Colts most to blame for Week 2 loss to Packers
09/17/2024 04:34 PM
At points on Sunday afternoon, all felt lost for the Indianapolis Colts. Josh Jacobs and the Green Bay Packers ran the ball down the field like a semi-truck crushing a traffic cone. Anthony Richardson alternated majestic throws with interceptions that would make high school coaches furious.
The game was a one-sided contest for three and a half quarters, but suddenly, the Colts were down one score with the ball and a chance to win. Time was not on their side, and Indy lost 16-10. Yet the final scoreline reflected Indianapolis’ grit and opportunistic mindset rather than Green Bay’s offensive dominance.
The Colts can take away many positives from their performance, but first, we must examine the negatives for a team that now sits at 0-2. Here are the three Colts players most to blame for their Week 2 loss to the Packers.
Raekwon Davis
With DeForest Buckner only playing 10 defensive snaps due to injury, the rest of the Colts defensive line needed to step up. Instead, Indy gave up 261 rushing yards for the game, including 237 in the first half and 164 in the first quarter alone. It is difficult to single out one player for a complete team failure, but Raekwon Davis was particularly poor.
Davis registered a Pro Football Focus Player Grade of 53.4 in run defense — the worst of any Colts player on the defensive line. Despite being 6-7 and 325 pounds, Davis frequently failed to occupy blocks and did not provide a stiff front in run support. Without any penetration or at least stalling the Packers’ interior linemen, Davis allowed Josh Jacobs and company to run rampant.
Zaire Franklin
In continuing with the defensive theme, it is difficult to look past the struggles of the Colts’ run defense. Indy’s worst-ranked player in run defense was Zaire Franklin, who registered a PFF Player Grade of just 35.7 on running plays. Franklin was routinely driven back in the running game, with the Packers’ offensive line frequently taking him out of plays altogether.
Only the forced fumble on Josh Jacobs at the goalline salvaged an abysmal performance from the Colts captain.
Anthony Richardson
In a game in which the Colts defense would have struggled to stop a peewee football team, Indy needed its offense to sustain drives and score points. The running game was not an issue, as Jonathan Taylor rushed for 103 yards on just 12 carries. The problem came in the passing game.
Anthony Richardson through three picks (though the last was on a game-ending Hail Mary), with the first two coming in Green Bay territory. The Colts were lucky that the Packers could not convert on those turnovers, as Richardson’s picks resulted in a goal-line fumble and a missed field goal for Green Bay.
Richardson and the Indy passing game did not show many signs of life before late in the contest. The Colts QB had 17 completions on the afternoon (on 34 attempts), with six coming on the team’s touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter. That means he was 11-30 up to that point.
The second-year gunslinger showed his big-play ability in Week 1 against the Houston Texans, but he also finished just 9 for 19 in the air in that game. Richardson must be better on intermediate and underneath throws to help Indianapolis move the chains and keep the offense on the field.
Through two games, the Colts are averaging 20 minutes of possession — versus 40 minutes for their opponents. That disparity makes it difficult to win football games. Anthony Richardson must manage games better moving forward.
The post Colts most to blame for Week 2 loss to Packers appeared first on ClutchPoints.
