The Colts went below 500 this weekend after a tough 38-39 loss to the Cleveland Browns at home. Even though they were 3-point underdogs, this game was very winnable, especially in the closing moments. The issue for Indy was a lack of protecting the football and overcoming injuries in the secondary.
For the third time already, this Colts defense has surrendered 30+ points, but the points don’t tell the entire story of how this defense has been playing. On Sunday, they were able to create 2 turnovers, get 2 sacks, and force 7 tackles for loss. However, when stops needed to be made, the corners and front four pressure just couldn’t get it done. On the other side of the ball, trying to navigate an offense with a backup quarterback always creates the headache for untimely turnovers and bad decisions. Ultimately, the Colts struggled with some fundamentals and against an elite defense like Cleveland, it is hard to overcome. Let’s take a look into some specifics of what went wrong for the Colts.
Once Again, Gardner Minshew Could Not Minimize the Turnovers
Last week against Jacksonville, Gardner Minshew had the worst game performance of his career. Against the Browns, he played better, but he is still infected with the turnover bug. Through 3 quarters, Minshew had 2 fumbles (1 for a TD) and 1 INT. (He would also suffer a fumble to end the game, but the game was pretty much decided at that point). Those 3 turnovers were committed in the Colts end of the field which meant the Browns were given 3 opportunities to start a drive in range for points. To be precise, the Browns capitalized on all 3 of those turnovers and turned them into 17 points.
Regardless of who is at quarterback, having back-breaking turnovers like these are what loses football games. The unfortunate thing about this is that Minshew has never, in his career, been a QB who had a problem with turnovers. In these last two games, he has committed 8 total turnovers (4 INT, 4 fumbles) and if he hopes to make anything positive come out of this 2023 season, he will have to clean this up.
Tough Few Minutes for CB Darrell Baker Jr.
The most glaring issue for the Colts was the replacement for rookie CB JuJu Brents. During the second quarter after Deshaun Watson went down with a should injury, QB PJ Walker overthrew his receiver and Brents went down to scoop up an interception. Unfortunately, he would end up injuring his quad on the play and would not return. Already thin at cornerback, the Colts turned to second-year man, Darrell Baker Jr. to step in. While he played well early on, it would be late in that fourth quarter when the Browns needed a TD that Baker got exposed.
On a 3rd & 10 play, PJ Walker threw a perfectly thrown pass over the outstretched arm of Darrell Baker Jr. who was beaten off the line and just lost the receiver down the field.
On a 3rd and 4 play in the red zone, LB EJ Speed appears to seal the game with a sack-fumble on Walker, until the yellow flag comes out indicating that Baker had illegal contact on Browns WR Amari Cooper. It certainly does appear that way and Baker did get beat. The issue is that I don’t think Walker would’ve had enough time to throw the ball with the blitz coming. Therefore, it was an ill advised illegal contact, but as a corner, if you get beat, often times you panic and grab.
This was the most frustrating penalty because Darrell Baker Jr. had absolutely no reason to grab Peoples-Jones. He has safety help on the inside and the ball goes towards the outside, but it’s so overthrown that there should not have been any need to grab the receiver. Unfortunately, Baker did grab and with a pass interference call in the end zone, the Browns were set up at the 1-yard line and had to get 4 tries in order to cash in.
When Baker was asked about those last two red zone plays, he said – “I don’t agree with the penalties at all”. Certainly, the one that caused a DPI call was questionable, but the illegal contact looked pretty straightforward as a clear-cut illegal contact.
All around, just a tough day for this defense. They were playing so well against a beat-up Browns team, but when they needed to make a stop in the secondary, the secondary folded.
The Final Down
The defense was an issue during this game as they just couldn’t close it out in the remaining few minutes. However, the Colts should not have been in that position to begin with as the turnovers produced 17 points for the Browns, including a fumble recovery in the end zone. This loss is a tough one for Indy and it will be one that will take some time to get over. The good news, though, is that there is still more football to play and the Colts will face the struggling New Orleans Saints at home in week 8.
The Lucky Colt 
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