Stampede Blue
Star DT DeForest Buckner’s return influenced a season-best pass-rushing performance.
Amidst an uninspiring offensive showing was a strong day from the Colts’ defense. Indy’s defense held the CJ Stroud-led Texans to 23 points (16 if you were to exclude the late first-half blunder of an INT that set Houston up deep in Indy’s territory) and provided the offense with a chance to tie or win with a late-game takeaway.
The Colts dominated the Texans’ run game this time around, holding them to just 96 total rushing yards on 29 carries for a 3.3 yards-per-carry average. Houston was held to completing just 30% of its 3rd down conversions on the day (4 for 13), and while that certainly bested Indy’s offensive output, this was a promising showing for Indy’s defense, especially when you consider how poor they’ve been on 3rd downs this season, specifically on 3rd and long.
CJ Stroud and company, even while down star WR and known Colts-killer Nico Collins, made work of Indy’s secondary to the tune of 285 passing yards and 1 passing touchdown. It wasn’t an abysmal performance by the secondary, per se, but certainly one that allowed for an efficient day by the second-year quarterback (67.6% completion rate and 0 turnovers).
This may speak to CJ Stroud’s play more than anything, given that on top of a decent enough performance from the defensive backfield, the Colts’ pass rush was in prime form all day long. While Indy’s defensive front could only get home twice for two sacks, their influence on Stroud was felt. The Colts pressured CJ Stroud on 23 of his 40 dropbacks (57.5%), the fourth-highest pressure rate faced by a QB through 8 Weeks, per NFL Pro.
Indy’s pressure leaders from Sunday’s outing go as follows: Dayo Odeyingbo (7), Kwity Paye (6), Laiatu Latu (5), DeForest Buckner (4), Grover Stewart (3), EJ Speed (2), & Nick Cross (1).
CJ Stroud prevailed despite this ridiculous output by the Colts’ pass rush, but Gus Bradley, Indy’s defensive coordinator, was never going down without a fight. Against the Texans in week 8, Bradley employed a blitz-heavy defensive scheme. He blitzed CJ Stroud and Co. 40% of the time, the 3rd-highest blitz rate among all NFL teams in week 8, resulting in the league’s 4th-highest single-game pressure rate yet.
While the Colts did not end up victorious, this was an impressive showing from Gus Bradley and the defense. They remained stout in run defense after giving up a historical pace to their opponents to start the year and have seemingly refound their identity, which begins with wreaking havoc on opposing quarterbacks. While there appears to be no end in sight for the offense, at least the defense has reached a serviceable state moving forward.
