Daric Clemens is a senior journalism news major and is a columnist for The Daily News. His views do not necessarily agree with those of the newspaper. Write to Daric at diclemens@bsu.edu.
Everything seemed to be pointing towards quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs offense to have a field day Sunday night against the Colts’ worn-down defense, but Indianapolis was able to show their worth and put the league on notice in their 19-13 victory.
It was a flat out impressive performance by the Colts defense against the best offense in the league holding them to the least amount of points the Chiefs have scored since Mahomes has been the starter.
Colts applied continuous pressure up-front on the line and made sure Mahomes wasn’t comfortable all night. The pass-rush was on point and they sacked the quarterback four times.
The Colts displayed the ability to stick into a man-heavy defensive scheme which was the key in stopping the high powered offense. Mahomes completed just 12-28 for 186 yards’ vs the Colts man coverage according to Pro Football Focus.
Nonetheless, after the elite performance Sunday, the Colts defense hasn’t even hit its peak as their best player on the defensive side Darius Leonard has been battling with a concussion suffered in week two. When he’s able to get back in-between the lines for the Colts, they’ll be expected to look even better on that side of the ball.
The Colts’ secondary stepped up their game against the diverse wide receiver lineup of the Chiefs. They were able to play tight coverage in their man-to-man scheme and made Mahomes have to force balls in small areas. This shows that the defense is able to adjust in certain circumstances and still produce solid coverage.
The Colts offense has been inconsistent throughout the first five weeks but they have shown signs of being a balanced attack team. Marlon Mack was the key in the win over the Chiefs as he picked up 148 total yards. Kinks are still being worked out in the early season, but the Colts offense definitely is capable to have success later on.
Jacoby Brissett has been through some growing pains but has also showed that he can ball with impressive outings against the Falcons and the Raiders this season. What has stood out is how he has limited his mistakes. He has only thrown three interceptions on the year and won’t see him force a lot throws that could lose his team a possession.
Being able to be successful on both sides of the ball is a key aspect in being a contender and the Colts roster is built that way. They have the talent to compete with pretty much anyone in the NFL, but especially in the AFC.
The AFC is looking to be top heavy this season as only seven of the 16 teams in the conference have a record as of now above .500. And with the Colts sitting at the top of the AFC South with a 3-2 record and they continue to get better each week Indiana football fans could be in for exciting year for their home team.
Contact Daric Clemens with any comments a diclemens@bsu.edu or on Twitter @DaricClemens.
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