7 thoughts on a win to stay alive for the playoffs

INDIANAPOLIS – Ten thoughts on the Colts’ 38-30 win over the Titans at Lucas Oil Stadium:

1. This was a late December game between a Colts team that had just come off a nervous breakdown with its playoff chances on life support and a Titans team with a chance to play as a division spoiler a week into the questions arose and anger arose at the idea of your squad being soft.

It was something of a testament to resilience and balance; One team showed and the other withered.

That’s how the Colts beat the Titans, improving to 7-8 and staying in a playoff race that’s getting tougher by the day. But it’s the first of three steps to keeping up.

2. This is a bad Titans team in many ways, so there’s not much to blame on a home win over them when that’s been the Colts all season: They’re 1-7 against teams with winning records and 6 -1 against them teams with losing records.

But Tennessee is very good on defense, including run defense, and that’s where the Colts excelled.

Jonathan Taylor was incredible, showing the breakaway speed some had wondered if he still had after suffering two ankle sprains on touchdown runs of 65 and 70 yards. He combined this with his trademark vision and patience between tackles and ability to finish through contact. He finished the game with 29 carries for 218 yards and three touchdowns.

Anthony Richardson had a smooth performance in the open field, including one of his best runs to date with a 29-yarder with a long swing down the right sideline. He finished the game with nine carries for 70 yards and a touchdown.

Most notably, it was the Colts’ running style, which saw these two take turns on zone reads while also mixing in some fake pitches, quarterback pressures and sweeps. It kept Tennessee constantly guessing and capitalizing on everyone’s strengths, especially on a day when Alec Pierce was unavailable.

3. The Colts ran 12 straight runs immediately after a bad interception by Richardson when he threw too late and with too much air across the middle to Drew Ogletree in the red zone. Switching to such a run-heavy approach then allowed Richardson to be part of the success and return to more confident throws, and he finished the game 7 of 11 for 131 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

This style of attack, where you run four times as often as you pass and keep your shots so confident, probably isn’t enough to beat many good teams. However, I believe the Colts would have made the playoffs if they had used it early in the season. They could have beaten the Packers back when they benched Taylor for a quarter to play Trey Sermon; and they probably win the Texans’ second game. Heck, they might have been eliminated against the Broncos last week if they had stuck to running the one-two.

By Joel A. Erickson:The matchups behind how the Colts beat the Titans

4. Adonai Mitchell started in Pierce’s place at the “X” receiver spot. I wasn’t sure if he would do that after last week’s double pass fumble and an odd way of explaining it after the game. Indianapolis had Ashton Dulin back and running a run-heavy game plan even though he hasn’t practiced much in the last month due to an ankle injury.

Mitchell made a nice catch for 36 yards down the right sideline. This is actually his first catch in almost a calendar month, coming on a 10-yarder against the Lions.

So it was a small step in the right direction for the second-round rookie, and that’s exactly what the last three games should be about.

5. Good things happen when this team pulls Quenton Nelson into running formations, like Richardson’s 5-yard touchdown run with a sweep to the left side for the Colts’ first score. It was at least the second time in the game that I watched Nelson go full throttle before getting to a linebacker and driving him to the end of the game.

Here’s how you benefit from paying a guard $20 million a year in today’s NFL. So the Eagles maximized Jason Kelce and the Browns built an identity with Joel Bitonio. But that’s something the Colts haven’t done too often, as they’ve insisted on a zone blocking scheme because it fits the coaching staff’s background. Too often on these zone runs, Nelson was caught trying to time a double team with a backup center, and then we saw him play in frustration and then penalties resulted.

Of the various ways the Colts have prioritized plays over players, this is one area that needs to be corrected next season: Have Nelson play downhill in space as much as possible.

6. Taylor’s celebration after his 65-yard touchdown run was a lot of fun. He sprinted with the ball through the end zone and into the tunnel, and then as he got into the crowd of teammates catching up, Tyler Goodson began punching the ball while Taylor grabbed it with both hands to keep it steady and under control .

Some probably won’t like the humor of a piece that probably took the season away, but I thought it showed a bit of self-awareness and smugness. Taylor knows that this moment will remain in his history forever and that he must come to terms with it in order to become the elite runner he can be.

And he showed that with his best game of the season.

7. The Colts defense kept the Titans on edge for most of the game, with DeForest Buckner destroying the middle line and Samuel Womack and Kenny Moore II grabbing interceptions. Then the run defense leaked and missed tackles late, and the gaps in coverage became apparent, allowing the Titans to storm back in the final two minutes and make the game again.

Mason Rudolph kept throwing to get back, eventually managing 33 attempts and completing 23 of them. And I thought this was a game that showed a bit of the lack of depth in coverage, with Julian Blackmon playing out of position and limited by a shoulder injury, and Womack seems to fit better as the No. 3 option than as a regular starter.

Related Posts

No. 16 Arizona State’s near-perfect execution dwarfs No. 15 Iowa State – CycloneFanatic.com

Natalie Rupnow, 15, identified as Wisconsin school shooter: Latest updates

Here’s how to watch, stream and what’s at stake

Leave a Reply Cancel reply