Colts’ Keys to Victory Against Eagles in Week 11

The Indianapolis Colts began the Jeff Saturday era last week with a 25-20 win over the Las Vegas Raiders.

The Colts will face a much greater challenge this week as the Philadelphia Eagles come to Lucas Oil Stadium. The Eagles (8-1) are coming off their first loss of the season, and will most certainly be motivated to get back to their winning ways. The Colts (4-5-1) will attempt to start 2-0 with Saturday as the head coach in the interim’s home debut.

The matchup between the Colts and the Eagles also marks the return of Nick Sirianni to Indy. Sirianni, now the head coach of the Eagles, served as the offensive coordinator for the Colts from 2018-2020 before heading to Philadelphia.

The Colts are heavy underdogs heading into the weekend. Let’s take a look at what the Colts must do to upset the Eagles on Sunday.

Win Up Front

The struggles of the Colts’ offensive line this season have been discussed ad nauseum. However, they seemed to get things back on track against the Raiders.

The offensive line helped create holes for Jonathan Taylor and the Colts’ rushing attack to rack up 207 yards on the ground. Taylor accounted for 147 of those yards, on his way to winning AFC Offensive Player of the Week for Week 10. The Colts only gave up one sack of Matt Ryan on the day as well, allowing the Colts to add another 208 yards through the air.

When asked why the offensive line made such noticeable strides last week, Saturday attributed it to one thing: Accountability.

“It’s just accountability on all fronts,” Saturday explained. “Obviously, I know that position specifically and I have a lot of respect for what those guys have done and the way we’ve carried ourselves at that position on the team. I believe it needed to be addressed and emphasized. Those guys responded tremendously. Again, I know how hard it is. I know how hard these guys work. This was not an effort issue, this is an accountability. This is what it’s going to look like play after play after play and those guys have responded and I think they’ve appreciated it.”

While the Colts’ offensive line had a nice game last week against the Raiders, the Eagles’ front provides a new challenge entirely. The Eagles have the fifth-most sacks in the NFL at 29 and average just over three sacks a game, good enough for third in the league. Defensive tackle Javon Hargrave (7.0 sacks) and linebacker Haason Reddick (6.5 sacks) lead an Eagles team that loves to get after the quarterback.

The Colts will need to make sure Ryan is kept clean in the pocket and given time to throw. Ryan had his most efficient day as a Colt against the Raiders in part because he was kept clean for most of the afternoon. The same will need to happen on Sunday for the Colts’ offense to succeed.

Feed JT

Taylor has not had the 2022 season he had hoped for. Ankle injuries have kept Taylor out for three games this season, and the running back only has two touchdowns on the year after scoring 20 during the 2021 campaign.

However, things may be turning around for Taylor. He looked as healthy as he has been all season against the Raiders, showing no signs that the ankle was slowing him down. The explosiveness in his cuts and the ability to make sudden movements helped him on the way to a big day. It also helps that the offensive line was able to create holes for Taylor to operate.

“We’ve been building up to that for a while,” Taylor admitted this week. “We’ve been telling people we’ll keep working, we’ll get it going. So, it definitely is rewarding when you finally see all your hard work coming out when it needs to on Sunday. That’s something we’re going to continue to do. Started yesterday, it’s going to continue today. We’ve got to continue to work because you’ve got to do it every single week.”

The ground game is where the Colts will do most of their damage this weekend. The Eagles’ defense is allowing 124.8 yards per game on the ground, only 20th best in the NFL. In their loss to the Washington Commanders on Monday, the Eagles gave up 152 yards rushing.

The Colts can also control the time of possession if they have success with the run game. With the Commanders being able to run the ball, on top of four turnovers by the Eagles, Washington had the ball for over 40 minutes on Monday night. Keeping the ball away from quarterback Jalen Hurts and the Eagles’ offense will give the Colts a tremendous advantage.

Contain Jalen Hurts

Hurts has gone from a backup quarterback prospect as a rookie to one of the most dangerous signal-callers in the NFL. On the season, Hurts is 180-of-265 (67.9%) for 2,217 yards, 14 touchdowns, three interceptions, and a QB rating of 106.4. Hurts is also very productive on the ground, rushing for 354 yards and seven touchdowns in just nine games.

Hurts has put the league on notice this season, becoming a dark-horse MVP candidate. The quarterback must be accounted for on every play, whether through the air or on the ground. The Colts know how explosive the Eagles’ offense can be if he gets going.

“Especially as linebackers, (Hurts is) a guy,” Bobby Okereke said. “First of all, he’s really high on his completion percentage. So, he’s a real good quarterback and obviously he’s mobile, he’s athletic back there. Just another unique challenge in this league.”

“They’re a really, well-powered offense,” DeForest Buckner revealed. “Obviously, it starts up front with their o-line, they’re one of the best in the league, their attention to detail. Obviously, driving guys off the line of scrimmage, protecting the quarterback. They’re really well-coached, well-disciplined team.”

The strength of the Colts’ defense this season has been against the run. Led by Buckner and Grover Stewart in the middle, the Colts are tenth in the NFL in rushing yards allowed at 110.7 per game. The Eagles have also had quite a bit of success on the ground, as their 142.7 yards per game running the football is good enough for sixth in the league.

While strength will be going against strength in that regard, the Colts will need to make sure Hurts does not run around and make plays. Using an old Frank Reich term, the Colts will have to keep Hurts “in the well,” not allowing him to escape the pocket when the play breaks down. Many times, explosive plays come about when Hurts can get outside the pocket and make plays either down the field or with his legs.

The Colts’ defense has held up well against mobile quarterbacks in 2022. The trend must continue if they hope to contain Hurts and pull off the upset over the Eagles.

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