Can Pep Hamilton Fix the Colts Offense for a Playoff Run?

The Indianapolis Colts lost a 42-7 laugher to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, and the majority of the blame for the embarrassment doesn't necessarily belong to one person, position group or unit. 

The offense scored its lowest amount of points all season. The defense allowed four straight touchdown drives to start the game and tied its season high by allowing six offensive touchdowns (New England and Pittsburgh losses).

The offensive line was horrendous, the receiving corp unfocused and the running game nonexistent. While Andrew Luck's mistakes were much fewer than his stats would suggest, he did cost the Colts points at the end of the first half. The defensive line provided zero pass rush, the linebackers couldn't cover Jason Witten and the secondary allowed both Tony Romo and Brandon Weeden to have passer ratings of over 150. 

But the defense was always going to get lit up by Romo and the Cowboys. The only good offense it's limited all year was the Ravens in Week 5. It has allowed 30 points to every other decent offense it's faced, including Denver, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New England and now Dallas. Not coincidentally, the Colts have lost all five games. 

A more surprising outcome from Sunday's game was the first-string offense's complete inability to move the ball against a susceptible Dallas defense. The Cowboys entered the game ranked 26th in defensive DVOA, per Football Outsiders, and had allowed no less than 27 points in each of their previous four games. 

Not only did the Cowboys rank 22nd in defensive passing DVOA, but they were 27th in rushing defensive DVOA, representing an opportunity for the Colts to get the running game on track. 

The Colts finished with a franchise-low one total rushing yard.

Player	Attempts	Yards	Average
Dan Herron	7	3	0.4
Trent Richardson	2	1	0.5
Zurlon Tipton	1	-3	-3.0

The Colts now have two separate games where they've rushed for less than 20 yards as a team, just the 13th time that's happened since 1950.

The passing game wasn't much better. Dwayne Allen, one of the Colts' most reliable pass-catchers, dropped all three of his targets, including what could have been a 75-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter. Pep Hamilton's game plan seemed more experimental than tactical at times, running countless wide receiver screens with an overall extremely limited passing offense. 

On one hand, the Colts were without their second-most important offensive player (T.Y. Hilton) and had a brand new right side of the offensive line. That, combined with the unimportance of the game overall, contributed greatly to the offense's poor showing. 

On the other hand, the Colts offense has struggled for three weeks now, and the slow starts date back to the New England loss. 

For the Colts to make any kind of playoff run, they must get the offense back to elite levels. We've seen what the defense is capable of, and it doesn't amount to much against teams with good quarterbacks. The Colts will need the offense to be flying high again and the defense to string together a few stops against just about any of its potential playoff opponents. 

Can Pep Hamilton do that? Can he get the offense back to its winning ways? 

To do so, the Colts will need two things.

First, they need to have some kind of running game. Passing is king in today's NFL, but you have to have some kind of ground threat. Rushing for one yard (or 19 against New England) just isn't going to do it. Without any semblance of a ground game, you simply put too much pressure on the quarterback. 

Hopefully, that is aided by the help of healthy offensive linemen and the team finding the right combination of players over the next two weeks. Finding the right balance of Dan Herron to Trent Richardson plays a part into that as well. Neither back is good, but Herron is slightly less bad at running the ball, while Richardson is a better pass protector. 

Second, they have to recreate the big plays they were manufacturing in the middle of the season. Getting Hilton back healthy should boost that immensely, and the Colts have been fairly successful with tight end production over the last few weeks. 

That means wide receiver screens aren't a heavy part of the game plan. The Colts don't have the personnel for it, and it's never been a part of their DNA. 

At least, not their successful DNA.

But all the game-planning in the world won't matter if the players don't execute. 

That means Dwayne Allen can't drop open passes. That means offensive linemen have to avoid stupid penalties. That means Andrew Luck has to be great, not just good (yes, it's a different standard than everybody else, but he merits it). 

The Colts' chances always have and always will rest on Luck and the offense. For the last three weeks, it's been difficult to watch. 

If they get it together come January, it'll be worth it.