Where Colts stand in bye week
The bye week is early but comes at an ideal time for the 3-2 Indianapolis Colts, who have overcome a series of injuries to key players to stay tied with Houston atop the AFC South Division.
After Sunday night’s inspired 19-13 upset victory at Kansas City, the Colts will enjoy the time off just a little bit more.
When they return to host the Texans a week from Sunday, All-Pro linebacker and defensive leader Darius "The Maniac" Leonard will make his long-awaited return after a three-game absence due to a concussion. He announced Tuesday on his Instagram account that he had been cleared by an independent neurologist.
Second-year head coach Frank Reich conceded on Monday that the Colts can’t help but see where they stand with the Texans as they look ahead. The Chiefs win aside, the Colts have been inconsistent at times, losing a couple of games they should have won, managing just enough offense and defense in the wins.
“We really don’t get caught up in it,” Reich said of the Colts’ position. “I mean yes, it’s the bye week so you look at that stuff. I mean I would also be lying if I said you don’t look at it – it’s the bye week. But once we get into preparation for a week, those things end up working themselves out. I learned a long time ago – like even watching other games and you are saying, ‘Who are we rooting to win for here?’ I don’t even worry about – when you look around and you think, ‘What’s our record? What is the record of everybody else?’ All you know is you’ve got to win your next game.
“It’s like what we talked about today as a team – everybody has a 1-0 mantra. I get that. Everybody at some level thinks like that. But what we have to have as our edge is we just have to have as deep a conviction about that as possible and understand that it sounds so simple, but it’s not easy to do. We have to distinguish ourselves and separate ourselves by how we handle that mentality on a daily event out at practice. That’s really what it boils down to.”
Reich thought his team had its best week of practice leading up to the win over the previously unbeaten Chiefs, who saw a record 25-game streak of scoring 25 points snapped. The plan is to try to replicate that effort during the week before the Texans visit Lucas Oil Stadium.
While a struggling defense delivered its best effort by far at Kansas City, the strength of this team was most evident as the Colts pounded the Chiefs with a relentless rushing attack. Running back Marlon Mack had 132 of the team’s 180 rushing yards. His 470 yards rushing rank fifth in the NFL, the same spot the Colts are at in total rushing at 142 per game.
An offensive line led by second-year All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson has opened run lanes while providing solid pass protection. Quarterback Jacoby Brissett has taken just six sacks.
Reich was asked on the conference call why he was candid in the offseason about the team’s goal to be top five in rushing.
“Number one, just watching our offense,” he said, “knowing our offensive line and how they play and who they are as players. For me personally, just my experience. This goes even back to my playing days when I was on some really good teams – the best teams I’ve been on I’ve always been able to run the football and run it effectively. So that’s just a core belief that you’ve got to be able to run the ball.
“I believe that (general manager) Chris (Ballard) and his staff have done a great job of, as we’ve talked about, getting the kind of players in here that we can be a run-dominant team. I think we’re starting to see that but it’s never easy. You get excited about what we just did and then the next week you play somebody – you really have got to go out and prove it every week. This is a very competitive league and you find out you cannot lose even just the slightest bit of edge at all against anybody or you get exposed.”
The Colts’ ability to run the ball so effectively kept Mahomes and the Chiefs offense off the field as the visitors had the ball for 37 minutes, 15 seconds to Kansas City’s 22:45. In the second half, the Colts ran 38 offensive plays to the Chiefs’ 19.
Reich chuckled when asked about if he had ever been involved in a game in which his offense ran the ball 45 times, which were the most carries for the Colts since 1997.
“For some reason about a week or two ago, (offensive coorindator) Nick (Sirianni) and I were talking about – he asked me something about something from my playing days when the Bills used to play the Dolphins and it was a big rivalry,” Reich said. “So I said, ‘Yeah, there was one game I played in and I know I only threw nine passes in the game and we won the game.’ So I went back and looked it up, and this was a couple weeks ago, and we called 51 runs in that game and threw nine passes and beat Dan Marino, who could be the Patrick Mahomes of today, if you will. And (we) beat them that day in Buffalo.”
While overall passing numbers are down from the Andrew Luck era, Brissett has made his share of clutch plays, ranking among the league leaders with 10 TD passes. Four-time Pro Bowl wide receiver T.Y. Hilton has missed one game with a calf injury, but has a team-best 24 receptions for 232 yards and four TDs.
“I just think he’s playing winning football week in and week out,” Reich said. “Jacoby (Brissett) is very unselfish. He has a good feel for each game, for what it takes to win each game. When he has had to throw it more for us to win, he embraces that. Then when we’ve got it going in the run game, he feels that. He’s on the sideline calling for runs as well.
“He’s handled the communication – A+. Like last night going into Arrowhead (Stadium) and handling that environment the way he did like he was a wily old vet. We had no pre-snap penalties, handling the communication well, getting us in the right run play numerous times. He just handled it flawlessly and so that’s just a real credit to him.”
As stated, the Colts need to heal up. They won’t have defensive end Kemoko Turay, who suffered a season-ending broken ankle late in the Chiefs game. But safety Malik Hooker is on the mend after undergoing surgery for a meniscus tear. He was reportedly lost for four to six weeks after Week 3. Wide receiver Devin Funchess was reportedly lost for two months after needing surgery to repair a broken clavicle suffered late in the season opener. He’s on injured reserve but designated to return.
