Stampede Blue
3-1 after the Colts’ first loss of the season. Even though this is a game the Colts could “afford” to lose, and that the team played well and were close to beating a potential Super Bowl candidate; this one hurts because the team was potentially two A.D. Mitchell mistakes away from being undefeated and fresh off a win against one of the top teams in the NFL away from home.
The reason why Xavien Howard was targeted so much during the game was not only because he was bad, but also because Charvarius Ward played a perfect game. He was so over the opposing receivers that Stafford just gave up even looking his way. So far he has been worth every penny the Colts gave him, and it even looks cheap at this point.
On the defensive line, Laiatu Latu had himself a really good game, continuing his breakout season. He got himself a sack, though I will use this moment to drive home the importance of discrediting sacks as a measure of success for pass-rushers. The sack that Latu got was because of an opposite side pressure that forced Stafford to step up right into him, I place much more importance on the consistent pressures he got, and how he was able to beat the one-on-one matchups to force Stafford into uncomfortable situations.
I don’t think it is unfair to blame two players for the Colts’ loss yesterday. I don’t like being too tough on the players, and I understand that there will be some bad games here and there, but the performance from Mitchell and Howard was inexcusable. Wide receiver A.D. Mitchell had the best, and worst, play of his career all on a single reception. He caught a bomb between two players, beat them both, and was right on track for an 81-yard touchdown before inexcusably losing control of the ball starting his celebration, fumbling the ball out of the end zone resulting in a touchback. This is the second time in two years that this happens for the Colts. Hopefully on practice today they force the skill players to run through the end zone with the ball firmly secured on both hands 1.000 times before leaving the field.
As for cornerback Xavien Howard, I was not too harsh on him the first three games because I understood that he was coming off a year without playing, but he is somehow getting worse, not better, as the games move on. He had a really tough matchup as the Rams tried to get him matched up with Puka Nacua most of the game, but the effort and production was among the worst I have seen from a Colts’ cornerback in recent memory, and his play so far this season has been atrocious. The front office has to be looking at other options available right now....
