Analyzing Alec Pierce's Game-Winning Touchdown vs Jaguars: Film Room
The Indianapolis Colts stayed in the win column in week six, as they defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 34-27 this past Sunday. Trailing by one point with under a minute left in the game, rookie wide receiver Alec Pierce hauled in a 32-yard touchdown to give the Colts the victory.
In today's film room, I dive into the details that went into this play succeeding like it did on Sunday.
The Defensive Call
With the game on the line, the Jaguars went back to a call that was successful quite a bit back in week two (when they shut out the Colts). They put five players on the line of scrimmage and designed a stunt call to create pressure with those linemen. The rest of the defensive backfield was sitting in a traditional cover one with a single high safety roaming over top.
The Colts countered this look with a 3x1 set that featured rookie Alec Pierce alone on the far side of the field. Quarterback Matt Ryan knew immediately that he'd have one on one coverage on that side of the field, and he gave his rookie receiver a chance.
The Release off of the Line
Matt Ryan was going to throw the ball to Alec Pierce on this play, the only thing that Pierce needed to do was win off of the line of scrimmage. In front of the young receiver was veteran cornerback Shaquill Griffin, the Jaguars' number one CB on the defense.
Pierce had to beat this savvy veteran off of the line, so he decided to change up his typical release. Pierce typically likes to utilize a rocker step to get free vertically, but on this play, he decided to use a hesitation to get Griffin off balance.
Griffin is unable to disrupt Pierce at the line of scrimmage, and the young wide receiver is able to turn up the field with ease. By the end of this clip, Pierce has already begun to move past Griffin down the field. As the old saying goes (when it comes to man coverage)... "If he's even, he's leavin'."
Matt Ryan Knew Early
The second that Matt Ryan saw the five man pressure, he immediately turned Alec Pierce's way. He knew that his receiver would have the one on one to the outside, all he had to do was freeze the single-high safety for a split second.
The picture below shows how early Ryan decided to throw to Pierce. The second that Pierce was even with the outside cornerback, that ball was going his way.
The Insane Throw
The most underrated aspect of this game-winning play was the throw by Matt Ryan. Ryan threw this ball perfectly down the field without being able to step into the pass whatsoever.
The video below shows that as he threw this pass, he was being hit low by a defender that beat right guard Matt Pryor off of the snap. This pass is so impressive for any player to make, but especially for a player of Matt Ryan's age. This is a dime with very little footwork needed to put it in the perfect spot.
The Catch
The throw was the main highlight on this play, but Alec Pierce also made a beautiful over the shoulder catch for the score. This was one of Pierce's strengths in college and it appears to be transitioning quite well to the NFL this year.
Below is a picture of the moment that we all knew the Colts were going to win this game. Frame this beauty.
The Finished Product
This play is the perfect encapsulation of the trust between Alec Pierce and Matt Ryan this year. Ryan read the Jaguars' defense perfectly and knew that he would have Pierce one on one with a chance to win the game. Rather than playing it safe and just gaining a few yards to kick the field goal, Ryan put his faith in the young wide out.
Pierce repaid that faith by making a phenomenal catch down the field to win it. Absolute perfection by two players that were excellent in the Colts' win.
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