Colts Defense Taking on 'Monster' Label, Creating Balance in Indianapolis

It was just another day at the office for the Indianapolis Colts offense on Sunday. 

Andrew Luck threw for 344 yards and two touchdowns. The Colts running backs had predictable success against the Bengals' 32nd-ranked run defense by Defense-adjusted Value Over Average (DVOA), per Football Outsiders.

T.Y. Hilton continued to show that he's a No. 1 receiver in the league, catching seven passes for 107 yards. The offense gained over 500 yards and scored 27 points, despite losing two fumbles in the red zone. 

But the offense wasn't the story of the day. 

No, that would belong to the defense. 

Yes, the Colts defense. 

But, the Colts aren't supposed to be about defense! The Colts, and their Star Wars offensive numbers, are supposed to be about big plays and high-flying offenses, outscoring other teams and overwhelming them with efficient scoring. 

Not this season. 

Don't get me wrong, this is the best a Colts offense has played since 2009, unless you count the first few games alone in 2010. 

But the defense, which shut a solid Cincinnati Bengals offense (even without A.J. Green, they're still above-average) out on Sunday, has been getting closer and closer to matching the offense's level of play, something that hasn't happened in Indianapolis since 2007. Looking back at the Colts of the last 15 years, just those 2007 and 2005 squads really had a defense that was worth much merit. 

But when Chuck Pagano came to Indianapolis, he came to "Build the Monster." Jim Irsay wanted a balanced team, a team that didn't rely solely on its quarterback. While that may not be possible, or at least probable, once Andrew Luck signs a contract extension, the Colts are finally getting to that point in the third year of the Ryan Grigson/Pagano era. 

The impressive thing is, this isn't a fluke. 

We've been waiting for a defensive crumble for weeks. Aside from a few lapses against the Houston Texans in Week 6 (and, oh yeah, they forced the game-winning turnover that week), the defense has been lights-out for the last five weeks. On Sunday, they limited the Bengals to just 158 yards of total yards and zero points. 

The pass rush that was getting lucky with blitzes has continued to get "lucky," as Greg Manusky's calls have worked perfectly with the Colts secondary to create a perfect storm in the backfield week after week. The Colts sacked Andy Dalton three times on Sunday—after the Bengals had given up just two sacks all year. 

Bjoern Werner has seen his second-year leap and had another sack on Sunday to raise his three-game total to four. The Colts' other recent additions, like Mike Adams, Erik Walden and Ricky Jean Francois, are all playing well in the Colts system. Vontae Davis and Greg Toler have the secondary humming. 

Two weeks ago, I wrote that the Colts defense playing strong could lead to Super Bowl contention: 

"

The monster may not be fully grown yet, but perhaps it's in the adolescent stage. Now we hope to watch it mature in the coming weeks, continuing to bring this kind of performance to Indianapolis. If they can, the Colts will no longer just be the best team in a bad division; they'll be a legitimate Super Bowl contender.

"

Is the monster now fully grown? Is this what we can expect? 

Consistency is a funny thing to measure, but consider this: Over the last four weeks, the Colts have allowed just four third-down conversions in 41 attempts. They were already first in the league in third-down defense prior to Sunday's game, and then they proceeded to hold Cincinnati to a 1-of-13 performance on third down. 

Sure, A.J. Green was out, and the Bengals have put up all their big numbers against bad defenses. But this was a suffocating performance. It wasn't just Dalton and the Bengals shooting themselves in the foot or missing opportunities. This was the Colts defense taking everything the Bengals wanted to do and shoving it back in their face. 

It was as dominating of a defensive performance as Indianapolis has seen in the last 15 years. With the Colts offense already hitting on all cylinders, the defense was the last piece needed to push the Colts into the upper echelon of the NFL's elite.

It was a performance worthy of the "monster" label. And from the looks of things, it just might be here to stay. 

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.