Redskins vs. Colts: Full Report Card Grades for Indianapolis
Much like last week, it wasn't the best of starts for the Indianapolis Colts, but an explosive performance from Andrew Luck helped lead his team to a 49-27 win over Washington.
At first, it looked like the Colts were in for a long game, turning the ball over on their first two offensive drives. The offensive line was collapsing in a hurry, causing a strip-sack from Ryan Kerrigan and then an interception to Ryan Clark.
But the defense was able to hold, keeping Washington to just one field goal off those two turnovers. The Colts turned on the jets before halftime, putting up three touchdowns and taking a 21-10 lead into the locker room.
Luck continued to make big plays in the second half, but the play of the game came from the defense. On an attempted fourth-down conversion with just inches to go, Washington decided to run a play action, but an Erik Walden sack led to a fumble recovery and 35-yard touchdown return from D'Qwell Jackson to go up 35-17.
Washington managed to keep scoring, but so did the Colts, who put up 49 points and got the big win. Indianapolis averaged 9.9 yards per play on offense, racking up 487 total yards despite only one trip to the red zone.
Colt McCoy had a solid game with 392 yards passing and three touchdowns, but the six sacks and unreliable running game made it hard for Washington to keep up.
It was an interesting game on both sides of the ball, so let's take a look at the complete position grades from the Week 13 win.
Quarterback
1 of 10
Things did not go well for Luck on the first two drives. He fumbled on the very first play of the game and then threw a bad pass that was intercepted by Ryan Clark on the second drive. The ball was tipped in the air on the pick, but it was a bad throw to start with.
As he usually does, Luck turned things around after the turnovers. He found both Coby Fleener and T.Y. Hilton on touchdowns before halftime, finishing the first two quarters 13-of-18 with 158 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
Luck continued to go off in the second half, mostly due to a lot of blown coverage from Washington. He threw three touchdowns in the second half for 48, 73 and 79 yards because no one was covering his weapons downfield. Still, they were good deep passes, and they weren't the only good throws he made during the game.
By the end of the game, Luck finished with 370 yards, five touchdowns and one interception on a solid 19-of-27 passing. Aside from the interception, he made few mistakes and came away with the best game of his career.
Grade: A
Running Back
2 of 10
Daniel Herron had his breakout game on Sunday, and it might have finally helped him establish a starting role. In the second quarter, he had a great drive, breaking off a couple of solid runs before sprinting away on a 49-yard touchdown. After that score, he had already run for 79 yards on just six carries.
The one issue for Herron has been ball security, and that showed up once again just before halftime, as he fumbled near midfield to kill the team's two-minute drill. Still, Herron was clearly more productive than Trent Richardson.
Speaking of which, it was a completely different kind of game for Richardson. The former No. 3 overall pick ran the ball five times in the first half, racking up all of five yards. He looked significantly slower than everyone else on the field, and his tendency to hesitate at the line of scrimmage limited his effectiveness.
Herron carried the ball just twice in the second half, finishing with 88 yards and the touchdown. Richardson carried the ball the same amount of times as Herron, finishing with just 12 yards on eight carries.
It's quite clear who should be starting, but the Colts still seem to be clinging to Richardson. It's time to move on, because they'll find another back who is significantly better than Richardson this coming offseason, either through the draft or free agency.
Grade: B
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 10
T.Y. Hilton is having another terrific season, and that continued on Sunday. He was involved early in the passing game, catching five passes for 62 yards and a touchdown in the first half, and although he didn't do anything else in the second half, it was still a solid performance.
Even when he wasn't catching passes, he was helping in the passing game. In the first quarter, Hilton drew a double-team from Washington, helping Coby Fleener get wide open on a 30-yard touchdown.
Fleener might have had the touchdown in the first quarter, but he could have had a second score before halftime. Luck tried to find Fleener as he was wide open heading to the end zone, but he somehow dropped the pass. But Luck didn't shy away from him after that, and he had put up 54 yards on three catches through the first two quarters.
Thanks to more blown coverage, Fleener finished with 127 yards and two touchdowns on four receptions. Rookie Donte Moncrief was also the beneficiary of poor coverage, catching three passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns, including a 79-yard bomb.
Reggie Wayne looked much better than he did last week, keeping his three-catch streak alive with three receptions for 27 yards before halftime.
It didn't hurt that Washington's secondary played so badly, but it's hard to argue with this kind of production.
Grade: A
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
Gosder Cherilus returned to play right tackle this week but was burned on the very first play of the game, allowing Ryan Kerrigan to sack Luck and force a fumble to give Washington the ball.
That was the only sack on Luck in the first half, but the pressure was still there on most passing plays. Jonotthan Harrison also had some struggles snapping the ball out of shotgun, nearly causing a fumble in the second quarter.
Things settled down quite a bit in the second half, with Luck having more time in the pocket to wait for open receivers. That helped him find wide-open players deep down the field.
Even more impressive was the offensive line's ability to block in the running game. There were open lanes all day, and while Richardson didn't capitalize, Herron definitely did. On his scoring drive in the first half, the lanes were there for him to exploit.
This was a better performance than last week from the offensive line, but there are still concerns, especially at right tackle. Expect some more changes this offseason.
Grade: C+
Defensive Line
5 of 10
The defensive line came to play on Sunday, with almost everyone on the line making highlight plays. Arthur Jones looked like the player the Colts had in mind when they signed him, making some stops in the running game and even getting in on a sack in the first half.
Cory Redding made plays here and there, including a pass deflection and a handful of tackles. Josh Chapman looked better than he has for most of this year, making a couple of nice stops and pushing the line of scrimmage backward.
Washington's run game wasn't as productive as it was hoping, putting up just 84 yards on 21 carries, and it was very obvious near the goal line. The defensive line made some great stops, keeping Washington from running it in.
The return of Jones has been a big lift to the defensive line, and as long he stays healthy, the line will be more effective against the run.
Grade: B+
Linebacker
6 of 10
With the Colts defense dealing with short fields on the first two drives, Jerrell Freeman stepped up to help his team, making a great open-field tackle on third down to force a field goal and then sacking Colt McCoy to start the second drive. He finished with six tackles, one sack and a pass deflection.
Rookie Jonathan Newsome made his presence felt as well, especially early on. Along with a tackle for the loss in the first half, he also had 1.5 sacks, including one where he burned by two-time Pro Bowler Trent Williams before leaping to get to McCoy. If he can continue to develop, Newsome could be a very valuable piece at outside linebacker.
Erik Walden had one of his bigger games of the year, picking up a pair of sacks, including one on fourth down that led to a defensive touchdown from D'Qwell Jackson. Jackson wasn't the most productive player of the day, but he did a nice job of scooping and scoring on the fumble while also picking up a tackle for loss.
The only disappointing linebacker was Bjoern Werner, who didn't make much of an impact on the day. However, with Newsome picking up the slack, it was a very strong performance from the linebackers.
Grade: A
Secondary
7 of 10
The secondary didn't have a very hard job Sunday, going against a quarterback who was originally the third-stringer at the start of the season for Washington. McCoy did what he could, but he didn't have much luck when trying to throw at the Colts defensive backs.
Vontae Davis did what he usually does, and that's shutting down whoever he covers. When he played man coverage, receivers couldn't do much against him. Unfortunately, he left the game early with a concussion, and his presence was missed.
After Davis left, Josh Gordy had to step up, but he did not have a good game, allowing an easy touchdown to DeSean Jackson. He then tried to prevent another TD by dragging Jackson to the ground, drawing a pass interference penalty.
Greg Toler and Darius Butler made some plays during the game, including a nice sack late from Toler. Butler drew a flag in the second half for holding but overall looked much better than he has the past few weeks dealing with nagging injuries.
At safety, Mike Adams seemed to be in on a lot of plays, continuing to be a veteran presence in the secondary. Sergio Brown stood out an attempted Washington screen play, running through a blocker to somehow make a tackle.
Davis is pivotal to the success of the secondary, so hopefully he can return soon. If not, we could see more of Gordy on the field, and that's not a good thing.
Grade: B
Special Teams
8 of 10
The special teams weren't too busy this week, mostly because the offense put up 49 points, but they still did their jobs as always.
Adam Vinatieri didn't attempt a single field goal this week, although he did make all seven of his extra-point attempts. Pat McAfee punted just three times, averaging 46 yards per punt while pinning one of them inside the 20-yard line.
Again, there's not much to say about the special teams this week, but as a whole this year, they've continued to be one of the best in the league.
Grade: A
Coaching
9 of 10
I've been quiet for the most part about the coaching staff this season, but I'm starting to have an issue with Chuck Pagano and Pep Hamilton, particularly in the way they use Richardson.
Herron had the game of his life Sunday, yet he only carried the ball eight times. Because of his late fumble, the coaching staff decided to keep giving Richardson snaps. Fans weren't afraid to express their displeasure after the Colts decided to run twice with Richardson near their own territory, which led to a quick three-and-out drive.
Just because they traded a first-round pick for Richardson doesn't mean they have to keep clinging onto the idea that he's a starting running back. He's clearly not. If Richardson continues to be the starter next week, Colts fans are going to protest.
On the other hand, I've been very pleased with how Greg Manusky has called games defensively. Because of the lack of talent, he's adjusted by calling creative blitz schemes, and they definitely worked this week, as the defense got six sacks this week on McCoy.
Everything went well for the Colts this week, but until Herron is officially the starter, I'm going to be more critical of this coaching staff.
Grade: C
Final Grades
10 of 10
| Positional Unit | Overall Grade |
| QB | A |
| RB | B |
| WR/TE | A |
| OL | C+ |
| DL | B+ |
| LB | A |
| Secondary | B |
| Special Teams | A |
| Coaching | C |
| Cumulative Grade | B+ |
This was another solid win for the Colts, who continue to have the most impressive passing attack in the NFL. Herron looks like he can provide the offensive balance that Ahmad Bradshaw had previously brought to the team, and he should be getting more and more touches if he continues to make the most of them.
The defense was disruptive once again this week, but the real concern is whether or not it can hold up against legitimate playoff contenders. Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers had their way with this defense a few weeks back, as did the New England Patriots on Sunday Night Football.
If Davis can't play next week against the Cleveland Browns, then the Colts may struggle finding ways to contain Josh Gordon. Still, the defense has been playing well the past couple of weeks and deserves some credit for that.
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