Ryan Review: Colts’ QB Shines in Win vs. Jaguars
While the Indianapolis Colts came away with a Week 5 victory over the Denver Broncos, the feeling coming out of that game, at least from the outside, was not a good one.
But come Week 6, the Colts’ offense came to play as they took down the Jacksonville Jaguars 34-27. The quarterback and offensive line bounced back in a big way to lead the Colts to their best offensive showing of the season and a 3-2-1 record.
The quarterback that led the charge was Matt Ryan. Ryan finished the day 42-of-58 (72%) for 389 yards, three touchdowns, zero interceptions, zero fumbles, and a QB rating of 107.6. Ryan also passed Miami Dolphins Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino for seventh on the all-time passing yards list. It was far and away Ryan’s best game of the season, as he had the offense rolling and protected the football.
“We weren't perfect by any stretch,” Ryan said after the game. “There's things we can improve on for sure. But, you know, not putting our team in tough positions with turnovers – trying to at least play for the most part in front of the sticks. There's still some drives I think we could have done better on that. But we overcame a lot, too. We made a lot of plays on second-and-long, on third-and-long to keep drives going. But I thought, for the most part it was cleaner.”
This is “Ryan Review” on Horseshoe Huddle where we will look at the film each week and dissect how Ryan played. As we will see, a combination of protection, the quick passing game, and his weapons stepping up led to a stellar performance from #2.
King of Crossers
The biggest change in the Colts’ offensive philosophy on Sunday was how quickly Ryan was getting the ball out of his hands. Head coach Frank Reich went to a no-huddle offense and called fast-developing plays that allowed Ryan to get the ball to his weapons quickly and let them go to work. This helped the protection issues in a big way, as Ryan was not sacked for the first time all season.
One of the noticeable ways Reich did this was by calling plenty of shallow crossers. The expectation coming into the season was this would be a staple of the Colts’ offense, but it has not been featured as much as originally thought. That was, until Sunday.
The beneficiary on many of these crossers was Michael Pittman Jr. Pittman finished the day with 13 catches for 134 yards, snagging passes from Ryan and racking up yards after the catch. On most occasions, Ryan would take a quick drop and fire the ball across the middle to Pittman, allowing him to do the rest.
Our first clip shows just how much success Ryan had throwing to Pittman over the middle. Three of the four plays shown are Pittman on crossing routes with plenty of space in front of him. Great execution by all parties involved.
The next clip shows not only how in-sync Ryan and Pittman are with one another, but the trust Ryan has in his WR1. Ryan is about to get drilled on the first throw but still gets it away as Pittman comes streaking across the screen to catch the ball and turn it into a big gain. The second throw is tight, but Ryan trusts Pittman can hang on and make the tough catch, which he does.
The Colts combined strength with strength on Sunday. Ryan excels when throwing the ball over the middle, and Pittman is lethal with the ball in the open field. Until opposing defenses can take this away, expect Reich to continue to scheme ways for Ryan to get the ball quickly to Pittman in space.
No Taylor, No Hines, No Problem
The Colts were without both starting running backs on Sunday as Jonathan Taylor (ankle) and Nyheim Hines (concussion) were both sidelined. That left Deon Jackson to step in and take over the reins. Jackson not only filled in but performed at a very high level.
While Jackson ran for 42 yards and a touchdown against the Jags, his contributions in the passing game stood out. Jackson had ten catches for 79 yards on Sunday, picking up numerous first downs through the air.
When looking at the film, Ryan not only used Jackson as a check-down option but as a primary option on numerous occasions. Ryan looks downfield for a brief second, but quickly gets the ball out to Jackson in the flat and allows him to attack in space. The result was quite a few nice gains.
Jackson showed an ability to make people miss in the open field leading to plenty of yards after the catch. Again, quick passes and getting the ball to the athletes in space were the name of the game for Ryan. Jackson was essential to that success.
Confidence Builders for Campbell and Granson
On the way to completing a franchise-record 42 passes, Ryan distributed the ball to seven different receivers. Among those seven are a couple of guys who are starting to build more confidence as the season goes along: Those players would be Parris Campbell and Kylen Granson.
Campbell has stayed healthy so far this season after battling injuries his first three seasons in the NFL. However, Campbell has been mostly used as a decoy and has not had the type of impact on offense he had hoped. Sunday changed that, as Campbell became much more involved in the quick passing game. Ryan got the ball to Campbell in space – notice a pattern? – allowing him to use his speed to pick up yards. Campbell was also on the receiving end of Ryan’s first touchdown of the day, and the wide receiver’s first of the season.
For Granson, he has been building his confidence over the past few weeks and proving he can be the move tight end the Colts need. The corner route Granson performs in the next clip is outstanding, and Ryan gets the ball to him for a big gain. Granson can also be dangerous in space, as seen on the crosser.
Both Campbell and Granson are building confidence and earning Ryan’s trust. Performances like these could lead to bigger things for both down the road.
Rookies Coming On FAST
Wide receiver Alec Pierce and tight end Jelani Woods were the first two selections by the Colts in this past April’s NFL Draft. The Colts wanted to get more athletic at the skill positions and find guys who could help bring more explosiveness to the offense. The early returns have been quite promising.
Woods has improved drastically from training camp and is taking on a bigger role in the offense each week. He has become the big-play tight end, with Ryan looking to the 6-7 monster often in the red zone. Woods catches his third touchdown of the season here as Ryan sees the one-on-one matchup with a smaller defender. A beautiful ball to allow Woods to go up and get it.
But the biggest story over the past few weeks has been the ascension of Pierce. The rookie is making plays every week and becoming one of Ryan’s go-to receivers. Pierce can be consistently counted on to make tough catches, and the confidence Ryan has in the rookie was on full display as he went deep to Pierce on the game-winner.
“Frank went into the headset and he said, ‘Hey, trust what you see. You can go this or you can go that.’ And I just trusted Alec,” Ryan recalled. “He's so good on those kind of routes. I think a lot of times in those situations, throwing the ball past the sticks, being aggressive, taking a shot is huge. You can't play scared in those situations. And I thought it was, you know, a great call. Great route. And just tried to give him a chance. And a really good play by him.”
Ryan said last week that when the game is on the line, the quarterback thinks “players, not plays,” meaning he goes to his best players to make the plays in the clutch. Two weeks in a row he has gone to Pierce on the final drive when they needed it most. The rookie looks like a home run.
Final Analysis
The use of the no-huddle offense, combined with the quick passing approach, allowed Ryan and the offense to thrive against the Jaguars. Ryan made quick decisions with the football and got the ball into his playmakers’ hands in space. The offensive line did a much better job of holding up and allowing Ryan to get the ball out, allowing zero sacks in 58 pass attempts. It led to an offensive explosion we have not seen from the Colts since last season.
It was also evident was the Colts were getting their playmakers in better positions to thrive. What I mean by that is this team is filled with athletes on the perimeter that are dangerous with the ball in their hands and can make guys miss. Players like Pittman, Jackson, and Campbell are perfect examples of how dangerous they can be when getting the ball to them in space. Ryan was excellent at this on Sunday, and the offense reaped the rewards.
The connection between Ryan and Pierce cannot be ignored, either. Pierce looks to be a perfect complement to Pittman as their skillsets jell well in the offense. Pierce is proving week after week that Ryan can rely on him in the clutch as well.
While the Colts can be proud of the win, the road does not get any easier this week against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium. Expect the Colts to implore a similar approach with the quick passing game, as Ryan will try to get the ball out to his playmakers in space once again. The key will be what the Titans do to combat it and how the Colts can adjust.
Whoever wins the battle in this area will likely be the leader of the AFC South after Week 7.
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