Herron, Moncrief Help Colts Offense Reach New Heights in Win over Redskins

The Indianapolis Colts offense has had a pretty good year. 

Going into Week 13, the Colts led the league in yards per game and were fourth in points per game.

While advanced stats didn't look quite as pretty thanks to some recent turnover issues and inconsistent performances against the Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots, it's safe to say that this is the best Colts offense since the Peyton Manning days. 

But while the offense has had good days, it has never been as great as it was for most of Sunday's game, putting up 42 points against the Washington Redskins and consistently finding ways to make big play after big play. 

The Colts finished with five plays of 30 or more yards, including their first run in that category: Daniel "Boom" Herron's 49-yard touchdown run in the first half that kickstarted the offense.

After Week 13, the Colts now have 26 plays of 30 or more yards on the season—the most in the NFL—per Pro-Football-Reference.com. Check out this stat from ESPN Stats & Info:

The complete decimation of the Redskins secondary was astounding to watch after a slow start by the Colts.

Andrew Luck, just like last week, was sacked on the first play and fumbled the ball. On the next drive, Luck tried to force a pass to Reggie Wayne, and it was tipped up into the air and intercepted. 

Fortunately for Indianapolis, the defense held Washington to just three points off of those turnovers, and the Colts stayed out of any big-deficit situations. 

Then Luck and offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton started putting it together, leading to six touchdown drives by the offense. Five of those touchdowns were passes by Luck, setting a new career high and becoming the third Indianapolis quarterback to throw for five touchdowns in a single game.

His 137.0 passer rating was the second-highest of his career, trailing only the 140.4 rating he earned in the Colts' 44-17 win at Jacksonville in Week 3. Per ESPN Stats & Info:

But even with the big stat line, it wasn't the quarterback's performance that was the most notable thing about Sunday's game, although the contrast of Luck's statistical explosion to Robert Griffin III's benching did not go unnoticed. 

No, the notable performance on Sunday belonged to the Colts' young offensive skill players, specifically Herron and rookie receiver Donte Moncrief. 

Coby Fleener had another strong game, finishing with four catches for 127 yards and two touchdowns, and he could have had another 52-yard touchdown if not for a wide-open drop in the first half.

But Hamilton has done an excellent job of scheming Fleener open looks all season. The only difference today was that he got one or two more, largely due to the other threats on the field. T.Y. Hilton, of course, was one, although he was more than just a decoy with five catches for 62 yards and a touchdown. 

Herron was another one of those threats, putting the nail into the coffin of the "Should Trent Richardson continue to start?" question.

Herron and Richardson each had eight carries. Herron finished with 88 yards and a touchdown, while Richardson had 12 yards. Both running backs had a fumble, although only Herron's was recovered by Washington. 

The Indianapolis Star's Stephen Holder noted the difference between Herron and Richardson:

The former Ohio State running back is more explosive than Richardson and makes quicker decisions with his cuts, which leads to consistently better runs.

It's a similar situation as it was with Donald Brown in 2013. Is Herron a future starter or a star in Indianapolis? The odds would probably be against it. But he is unequivocally better than Richardson right now, and the offense plays better with him on the field. 

It's a similar story for Moncrief, who finished with three catches for 134 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday. Moncrief is more explosive than a guy like Hakeem Nicks, and having him on the field leads to good things for the Indianapolis offense.

Whether it was the wide-open touchdowns the rookie scored on Sunday, or his sprinting 40 yards downfield to throw the block that sealed Fleener's 73-yard touchdown pass, Moncrief made things happen. 

It's transition time for Indianapolis, and it's much like last season. The Colts had to transition from Darrius Heyward-Bey to Hilton as the starting wide receiver. They eventually did. They had to transition to Brown starting over Richardson, and they eventually did. 

Rotoworld's Evan Silva points out interesting stats about Moncrief and Nicks:

Now it's Moncrief and Herron's turn. With them, the Colts have pieces for an extremely explosive offense, moreso than with their counterparts on the field. Sure, it helps to be playing a young Redskins secondary, but this isn't anything new. 

With more explosive weapons on the field, the Colts can scheme more open receivers for big plays, and Herron may even be able to get those big plays on the ground occasionally.

It's a beautiful thing to watch from an offense that has had the potential for this kind of play all year. 

Now the Colts just need to shore up that defense.