Stampede Blue
The last time the Indianapolis Colts boarded a plane headed home from Los Angeles they did so with a bad taste in their mouths. Unforced errors and stupid mistakes cost them a game they should have won. Redemption was near as the Colts traveled back to Hollywood to take on the Chargers just a few short weeks later. This time, however, things went much differently as the Colts went full throttle on the division leaders in the West and got to ride home victorious. While the defense made big plays through some of their struggles, the spotlight shined solely on the offense with Daniel Jones and Jonathan Taylor leading a blitzing scoring pace.
The Colts came out of the gate swinging and never looked back as they scored on their first three possessions and held a 31-10 lead midway through the third. Not to say there weren’t some moments of doubt as the Chargers mounted slight resistance in the second half but none of that had to do with how the offense performed. Jones was efficient as ever, almost touching the 300-yard mark, and Taylor ran through the Charger defense. It wasn’t his most dominant performance yardage wise as he put up 94-yards, but he made big plays when his number was called. He also added another three touchdowns on the ground showing he has a nose for the endzone and is the bell cow for this offense.
Alex Pierce and Michael Pittman Jr. stepped up as leaders on this team, and Tyler Warren did Tyler Warren things. Seven games in and it seems fair to make that kind of statement. This rookie is a beast. He scored his third receiving touchdown in as many games and is demonstrating he knows how to play dominating football. Jones hit him on several big plays and in the endzone when Warren got the step on the defender to break free. The offense clicked like it had all year, yet somehow did it at an even higher level. Each week, it seems this team is putting more and more of the pieces together and being a force that no defense wants to face.
The Colts didn’t score in the fourth and still managed to put up 38 points. That is a remarkably impressive feat. All of that was against a Chargers team that was banged up offensively, not necessarily defensively as they got back Mack and other key starters. Still, the Colts put on an offensive clinic and took the Chargers to the woodshed. This was one of those measurement games. The Colts passed this test with flying colors to keep atop the AFC and in firm control of the South.
