Colts Fail to Test the Eagles Secondary in Monday Night Loss

Not everything went according to plan for the Indianapolis Colts in their loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night. That's no surprise to anybody. This was, after all, the game in which the Colts saw their win slip away, largely due to a missed pass interference call that led to an interception and some questionable coaching down the stretch.

But it's easy to look at final minutes and overlook the rest of the game. Why were the Colts in that position at all, and why did the Colts offense struggle to throw the ball more than 10-12 yards down the field at a time? 

According to Chuck Pagano, it was all part of the game plan for the Colts, per the Indianapolis Star's Stephen Holder: 

While the Colts' desire to establish the run is opposite of what many advanced-metric gurus would call for, it worked on Sunday due to a few factors. For one, reserve tight end Jack Doyle came in on the Colts' heavy sets as a fullback and an extra tight end and played exceptionally. He and Dwayne Allen were fantastic in the "move" role, picking up a positive-3.3 grade in run blocking from Pro Football Focus (subscription required) between the two. 

The two's success allowed the Colts to run the ball more effectively than they have since Week 3 of last season, at least in the first half. But another big factor was the schemes the Eagles were showing. The Eagles kept their safeties deep for much of the game, inviting the Colts to run at them. 

The Colts did so, running behind heavy sets on nearly half of their snaps (Doyle, the third tight end, was in the game on 36 of the team's 75 offensive snaps, per Pro Football Focus). It correlates with Pagano's comments about the team wanting to establish the run, but why was that the focus going into the game? 

As we looked at last week, the Eagles' biggest weakness on defense has been their tendency to allow big passing plays. This wasn't just a case of the Week 1 jitters, the Eagles were 25th in passing DVOA allowed last season but 11th in rushing DVOA allowed, per Football Outsiders. 

According to Pagano, the Colts wanted to test the Eagles with some downfield passing, but that's not what it seemed like on Monday night. 

The Colts ran a very quick-hitting passing offense, for the most part, with screens and quick slants or digs being the primary weapon. According to Pro Football Focus, Luck's average time to attempt was just 2.31 seconds, which would have been the third-quickest time in the league last season. 

When Luck did look deep before failing to find an open body, it was usually because the Colts lined up in heavy run formations, meaning the playmakers on the field probably weren't very adept at getting open downfield. 

Qtr.	Time	No. of WRs	Play-action?	Result	Yards Gained
1	7:59	1	Yes	Pass to C. Fleener	13
2	10:37	1	Yes	Inc. pass to D. Allen	0
3	9:36	1	Yes	Throw away	0
3	9:30	3	No	Scramble	15
4	13:51	3	Yes	Scramble	3

Speaking of getting open downfield, this is now two games in a row in which Luck has struggled to find open receivers more than a few yards past the line of scrimmage. Luck has just five attempts more than 20 yards down the field in two weeks, tied for 26th in the league. While some of that is play-calling, the personnel is also part of the problem.

Hakeem Nicks and Reggie Wayne both struggle to get open downfield. Nicks showed it last season, when he rarely got open if he didn't win at the line of scrimmage in his release. Wayne simply looks a bit slower as he ages and returns from ACL surgery. Coby Fleener has struggled to get separation since he came in the league, and Allen is a possession receiver, not a downfield threat. 

Really, T.Y. Hilton is the only true downfield threat the Colts have, and the opponents are simply rolling coverage over to his side  to take the deep threat out. Luck did take one shot down the field at him on Monday, but he was Luck's third or fourth read, and the ball sailed long. 

Chris Howell/Associated Press

Getting rookie Donte Moncrief or second-year wide receiver Da'Rick Rogers involved could be one solution. Both receivers have size and speed to warrant attention from the defense. Moncrief has run just six routes in the last two games but has two catches for 25 yards. More snaps could help the Colts complement their weapons more efficiently and give the defense cause for concern. 

But, in the end, the Colts are going to continue to be a quick-passing offense. This is Pep Hamilton's modus operandi, and no drastic change is coming any time soon. It really doesn't make much sense. The Colts' top three wide receivers aren't particularly elusive, and things like wide receiver screens rarely succeed. Per my own tracking, the Colts' wide receiver screens have gone for just 10 yards on five attempts this season, an abysmal amount. 

If the Colts are going to be a top offense this season, something that should be absolutely attainable with Andrew Luck at quarterback, they will need to be able to attack defenses down the field through the air. Through two weeks, that's been nonexistent. 

With Luck at the helm, the team will still be able to manage to put up a decent amount of points, and they'll win games. Like Bleacher Report's Rivers McCown said on Tuesday, it's not time to panic yet. But without the efficiency that a potent downfield attack adds, the Colts offense will never reach elite levels. And without an elite offense, this team doesn't have Super Bowl contention in its future.

All statistics and snap counts come from Pro Football Focus (subscription required) and Pro Football Reference unless otherwise noted. All training camp observations were obtained firsthand by the reporter unless otherwise noted.

Kyle is an NFL and Indianapolis Colts analyst for Bleacher Report and the editor-in-chief of Colts Authority. Follow Kyle on Twitter for more stats, analysis and general NFL analysis.