[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.