10-1 indystar game story

[JAFF]

INDIANAPOLIS — Rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson nearly brought the Colts all the way back from oblivion.

But the Colts couldn’t land the final blow on Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, and the cagey veteran made the most of getting the ball first in overtime to beat Indianapolis 29-23.

Matthew Stafford takes advantage of Colts

For most of the first three weeks, the Indianapolis defensive line played well enough to mask the coverage issues of the team’s young secondary, a group playing inexperienced starters at outside cornerback.

Veteran Los Angeles quarterback Matthew Stafford took advantage on Sunday.


Working fast and getting the ball out of his hands quickly, Stafford took most of the teeth out of the Indianapolis pass rush by repeatedly finding open receivers against an overmatched Colts secondary. Stafford completed 27 of 40 passes for 319 yards, a touchdown and an interception, but the play was better than the stat line, driving the Rams down the field for scoring opportunities on seven of their first nine series, although two missed field goals by Los Angeles kicker Brett Maher kept the game within striking distance.

Rookie wide receiver Puka Nacua, in particular, gave the Colts problems, ripping off nine catches for 163 yards in the game, and ultimately killed them with a 22-yard game-winning touchdown in overtime.


The Indianapolis defensive line started making plays in the second half, led by a big day from tackle Dayo Odeyingbo, who had seven tackles, 1.5 sacks, three quarterback hits, a pass breakup and a fumble forced, to give the Indianapolis offense a chance to get back in the game.

Kenny Moore II made the next play, picking off Stafford near midfield, the first time the Indianapolis defense got a stop that didn’t involve a missed Maher field goal.

Once the Colts got back to overtime, though, Stafford got hot again, marching Indianapolis 75 yards in eight plays, then hitting a wide-open Nacua with the pocket breaking down for the 22-yard touchdown.

From Nate Atkins:10 Colts thoughts on Anthony Richardson and an overtime loss

Anthony Richardson’s return brings explosiveness, Colts offense back

There were moments of inefficiency for the rookie, particularly early in the game, when he started slow as a passer and lost a fumble at the end of a big run.


But there is an explosive element to the offense that isn’t present when veteran backup Gardner Minshew is in the game.

Richardson brought the Colts roaring back in the second half with his ability to make big plays, including a laser on the move to Mo Alie-Cox for a 35-yard touchdown, then again on a 38-yard pass to Alec Pierce that the quarterback released while leaping into the air to avoid an onrushing Aaron Donald.

The creativity that Richardson gives the offensive coaching staff was obvious, too. Richardson rushed nine times for 57 yards, scoring on a one-yard touchdown run after the Colts lined up in an inverted wishbone and motioned out of it, a play that would come up later.

Indianapolis did the same thing on the game-tying score, but instead of running Richardson, the Colts called a pass to Drew Ogletree for a 5-yard touchdown pass.

Richardson only completed 11 of 25 attempts, but the big-play possibilities when the rookie quarterback is in the game are easy to see as he threw for 200 yards, and it got the Colts back into a game that seemed lost on Sunday.



Meet the writers:Join IndyStar Colts Insiders Oct. 11 to discuss this season's biggest storylines

Big mistakes put Colts in hole

The Indianapolis defense should have come away with a stop on its first series.

The Colts had the Rams in third-and-long, covered well and flushed Stafford from the pocket, a recipe for an easy third-down stop, and the veteran quarterback headed out of bounds short of the first-down marker.

But he was met there by E.J. Speed, who delivered a blow on Stafford out of bounds and drew a 15-yard penalty for a late hit, extending the Los Angeles drive, the key mistake on a nine-play, 75-yard drive.

Veteran cornerback Moore made the mistake on the next drive, delivering a blow to the head of Nacua at the end of a 26-yard gain to draw an unnecessary roughness penalty, leading to another score and a 14-0 lead for Los Angeles.

The third big mistake came from the hands of Richardson. Dicing the Rams early with his feet, Richardson failed to hold onto the football at the end of a big run, fumbling away a promising drive.

Put all together, the early Colts mistakes allowed Los Angeles to build a 20-0 halftime lead.

[JAFF]

INDIANAPOLIS - Ten thoughts on the Colts' 29-23 overtime loss to the Rams at Lucas Oil Stadium to fall to 2-2:

1. A second straight overtime game is something on the heart, isn't it?

The Colts came out dead in this one, on both sides of the ball. That felt somewhat likely on offense, given the late absences of Bernhard Raimann and Ryan Kelly and what that would do to a rookie quarterback going up against Aaron Donald. But nothing was going their way, as bad penalties mixed with a missed field goal by AFC Special Teams Player of the Week Matt Gay, an inability to make Matthew Stafford uncomfortable and a dearth of offensive playmaking, leading to a 23-0 deficit.


Give the Colts credit for coming back. They tightened up the run defense, even through bumps and bruises to DeForest Buckner and Zaire Franklin. They forced a Stafford mistake through Kenny Moore II. They started to find some life with Anthony Richardson throwing on the move.

But in the end, the shortcomings in the structured passing game and in the secondary kept them a step behind a Rams team with a Hall of Fame-caliber player on each side of the ball in Stafford and Aaron Donald. Those two were the difference, with Stafford racking up 27 completions, 319 yards and some money throws into tight windows and evasions of pressure; and Donald flushing Richardson time and again from the pocket.


2. This matchup was set to be all about two three-technique defensive linemen feasting on injured and compromised offensive lines. The Colts had DeForest Buckner against a Rams line that got swallowed by the Bengals on Monday night and was down starting left tackle Alaric Jackson. The Rams had Donald against a Colts line missing Bernhard Raimann and Ryan Kelly.

But it became clear early on that the matchup wasn't going to be fair. After missing the full week of practice with groin and back issues, Buckner was on a pitch count, saved mostly for obvious passing downs. The Rams, who are familiar with Buckner since his days with the 49ers, had a plan to double-team him.

That hurts:Colts rally from 23 points down but lose to Rams in overtime

3. When Buckner was out of the game and Taven Bryan was in, the Rams ran. They became the first Colts opponent this season to run the ball well with running backs, as Kyren Williams and Ronnie Rivers combined for 34 carries for 150 yards and two touchdowns.


I had thought this Colts defense was just about bulletproof against the run, with the front seven dominant at every level and some reliable depth pieces such as E.J. Speed, Dayo Odeyingbo and Tyquan Lewis. But today showed just how critical Buckner is in that phase in addition to what he does as a rusher.

4. The Colts were not so effective in handling Donald. The three-time defensive player of the year was his full-fledged self, bouncing all across the four different rush points on the defensive line. They switched it up based on tendencies, too, rushing him on obvious passing downs at times at Blake Freeland and at other times over the guards. He was a bully in both places.

That's going to happen, and it's not an indictment on the Colts offensive line that it did. What was a little concerning was just how easily Freeland got handled in the passing game throughout. It's not an indictment of Freeland yet, as he's a fourth-round rookie who found out on Friday he'd be starting and who spent most of training camp working on the right side. It is a bit of an indictment on the lack of having a veteran swing tackle, which was probably a safe plan regardless of whether Raimann took the leap it appears like he has. Protecting those edges is just so important to the development of a rookie passer.

Insider:Richardson leads Colts back but they fall short in OT

5. If it wasn't already dead, let's put to rest the idea that the Colts could be better off with Gardner Minshew at quarterback. Yes, Minshew handled some tough conditions well as a leader last week in Baltimore. And yes, Richardson has room to grow as a passer, which he showed in completing just 11 of his 25 passes against the Rams.

But the difference in their explosive upside is so jarring. Richardson showed that as a runner, even when things weren't going well, and he finished with 10 carries for 56 yards and a touchdown.

But he really showed it in the passing game -- with the extension and throw to Alie-Cox for a 35-yard touchdown, with the 38-yard throw to Alec Pierce where he left his feet before the throw, and with his ability to suck defenders in toward the quarterback draw in the red zone to free open receivers. On 22 drop-backs, Richardson averaged 7.3 yards, which was nearly double what Minshew managed the week before in Baltimore.


That's not to create anything between these two, who are good friends and supportive teammates. It's just a reminder of why they spent the No. 4 pick on one of them and threw $3.5 million at the other. One is the face of the franchise and the other is his backup, and that's a hopeful place to be right now for the Colts when the draft pick is making the kinds of plays he made in this game.

6. It was interesting to see the Colts sitting Shaquille Leonard in the second half in place of Segun Olubi, even with Zaire Franklin dealing with a back injury. When Franklin came back, it was him and E.J. Speed on the field over Leonard. It'll be something to ask coaches about this week, as the season is a quarter over and Leonard hasn't been on the injury report yet.

To survive the youth on the back end, I still think the Colts are going to need to get Leonard's turnovers back into their identity. Today was a humbling moment for the secondary, which lucked out a little last week with how limited the Ravens' outside receivers were. Puke Nacua ate on routes cutting into the hash marks, finishing with nine catches for 163 yards and the game-winning touchdown. And Stafford is the type of veteran who feasts on young cornerbacks who can't make the post-snap picture look different enough from the pre-snap one.

This is another area where having Buckner at less than maximum effectiveness is crippling. The pass defense needs an elite pass rush on the edges and in the middle of the pocket right now.

Meet the writers:Join IndyStar Colts Insiders Oct. 11

7. The Colts passing game was dead outside of one catch-and-run touchdown by Alie-Cox ... until Pierce went up and made a play. Despite being held and seeing safety help, Pierce made a great adjustment to the ball down the right sideline to pull in a 38-yard catch. It came when the Colts needed it so badly, down two scores after a missed Rams field goal, needing someone to create an explosive play. It led to Richardson's 1-yard touchdown run.

Pierce has had a tough start to his second year, as that was just his seventh catch in his fourth game. But I think he's been mostly a victim of a discombobulated passing game than anything else. The Colts have mostly rotated between a rookie they've been handling with kids' gloves on drop-back passes and a backup in Gardner Minshew who almost never looks to throw down the field. They haven't been able to pull teams out of their two-high safety looks because the running game hasn't shown enough explosiveness.

8. Those kids' gloves came off Richardson in this one, once the Colts were down 23-0 in the second half and the safe plays didn't present a way to come back. Early on, they tried to use designed runs to bring consistency to the offense, but Richardson's fumble and the defensive issues made the hole grow too large. So the reigns came off, and it let Richardson play the way he used to in high school, with the control to scramble in and out of pressure and set up downfield throws or scrambles up the sideline.

It's a balance for Shane Steichen, as he's trying to tap into that upside when his offense needs a big drive while also developing the muscle memory of the footwork, throwing mechanics, timing and ball placement that Richardson doesn't have yet after such a brief college career. The further the Colts go in this development plan, though, the more they'll unleash that playmaker within. That's what they drafted Richardson for. It's ultimately how he'll lead them where they all want to go.

9. That was a really nice game from Odeyingbo, when the Colts really needed it with Buckner compromised. It was hard to notice too much else of the pass rush, with Stafford getting the ball out of his hands against a Colts coverage unit that had one rough afternoon. But Odeyingbo flashed with a sack on third down to force a 54-yard field goal, plus another two quarterback hits, another half-sack and five total tackles.

It really helps to have a third edge player who can work into the mix inside on obvious passing downs. That's been a missing element in the Colts' attempts to build a complete rush package under Chris Ballard, so this is a nice sign that it can come together, as today it didn't rely just on what Buckner creates for the players around him.

10. I think we're going to see ups and downs from this team for a while. That's life in the NFL, and it's life when teams have some big-time players but also a lot of youth. The Colts' schedule gives them some nice mismatches to work their strengths on, namely their pass rush against some struggling offensive lines. But in a passing league, their youth in the secondary and in their own passing game is going to lead to some missteps and natural inconsistency.

That's all to say that in a vacuum, the wins and the losses aren't as meaningful as they seem in the moment. They're like lessons for a young team, chapters in the story that they're writing together as they grow up in this league.

[JAFF]

What Colts said about Shaq Leonard being on the sidelines in second half of Sunday's loss
Akeem Glaspie
Indianapolis Star







INDIANAPOLIS -- The Colts linebackers practice playing multiple combinations, Zaire Franklin, E.J. Speed, Shaquille Leonard, Grant Stuard and Segun Olubi capable of filling in for each other whenever needed.

But when Franklin left the game in the second half with a back injury, it was Olubi -- playing his first defensive snaps of the season -- who replaced him at mike linebacker, not the four-time All-Pro Leonard.

With the Colts needing to keep the Rams off the scoreboard and erase a 23-point deficit, a combination of Speed, Franklin and Olubi were tasked with shutting down one of the most explosive offenses in the league, while Leonard often watched from the sidelines.


When asked if there was a reason he wasn't in the game during parts of the second half, Leonard said, "No."

He declined to answer if an injury was the reason for the decreased playing time.


With Leonard playing a reduced role and Franklin -- the second-leading tackler in the league -- briefly out of the lineup due to a back injury, the Rams attacked the middle of the field with deep in routes, crossers and checkdowns to running backs. Once Franklin returned, with his back injury still bothering him, Sengun remained in the game and Leonard stayed on the sidelines.


"I take a lot of pride in just being dependable to my guys," Franklin said. "Just knowing that I wouldn't want to put Sengun in a situation where he hadn't played a lot of snaps and had a lot of reps, and I know my guys needed me out there. I was just trying to do everything I could to be out there. And once I got out there, (my back) still was hurting, but it is what it is at that point."

Leonard's snap percentage has decreased over each game this season. He played 85.7% of the defensive snaps Week 1, 71.4% in Week 2 and 69.4% in Week 3. Colts linebacker coach Richard Smith said Leonard's snap percentage was too high after Week 1, so it appears the Colts have reduced his playing time to help him get through the season.


Coach Shane Steichen said Leonard is not dealing with an injury.

“We're just, obviously, rotating them in there," he said. "That's the rotation.”

Leonard played just three games last season while dealing with multiple injuries. In those three games Leonard did not play more than 54% of the defensive snaps.

"As we know Shaquille is coming off injury, so we're working him back into getting fully, 100% healthy," Speed said. "Once he's fully, 100% healthy, he'll start taking more snaps on third-down opportunities, he'll be relieved of his snap count and we'll go ahead and get back to our regular schedule."

Doyel:Colts lose to Rams but Anthony Richardson shows glimpse of future and it's beautiful

Leonard's decreased playing time comes with a lack of production from the defender known for his nose for the football. Leonard had 3 tackles Sunday and is fourth on the team with 21 through four games. However, he has no sacks, one tackle for loss, no forced fumbles, no fumble recoveries, no interceptions and no passes defended.

In 15 games in 2021, Leonard never went two games without making a splash play and he played 100% of the snaps in 11 of 15 games.

Keeping a player once considered one of the best linebackers in the NFL out of the game raises questions. Rotating linebackers into the game makes sense, but in crunch time it's surprising not to see the Colts' two best 'backers -- Franklin and Leonard -- in the game.