Each week, Zach Sears will dive deep into the Colts’ performance last week. For week two, he looks at Indy’s 20-9 loss the Baltimore Ravens.
Let the assumptions begin.
The game kicked off with Andrew Luck returning as the starting QB for the hometown crowd’s eyes. Luck’s return to Lucas oil stadium was lack-luster, only throwing for 50 yards and an interception in 13 attempts where he only completed six of his attempts. After Luck was done for the day, second-year Colts and former Patriot Jacoby Brissett had a great game as he accomplished 172 passing yards in 14 completed passes out of 23 attempts. Lastly, we saw Philip Walker who unlike week one of the preseason, we didn’t see much of. Walker only attempted six passes and completed two of them for 26 yards and a touchdown and interception which sealed the game.
Second-year running back Marlon Mack was out and is on a week to week basis which means we got to see more of the other backs in the group. The back that had the best rushing day was rookie Jordan Wilkins, who had a total of seven carries for 26 yards and one fumble that was luckily recovered by the Colts. We saw a lot of Christine Michael running with the first team but only totaled 21 rushing yards in seven attempts. The last notable back was Nyheim Hines who tried to improve upon his multiple fumble game from the week prior. Hines had yet another fumble though, along with 12 yards in five attempts.
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Veteran wide receiver T.Y. Hilton was out with a mild shoulder sprain so we all got to see a bit more of the other receivers. The first wideout we saw that impressed was Steve Ishmael, a UDFA who racked up a total of 52 yards in just two receptions. Chester Rogers the third year player showed he is ready to be the number two as he had 36 yards in two completions. Tight ends Jack Doyle and Ross Travis combined for 61 yards and two completions as UDFA wideout Zach Pascal achieved 26 yards and a touchdown in yet again, two completions. Last notable receiver was tight end Eric Ebron who had four completions for 16 yards.
Heading over to the defensive side of the ball, we start off with the teams players with the most tackles, late round pick Zaire Franklin who had nine tackles, star second-round pick Darius Leonard had seven total tackles, Grover Stewart, who I had the privilege of interviewing, stepped up and had a solid five tackles and a tackle for loss. After Stewart’s five, there are plenty of players who had three to four, so I will just jump into TFL and sacks.
The first person who impressed in those categories was Hassan Ridgeway who had five tackles along with three for loss and two sacks. Ridgeway has impressed immensely this preseason and could be a surprise starter come week 1. Veteran John Simon had a decent game as he had one tackle for loss with a sack to pad his starting position security. Heading into the secondary, Matthias Farley, Denico Autry, and Quincy Wilson all had pass deflections. I know Denico Autry isn’t a defensive back either, just tried working him in noting his PD whilst moving ahead.
The Colts had a huge day with fumbles; running backs Nyheim Hines and Jordan Wilkins each had a fumble, luckily Wilkins’ was recovered by Chester Rogers for a Colts touchdown. As for forcing fumbles and recovering them, rookie Mathew Adams and returning from injury strong safety both had forced fumbles caused on a kickoff and a punt that were both recovered by long snapper Luke Rhodes and punter Rigoberto Sanchez. As for kicking, we saw the GOAT Adam Vinatieri and Michael Badgley who each made a field goal and Vinny made an extra point.
