Carson Wentz, Darius Leonard Make PFF's 'NFL Week 6 Team of the Week'
The Indianapolis Colts had themselves a big day on Sunday.
They bounced back from a totally deflating loss the week before to lay it on the Houston Texans by a score of 31-3, one of their most commanding wins of the last few years.
Pro Football Focus had plenty to say about the Colts' performance, in particular two Colts players who really stood out: quarterback Carson Wentz and Darius Leonard.
Both players made PFF's "NFL Week 6 Team of the Week," and Wentz was also named the NFL's Offensive Player of the Week.
Here's what PFF had to say about Wentz's day:
Wentz kicked off his time with the Indianapolis Colts with five straight passing grades that hovered from the mid-60s to low-70s. In other words, he was consistently average.
However, Wentz was anything but average in Indy’s big win over the Houston Texans in Week 6, earning a career-high 94.2 PFF grade. He completed three of his four deep throws for 131 yards and two touchdowns, and the one incompletion was a dropped pass. All four of those deep pass attempts earned the big-time throw designation in PFF’s grading system.
The Colts quarterback missed a couple of throws under pressure, but when the pass-protection was clean, so was he. Wentz earned a 98.6 passing grade from a clean pocket on Sunday, averaging 14.5 yards per attempt in the process.
Wentz had season lows with 11 completions on just 20 pass attempts as the Colts took off with the running game in the second half, but he was quite efficient with those 11 completions, as they included gains of 28, 51, and 52 yards. Wentz totaled 223 yards (11.2 YPA) and 2 touchdowns for a passer rating of 127.7.
PFF slapped Wentz with the No. 1 quarterback grade for the week (94.1) as well as the No. 1 grade specifically in passing (94.2).
Wentz tied for the second-most Big Time Throws (4), which PFF says is "a pass with excellent ball location and timing, generally thrown further down the field and/or into a tighter window." Wentz also had the highest Average Depth of Throws (13.2 yards) and no turnover-worthy plays. He accomplished all this despite having the second-most dropped passes by receivers (3).
Now seemingly settled into the Colts' offense, their quarterback has three consecutive games with a passer rating of at least 115.0. Wentz is the fourth Colts quarterback since 2000 to accomplish that feat, joining Peyton Manning (twice in 2004), Andrew Luck (2018), and Philip Rivers (2020). It's also the second time Wentz has done it in his career and the first since 2018.
Leonard was once again a stat-sheet stuffer despite clearly still being limited by a surgically repaired ankle. "The Maniac" totaled 7 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 1 interception, 1 pass breakup, and 1 quarterback hit.
He graded as PFF's No. 1 linebacker on the week with a grade of 91.2. Leonard posted solid grades across the board with an 85.3 in coverage (second), 82.1 in pass rush (third), 80.7 in run defense (third), and 80.1 in tackling (seventh). He also had no missed tackles. PFF also credited Leonard with 2 stops, which they declare to be a forced failure against the offense. In coverage, he allowed 3-of-5 targets to be completed for 22 yards total and a top-ranked opponent passer rating of 30.8.
Leonard now has 9 career interceptions (drafted in 2018), which is the most among NFL linebackers in that time. He also now has three career games with a forced fumble and interception, which is also the most in the NFL.
Leonard led a defense that was absolutely stingy on the day. The Colts allowed just three points, which is the fewest they've allowed since Week 15 of 2018 when they held the Dallas Cowboys to zero. They also had three takeaways, which marks seven consecutive games dating back to last season and is the third-longest active streak in the NFL.
What did you think of Wentz and Leonard's performances on Sunday? Drop your thoughts below in the comment section!
