurgence on the defensive side of the ball in their first win of the season and now get to host one of the worst offenses in the NFL with the New York Jets (0-2) coming to town.

The Colts defense was all over the place in their Week 2 win against the Vikings. They sacked Kirk Cousins three times while grabbing three interceptions and recording nine total passes defended. It was an encouraging outing to see them be so dominant.

Here are three keys for the Colts defense in their Week 3 matchup with the Jets:

Take Chris Herndon out of the picture

The Jets offense isn’t one that scares anyone to begin with, but they will now be out a number of skill players on Sunday. Wide receivers Jamison Crowder and Breshad Perriman were ruled out while rookie Denzel Mims and Le’Veon Bell are on the injured reserve list.

This means the tight end in Herndon is the only viable passing option for the Jets. With their athletic linebackers and safeties, the Colts should key in on Herndon as the priority on the passing game, especially seeing as no one behind him is a true threat.

Dial-up the pressure

With most of the Jets offense missing the game due to injury, the Colts will want to make Sam Darnold as uncomfortable as possible. They didn’t do so in 2018 when these two teams last met, and Darnold led the Jets to an upset win.

But the third-year quarterback is struggling against pressure this year. According to Pro Football Focus, Darnold has completed just 42.9% of his passes for a 52.3 passer rating when pressured. The Colts were able to generate consistent pressure in Week 2 and must do so again.

Simply play their game

The Colts are massive home favorites for a reason. They are coming off of a strong showing defensively in Week 2, and the Jets are simply one of the worst teams in the league—if not the worst. They just have to execute their game plan and all will work out.

The Colts get in trouble in Week 1 when they poorly executed and had several miscommunications against the Jaguars. While the Jets offense isn’t as good, the Colts still need to execute their game plan. They do that, and it shouldn’t really be a contest.

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