The Colts 3-game losing skid ended on Sunday as they defeated the struggling Carolina Panthers on the road for a 27-13 victory. For only the third time this season, the Colts held an offense under 20 points and even though the matchup was good and the Panthers offense is lackluster, Sunday’s game was exactly the sort of performance this team needed as they continue to compete moving forward.
It was just last week that a lot of faith appeared to diminish with this defense as they were ranked worst in the league in points per game and were in the back of the pack in several other defensive categories. Needless to say, this defensive performance against the Panthers was a polar opposite performance compared to the last 3 losses. On Sunday, the Colts achieved:
Several factors contributed to this defense’s success.
Kenny Moore II Had 2 Pick-Sixes
It is always a major plus when a defense can produce touchdowns. On Sunday, the Colts produced two touchdowns on two pick-sixes by CB Kenny Moore. Both balls were poorly thrown by Panther’s rookie QB Bryce Young, but in a game where the Colts offense was a bit lackluster themselves, having this level of productivity was huge.
Keeping in mind that the difference in the game was 14 points, these two interceptions were huge. For Kenny Moore, having two pick-sixes in one game is a first in franchise history and it further solidifies his value to this defense. With all of the injuries that have happened at the cornerback position, and we’ll get to Tony Brown in a bit, it brings a lot of confidence to know that Moore is the ultimate playmaker.
Pressure on the Quarterback
The Panthers have one of the worst offensive line groups in the league, so there will be an asterisk with this take, but the main thing is that the Colts took advantage and managed 4 sacks on Panthers QB Bryce Young. On top of getting home, they also disrupted Young in the pocket and that led to his 3 interceptions.
Within the four sacks the Colts had, rookie DT Adetomiwa Adebawore has his first of his career, and although it came when the game was out of reach, it was a game sealer.
The Lackluster Offense
The offense for the Colts scored a grand total of 0 points in the second half and finished the day with under 200 yards of total offense. Their two big playmakers ended the day with extremely sub-par numbers as well. Gardner Minshew finished the day 17/26 for 127 yards, 1 TD, and most importantly 0 turnovers. Jonathan Taylor ended the day with 47 yards on 18 carries and his longest run was for only 13 yards. As a whole, the offense was 30% on 3rd down, 2.6 yards per rush, 4.4 yards per pass, and 1 fumble lost on a punt return. It should also be pointed out that on two of the Colts scoring drives (the FG and TD), the Panthers committed crucial penalties on 3rd down that sustained the drives.
Certainly, in this game the offense did not need to be explosive or even really efficient as the defense carried this team on Sunday. The Colts cannot, however, manage this type of offensive performance and continue to win games. The got away with one today against the worst team in the NFL, but it’ll be difficult to play this lackluster against teams like the Bengals, Texans, and Buccaneers coming up.
Gardner Minshew was shaky at best
Aside from the one TD drive, Minshew looked very shaky in the pocket and did not look comfortable throwing down the field. Early on, it looked like the running game was going well, but as the game went on and 3rd and long situations happened, Minshew struggled to be accurate.
The Final down
Indy is still well within the playoff picture, so Shane Steichen will need to go to the drawing board and get this team back to running efficiently and using play-action to push the ball down the field. That has been the recipe to the offense’s success so far this season and the Colts will look to continue doing that in the weeks ahead. Let’s hope this anomaly of an offensive performance is just that – an anomaly.
The Lucky Colt 
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