Indianapolis Colts vs. New York Giants: Breaking Down Indianapolis' Game Plan

Last week was not ideal for the Indianapolis Colts. 

Not only did the team lose to the Pittsburgh Steelers, but they lost in embarrassing fashion, giving up 51 points on the road. They fell behind New England and Cincinnati in the race for the No. 2 seed in the AFC. They also lost Vontae Davis and Erik Walden to injury, and both injuries could linger. 

Now they must rebound as they visit the New York Giants prior to the bye in Week 10. 

Will the Colts' slide continue? Can the defense bounce back? Is Andrew Luck great? 

In order for the Colts to avoid slipping closer to .500, here are a few keys they must focus on. 

Offense: Deal with Dwayne

Last week, Dwayne Allen looked to be a fantastic weapon to use against the Steelers, who were 29th in receiving DVOA given up to tight ends, per Football Outsiders. 

Well, Allen caught just one pass, but it was a 21-yard touchdown pass. The Colts tight ends weren't much of a factor in this one, as the Colts were down by so much that they opted to throw the ball either deep down the field to their speedy wide receivers or underneath to running backs or receivers to gain yards after the catch against soft coverages. 

Those intermediate zones that are oft-occupied by Allen or Coby Fleener weren't targeted much at all. 

Against the Giants, the game should follow a more normal script, one in which Allen should factor heavily. The Giants, after all, are even worse than the Steelers against tight ends, ranking dead-last in receiving DVOA allowed to the position, per Football Outsiders.

Year	Catches	Yards	Touchdowns	DVOA
2012	45	521	3	14.8%
2014 (8 games)	22	326	6	33.6%

Allen's been a big X-factor for Luck in the passing game, but he's also been fantastic in other ways. He's an excellent blocker, having Pro Football Focus' (subscription required) third-highest run-blocking grade for a tight end. Allen has allowed just one hurry in 45 pass-blocking snaps, per Pro Football Focus.

With the versatility that he possesses, Allen is a key cog in offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton's offense, and he should be a key factor on Sunday as well. 

Offense: Let it Fly

With a big deficit, the Steelers knew the Colts would be passing for the vast majority of the game on Sunday. Who knew just how right they'd be: Andrew Luck dropped back 45 times and handed the ball off just seven times. 

As the Colts were so pass-heavy, Chuck Pagano told Mike Wells of ESPN.com that the Steelers were able to tee off on Andrew Luck: 

"

The problem was as we got so far behind. When you become one-dimensional and you're down 35-10, 'Katy bar the door.' Everybody in the stadium, everybody on both sidelines, they know that you've got to drop back and throw the football to get back in the game. It's not a position that you want to be in and it makes it extremely difficult.

"

The Colts coaching staff has preached running the ball since their arrival in Indianapolis, and the knee-jerk reaction could be to try to create balance early on Monday night. But that would be an oversight. The Colts are one of the top 10 offenses in the league because of Andrew Luck, not the run game that has been worse than last year's version.

The problem wasn't that the Colts couldn't score on Sunday, it was that they allowed four touchdowns on the Steelers' first four drives. The Colts' need to avoid getting behind early against the Giants, and the offense can't be afraid to attack vertically. 

Luck, T.Y. Hilton and a dangerous passing attack is the best weapon for the Colts to get ahead early, especially if Donte Moncrief is getting significant snaps and further stretching the field. 

Defense: Get Vontae Healthy

Through eight games, it's Vontae Davis who is the Colts' defensive MVP, and it's not particularly close. Cory Redding is the unit's leader on and off the field and Mike Adams has played surprisingly well, but it's Davis whose success is most vital to the unit. 

If you've been paying attention, you know the numbers.

	Grade	Passer Rating Allowed	Percent Caught (Tgts.)	Missed Tackles	Snaps/Reception Allowed	Yards Allowed/Snap
Metric	+10.6	37.8	45.5%	0	17.0	0.72
League Rank	3	3	3	1	2	4

But it's not just about the numbers for Davis. The cornerback has done an excellent job of holding down his side of the field, allowing the Colts to blitz heavily and rotate coverage to other areas when in man coverage. 

It's a ripple effect that affects the whole defense, and it's much needed with Robert Mathis—the Colts' other premier player—out for the season. 

This is especially helpful on third down, where the Colts love to come at the quarterback with big blitz packages, leaving the cornerbacks on an island and trusting them to hold up in coverage for what should be just a couple seconds. But when Josh Gordy is on the field to cover because of Davis' injury, the likelihood of that coverage breaking down increases dramatically. 

While the Giants receiving corps is decidedly less intimidating without Victor Cruz, rookie Odell Beckham Jr. and Rueben Randle are a quality duo. With Davis healthy and on the field, the Colts could lock the pair down. With Davis missing the game, it could be decidedly more difficult. 

Of course, the Giants aren't the most difficult team on the Colts' schedule, and the team has a bye next week. If Davisn't isn't ready to go, it won't be worth it to have him play. Risking further injury would be devastating for Indianapolis. 

Defense: Where Art Thou?

Arthur "Art" Jones was the Colts' big-money free-agent addition this offseason, signing the fifth-year defensive tackle to a five-year, $33 million contract with $16 million guaranteed, per Spotrac.

So far, the Colts haven't seen much of a return on that investment.

Michael Conroy/Associated Press

Jones, who had a fantastic year in 2013 in Baltimore, has been hurt for much of the fall, and Sunday played in his first full game since the Denver loss to open the season. Jones has played just 68 snaps this season, according to Football Outsiders. 

When he has played, Jones hasn't been particularly effective, racking up a negative-1.2 grade from Pro Football Focus. 

The biggest reason the Colts need Jones to be healthy and effective? Pass rush. 

Jones is traditionally seen as a run-stopper, and that's certainly his best trait, but the Colts need him to be effective in both roles. Last season, Jones was 10th among all 3-4 defensive ends with a pass-rushing productivity rate (measures pressure per snap) of 8.4, according to Pro Football Focus. That easily would have been the best mark of any Colt defensive linemen. 

The only way Jones will be worth his contract is if he can give the Colts productivity as a pass-rusher. So far, that hasn't happened, as Jones has one pressure on the season, per Pro Football Focus. 

When the Colts' blitzes aren't landing, which will happen more often as the season goes on, the team desperately needs the base pass rush to collapse the pocket and make things difficult for the opposing passer. That hasn't happened so far in 2014, and if the Colts want to win a Super Bowl, it's something that will need to develop. 

All statistics and snap counts come from Pro Football Focus (subscription required) and Pro Football Reference 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.