Gardner Minshew Rising Up NFL.com's QB Index

Former backup quarterback Gardner Minshew has been thrust into action probably a little bit more than the Indianapolis Colts would have liked. He's played in all but one of the Colts seven games including three starts.

However, he's been a productive member of the offense when he's been called into action. His 61.5 QBR is tied with Jalen Hurts for ninth in the NFL.

Minshew hasn't quite made a believer of NFL.com, but he's on the rise in their weekly QB Index, up four spots to No. 27.

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"Shane Steichen put together a fantastic game plan for Minshew and the Colts, who barreled through the Cleveland defense's previous statistical ceiling of 300 yards," wrote Nick Shook on NFL.com.

"Indianapolis finished with 456 yards, and Minshew had quite a bounce-back performance, getting off to a hot start (3 of 5, 84 yards, one touchdown in the first 10:32 of the game), scoring two rushing touchdowns and ripping a throw over the middle to Michael Pittman for a 75-yard touchdown that could have won the game for the Colts in a wild, back-and-forth affair.

"The negative side of Minshew also reared its ugly head: He threw an interception on the run, was strip-sacked by Myles Garrett twice (including one recovered for a touchdown) and accounted for four turnovers. He still needs to be better, but wasn’t nearly as dreadful as a week earlier."

Getting more comfortable in the offense and his teammates with continued repetition should help Minshew cutdown on the turnovers.

On the plus side, he's thrown for over 600 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for two more including the "dreadful" performance in Jacksonville.

The Colts are at home against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. Minshew will need to take better care of the ball against an opportunistic Saints defense that is tied for fifth in the NFL with 12 takeaways.

Minshew and the Colts shredded the Cleveland defense last week. A unit that was operating at an historic rate. They'll have their work cut out for them against New Orleans as well.

The Saints have the No. 4 total defense, No. 4 passing defense, and No. 6 scoring defense.

Should Minshew and the Colts find the same success against the Saints as they did against the Browns, they should come away with a win and Minshew will keep rising up the QB Index.

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