New York Giants Week 17: A Look at the Indianapolis Colts Defense

The New York Giants offense is the worst in the NFL by a full two points, and they will now face a Colts defense that has allowed the tenth-most points per game in 2024.

Personnel

The Colts defensive line is the driving force of this defense, with DeForest Buckner, Grover Stewart, Laiatu Latu, Kwity Paye, and Dayo Odeyingbo leading the way.

Buckner and Stewart man most of the snaps on the interior while the others are in a heavy rotation on the edge.

Odeyingbo has a career-high 39 pressures this season, and while he’s seen fewer sacks than last year, the pressures are very welcome as he leads the team. Meanwhile, Latu has 35 pressures, Paye has 32, and Buckner has 31. They are all menaces on the defensive line.

Linebacker Zaire Franklin, safety Nick Cross, and cornerback Jaylon Jones are the ironmen of the defense and are the only three defenders on the team with over 1,000 snaps played this season.

The linebacker room has been a revolving door this season next to Franklin. Three other players have started in the room next to him for a defense that is often in nickel.

Kenny Moore II is one of the reasons the Colts tend to stay in nickel, as he’s still one of the better slot cornerbacks in the NFL.

Samuel Womack III has been seeing starter snaps since getting picked up by the Colts earlier this season and has provided an excellent return on investment.

Julian Blackmon starts as the deep safety for a Colts defense that frequently shows single-high looks.

Blackmon and Cross may not switch often between who plays the deep safety role, but they both play their roles very well.

Scheme

The Colts have one of the least aggressive defenses in the NFL, with a blitz rate of just 19.3%, the fifth-lowest rate in 2024.

In coverage, the Colts will play zone at a very high rate to keep their eyes in the backfield and attempt to force turnovers. Unsurprisingly, the defense that gives single-high looks frequently plays cover three more than anything else.

When not playing Cover 3, the Colts will mostly play Cover 2 or Cover 4; in man coverage, they will play Cover 1.

Along the defensive front, Buckner and Stewart will both line up mostly over guards and two-gap against offensive lines that will likely double-team one of them but then probably can’t double-team the other.

Offensive lines can’t deal with when there’s that much mass on the interior that can defend both the run and pass. (Hint! Hint!)

Overview

The Colts' defense has been fairly sound in games where the offense doesn’t constantly put them in poor positions.

If the Giants can find ways to keep the offense on schedule, there will be opportunities for chunk plays in the passing game, but they need to play smart football.

That being said, this offense has been incapable of doing anything resembling a half-competent offense this year, so we don’t see any reason to start believing that will change now, with two games remaining.

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Personnel

Scheme

Overview

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