For the first time since week 5, the Colts are above 500 and currently sit comfortably in the playoff hunt while still in control of their playoff destiny. With a convincing 27-20 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Houston Texans losing to the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Colts have moved into second place in the AFC South, though the road to a division crown is a more daunting task.
All talks of playoffs and division crowns aside, it is safe to say that this Colts team is light years away, in terms of improvement, from last year. On Sunday, the team won by playing complimentary football and this started with the offense getting off to a fast start and the defense starting off strong and finishing strong. The recipe for having success in this league and winning games week in and week out is by complimentary football.
Here are 4 takeaways from week 11 that will propel this team as it endeavors to make a playoff push.
The Dual Threat of Zack Moss and Jonathan Taylor
Star RB Jonathan Taylor received the lion share of the snaps on Sunday and managed 91 yards on 15 attempts (6.1 average), and 2 TDs. Zack Moss also managed a very productive rushing day with 55 yards on 8 attempts (6.9 average). He also had 2 receptions on 3 targets for 15 yards. Keep in mind that the Buccaneers had the 5th best defense against the run and the Colts made it look easy.
When a team can manage two running backs that average over 6 yards/rush and over 150 total yards, the play-calling possibilities are infinite and their productivity certainly took the pressure off of Gardner Minshew and made the RPO game and play action almost unstoppable.
The Big Play Ability of Michael Pittman Jr.
Michael Pittman Jr. finished the day with 10 receptions for 107 yards. This was his 4th straight game of at least 8 receptions and he has certainly been the team’s #1 receiver and has been playing like a true #1. Per usual with Gardner Minshew, a lot of Pittman’s targets were over the middle and shallow, but the playmaking ability of Pittman and his ability to get open and snag the football out of the air are what make him a legitimate case for being a top guy.
It should be noted that 6 of Pittman’s 10 receptions went for 1st downs, 2 of which were on 4th down. Everyone wants to talk about the Tyreek Hills, the Stefon Diggs, and the Mike Evans of the world, but Michael Pittman Jr. is one of the more productive WRs in the league. He isn’t at the explosive level yet and a case can be made that this is in large part due to his QB. Nonetheless, he is a big reason why this team sits at 6-5 and is looking to surge forward into the playoffs.
The Impact of a Good Defensive Line
The Colts entered this game as one of the top teams in terms of getting strip sacks (6) and are tied for 9th in the league in terms of sacks/game. It has been noted in the past and will be noted again that Defensive Coordinator, Gus Bradley does not blitz a lot and therefore relies on his front 4 to get pressure. On Sunday, the Colts were able to get home 6 times and had the crucial strip sack that essentially sealed the game.
All things considered, this defense still has a long way to go with injuries to CB JuJu Brents and DT Grover Stewarts’ suspension, but the signs are there. If this team can get healthy and get their key pieces back, they will only get better. Sunday’s game was just a blueprint of what the possibilities are.
The Confidence in the Young Cornerbacks
The Colts are extremely thin at cornerback and have been for most of the season. During the offseason, Isaiah Rogers was suspended indefinitely, in week 4 Dallis Flowers suffered a season-ending injury, and rookie CB JuJu Brents, who has been a huge impact player for this defense, has been sidelined with a quad injury suffered in week 7.
With all of these injuries and suspensions piling up, it is almost unfathomable that this defense has managed to win 3 games in a row while playing at a high level defensively. This is due in large part to the confidence that Gus Bradley has in his young corners, Tony Brown, Darrell Baker Jr., and rookie Jaylon Jones. Now, not every play has been pretty for these guys and there has been tape out there of miscommunication and guys being out of position. This happened a couple of times on Sunday and both instances resulted in key TDs.
Bringing up these busted plays is just to showcase the inexperience on this team while also highlighting the fact that at the end of the day, the Colts held Tampa to 20 points. And for much of this game, the corners were able to hold their own against the Buccaneers top receivers.
Bottom Line
If you take those two busted plays out of the game, this defensive performance is very close to stellar. That being said, rookie Jaylon Jones has made some impact plays for this team and has a knack for making open-field tackles which is crucial for a cornerback. It should also be noted that for a Colts team laden with injuries at cornerback, they held Mike Evans to 6 receptions (on 9 targets) for 70 yards and Chris Godwin had only 3 receptions (on 7 targets) for 45 yards. Even though those stats scream production and big plays, it’s the fact that the defense limited their receptions that make this performance all the more impressive.
The Colts will play the Tennessee Titans on the road next Sunday (12/3)
The Lucky Colt 
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