Colts vs. Jets: Final Grades, Analysis for Indianapolis

Final Score:

Indianapolis: 9, New York: 35

The New York Jets beat the Indianapolis Colts at Metlife Stadium this afternoon in a complete meltdown by the Colts, on each side of the ball. 

It's hard to find positives for the Colts in this one, but there were a few. 

Be sure to keep this slideshow open all game as it will soon be updated with complete grades and analysis for each player. 

Quarterbacks

Andrew Luck:  C-

Luck started out inconsistently, moving the ball well, but unable to finish drives, missing open wide receivers on third down, one of which led to a second quarter interception. This continued throughout the game, as Luck tried to do too much.

Luck consistently got out of sticky situations in the backfield, but unlike previous weeks, where he’s picked up the first down with his legs, he tried to make big plays down field with his arm, and couldn’t connect. 

Running Backs

Vick Ballard: C+

Ballard had a few tough runs to start the game, but the Colts’ offensive line quickly closed up after that, and Ballard had a hard time finding space.

Mewelde Moore: C

 Moore has been in the game a lot, but hasn’t given much, with three yards for five yards. He did have some decent pass protection.

Delone Carter: C-

Carter got one carry in the first quarter, but misunderstood the play call and ran to the wrong side of Andrew Luck, leading to a blown play. He finished the game with just 13 yards on four carries. 

The Colts missed Donald Brown's explosiveness today, as even when the offensive line gave the running backs space, they failed to get more than four or five yards on the play. 

Wide Receiver

Reggie Wayne: B-

Wayne was once again the best wide receiver on the field, but was held to just five catches for 87 yards. Wayne had a couple drops in the fourth quarter. It didn't really affect the outcome of the game, but it was worth noting that even Wayne struggled today. 

Donnie Avery: C

Avery got an attempt at an end-around in the first quarter, but got stuffed for a loss of one. He did have a nice downfield catch for 24 yards in the first quarter, and a first down catch in the second half. He contributed with a few catches in that second half, but also had a few costly missed plays.

T.Y Hilton: C-

Hilton finished with three catches for 31 yards, including a nice 16-yard screen pass.  But, Hilton isn’t getting open enough, especially down the field, for this team. 

Tight Ends

Coby Fleener: B+

Fleener played well, getting a few underneath passes from Luck, and getting open in the end zone in the first quarter (Luck missed him with a high pass, unfortunately). It was easily Fleener’s best game of the season, finishing with four catches for 42 yards.

Dwayne Allen: C

Allen had two catches for 33 yards on the day, but wasn’t nearly as involved as he was in previous weeks, and had a bad drop in the second half.

Offensive Line

Collective: F

The offensive line had a horrendous performance in all phases of the game, as the game served as a clear picture of what has plagued this offense all season. 

The Jets were one of the five worst teams in run defense so far this season going into the game, but the Colts managed just 42 yards rushing on the game. 

Pass protection wasn't any better, as Andrew Luck was sacked 4 times, and fumbled once. It was the first time all season that Luck has really looked rattled by the pressure, as he was really beat up all game. 

Defensive Line

Antonio Johnson:  D+

When in, Johnson continues to get run over in the run game, allowing teams to get a big push right off the snap on run plays.

Drake Nevis/Ricardo Mathews: C-

Both players played well last week, getting pressure on Aaron Rodgers multiple times. This week, the Jets decided to test the Colts’ run defense, and the two had a hard time holding their ground. 

Clifton Geathers: F

The defensive end was signed this week, and was, in my opinion, the worst player on the field at times against New York. Geathers was constantly pushed back against the run, and was consistently seen 5-7 yards down the field on running plays. 

Linebackers

Jerry Hughes: B+

Hughes had an offside penalty in the second quarter, helped lead to a Jets touchdown but also had a tackle for a loss in the quarter. Hughes should have had a sack in the second quarter, but a missed holding call on the right tackle allowed Sanchez to escape. Hughes had another quarterback hit in the third, forcing an incomplete pass, and followed it up with a sack in the fourth quarter. 

Overall, Hughes had his best game of the season, and one of the lone bright spots on the team. 

Dwight Freeney: C-

Freeney ended the game with one assist, which pretty much sums up his game. Outside of a tipped screen pass early in the game, Freeney was held to insignificance all game. It seems like he may still be hurt, which would be a killer for this defense with Robert Mathis out for another week or two. 

Jerrell Freeman: C+

Freeman had a good start, getting six tackles in the first half (finished with 14), including a tackle for a loss on a linebacker blitz. But, as the game wore on, he continually got enveloped by the the Jets' offensive line, which was dominating the Colts DL. 

Kavell Conner: C-

Conner had one run stop in the second half, but was lost against the run for most of the game. He did have a nice play on a pass in the third quarter, forcing an incompletion. 

Defensive Backs

Jerraud Powers: C

Powers had an awful game last week, and was merely mediocre this week, allowing a touchdown in the first half. He didn't allow nearly the amount of completions that he did last week, but still wasn't the lockdown corner we saw against Minnesota and Jacksonville. 

Cassius Vaughn: D+

After a good game against the Packers, Vaughn struggled early against the Jets, allowing several completions and getting dragged around in the run game. 

Tom Zbikowski: F

Zbikowski was a liability against the Jets, taking bad angles in run support, missing tackles, and having poor awareness against the pass. This led directly to a first-half Jets touchdown, as Zbikowski had good coverage on the play, but didn’t realize the ball was coming until the catch was made. 

Antoine Bethea: D+

Bethea finished with eight tackles, but that didn't reflect how much he struggled this year. He missed tackles and simply wasn't the game changer the Colts need him to be. It continues the down year he's had so far this season. 

Special Teams

Adam Vinatieri: A

Vinatieri was a perfect 3-3 on the day, including a 50 and 47-yarder. 

Pat McAfee: B+

McAfee only averaged 37 yards per punt on the day, but only had three punts, and all three were trying to pin the Jets deep. He got them inside their own ten on 2 of the 3 punts. 

Cassius Vaughn and LaVon Brazill: D

The Colts didn't have a kick return longer than 20 yards on the day, and the Colts averaged less than 18 yards per return. A poor showing for the kick return team. 

Coaching

Bruce Arians and Greg Manusky: D

Arians, after doing a stellar job last week, was a liability for the Colts against the Jets. 

The worst part on the day was the complete lack of confidence in the offense to pick up yards on fourth down. The Colts were down multiple scores early, and had fourth and shorts inside New York territory early, but Arians refused to take a shot, inexcusable in the situation. Late the game was the same story. 

Of course, the complete meltdown by the entire team, in both halves, lays on the coaches as well. Outside of special teams, the team didn't have the energy they did last week, and just looked out of it. The team knew what the Jets' gameplan would be, and still couldn't stop it. 

On a positive note, the team had MUCH less penalties this week, a plus for a team that has struggled with discipline this week.