Jets vs. Colts: Indianapolis Grades, Notes and Quotes
This isn't how Andrew Luck's fourth season in the league was supposed to start.
After coming close in each of the last three seasons, the Indianapolis Colts and Luck looked primed to take the final step toward Super Bowl glory this season, but two games into 2015 and things could not be farther from where they were in the preseason.
Coming off a demolition at the hands of the Buffalo Bills in Week 1, Monday night against the New York Jets was supposed to be a fresh start for the Colts, but five turnovers and an injury to Vontae Davis were too much to overcome as Indianapolis dropped its second straight game to start the year.
Another scoreless first half for Indy—its second in as many games—meant the Colts had to play from behind after a turnover gave the Jets a short field, and Ryan Fitzpatrick found Eric Decker for a 7-0 lead. A field goal would make the score 10-0 at the break, with Chuck Pagano's team desperately needing a spark on offense.
The opening possession of the second half was promising for the Colts, but a Frank Gore fumble on the cusp of the goal line killed the drive. Indianapolis would move down the field in the fourth and punch it into the end zone with Luck finding Donte Moncrief to cut the deficit to 10-7.
But, despite a valiant effort through three quarters, the Colts defense was unable to hold the Jets when it needed to most as Fitzpatrick hit Brandon Marshall for a touchdown to help secure the 20-7 victory for New York.
It is back to the drawing boards for the Colts, though, who will be looking to recover after dropping their first two games of the season for the second straight year.
Position Grades for Colts
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Position | Grade |
QB | D+ |
RB | C |
WR | B- |
TE | C |
OL | C- |
DL | B- |
LB | C |
CB | C+ |
Special Teams | D |
Coaching | C- |
It was another troubling night for Andrew Luck, who has looked a far cry from the player considered an MVP favorite heading into the year. Although he wasn’t given much time to find receivers yet again, the former-No. 1 overall draft pick looked closer to Curtis Painter than Peyton Manning before improving a little in the second half.
The running backs looked much better against a stout Jets front seven than they did against the Bills, even if the running game felt more like an afterthought than an actual part of the offense. Frank Gore ran well, but his night was spoiled by the fumble in the third quarter, while Josh Robinson showed flashes of potential in limited time as the backup.
T.Y. Hilton was supposed to bring his usual start after making a quick return from his bruised knee, and despite being stranded on Revis Island, he played well, while Andre Johnson continues to look old for his new team.
The real offensive star of the night, though, was Donte Moncrief, who continues to improve as a player and is starting to look more like a No. 2 receiver than the No. 4 he was projected as heading into the year.
There really is only so much that can be said about the offensive line that hasn’t already been said to death this season. Struggling against extra pressure and a defensive line as good as the Jets isn’t entirely unexpected, but with two weeks of performances this bad, there is serious concern on the line.
The opposite of their counterparts on offense, the Colts' defensive line has impressed beyond most people’s wildest dreams thus far despite heading into the season. Chris Ivory was rarely able to make it past the line of scrimmage before getting hit, and the pressure on Fitzpatrick was enough to throw the veteran off his game.
Usually unflappable, Vontae Davis didn’t have the best game matched up with Brandon Marshall before heading back to the locker room with a concussion. The rest of the Colts secondary struggled as expected and made it look easy for the duo of Marshall and Eric Decker.
Throughout the entirety of 2014, Adam Vinatieri only missed a single field-goal attempt. Through two games in 2015 he has already missed two, a worrying trend for one of the league’s most reliable kickers. Pat McAfee is still one of the league's best, but it says a lot about a team when the punter is given this much of a shot to show off his skills.
Team’s have clearly keyed in on the fact that the Colts are unable to handle the blitz, and the coaching staff desperately needs to figure out how to handle that added pressure. Once again Indianapolis struggled on offense because Luck rarely had any breathing room. However they do it, Chuck Pagano and company need to solve the blitzing problem or risk seeing it all season long.
Andrew Luck and Colts Offense Struggling
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Granted the Bills and the Jets are two of the best defenses in the league, but failing to score in the opening half of either of their first two games is not how the Colts were supposed to start the season.
After signing Andre Johnson and Frank Gore in the offseason and drafting Phillip Dorsett in the first round, Indy was expected to be one of the league's best offenses, but it has instead been a complete mess through two games.
Eight turnovers through two games isn’t easy to overcome, no matter what kind of form your quarterback is in, but with Andrew Luck looking the worst he has since entering the league in 2012, and the offensive line unable to handle pressure, the Colts faithful haven't had a lot to cheer for.
Gore looked decent when he get a shot, but playing from behind for the second straight week meant the Colts were forced to turn to the passing game early and ignored whatever success they were having on the ground.
Another poor performance has taken the Colts from one of the Super Bowl favorites to a team in crisis mode, and it is mostly on the shoulders of an offense that has been completely inept. The division is still very winnable, but if Indianapolis can’t figure out some of its issues, it might not stay that way for long.
Vontae Davis Hurt, Secondary Goes from Bad to Worse
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The Colts didn’t start the season off very deep when it came to their defensive backs, but missing their top cornerbacks and having to start Jalil Brown is arguably a worst-case scenario. That is until Eric Patterson came in for an injured Davis.
After watching Percy Harvin tear apart the secondary in Week 1, the Jets found similar success, spreading the ball around to Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker throughout the game.
Even superstar Vontae Davis struggled after dominating in the season opener, being culpable for the first touchdown for the Jets because of a holding penalty before being sent to the locker room for a concussion after a hit on Bilal Powell.
Switching to a zone once Davis left the game, the Colts secondary looked a little better, but it won’t be something Indianapolis can rely on for success for too long.
The longer Davis is out, the worse things get for a unit that has already looked like one of the weakest in the NFL. Things have only gotten worse after a terrible Week 1 performance, and the team needs to figure out how to hide its deficiencies in the secondary.
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The Return of Robert Mathis
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The last time All-Pro linebacker Robert Mathis stepped on the field was in January 2014 in a 43-22 loss to the New England Patriots in the playoffs. Although the result of the game wasn’t what the Colts would have hoped for, it was just another game for Mathis who—after leading the league in sacks in 2013—added another to his total and forced a fumble.
Then in September 2014, while serving a four-game suspension for violating the league’s drug policy, Mathis tore his Achilles tendon while working out independently from the squad and was ruled out for the year.
More than a year later, though, Mathis made his triumphant return against the New York Jets and, while he was quite limited in the number of snaps he took, it was a welcome sight for Colts fans to see No. 98 suiting up once again.
Surprisingly, the Colts' front seven has been decent pressuring the quarterback through two games this season, but adding Mathis, no matter how limited the role, is a huge boost that makes quarterbacks all across the league worry.
Odds are he won’t lead the league in sacks again this season, but Mathis still has plenty left in the tank as he gets eased back into the Indianapolis game plan.
Frank Gore on Game-Turning Fumble
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Frank Gore didn't have a bad game against the New York Jets Monday night. He looked decisive and patient running the ball, showing what the Colts hoped they were getting out of the former 49er when they brought him in during the offseason.
But despite a decent game running the ball, Gore's night will be remembered for his one mistake that arguably cost the Colts a shot at victory. Coming out of the locker room to start the second half down 10-0, Indianapolis drove down the field and found themselves on the cusp of a touchdown when Gore fumbled the ball, which was picked up by New York to kill the drive.
Per Zak Keefer of the Indianapolis Star, Gore said after the game he takes the blame for losing the ball and knows that isn't a mistake he can make: "I can't do that. I put that on me...the game would've been different."
There were a lot of positives to take away from Gore's performance against a strong front seven, but the fumble came at the worst possible time and was a big part in Indianapolis falling to 0-2.
Andrew Luck on Offensive Issues and Turnovers
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Something looks off with Andrew Luck through two games this season. The former-No. 1 overall pick has turned the ball over six times, four of which came against the Jets and is a far cry from the player who took the league by storm in his first three seasons.
After the 20-7 defeat at the hands of the Jets, during which the offense struggled to get anything going for the second straight week, Luck said he was the one who should shoulder the blame for the defeat per NFL.com:
"My play. Turning the ball over, fumbles interceptions its a pretty glaring issue. Don't want to take anything away from what the Jets did on defense but we continue to shoot ourselves in the foot withe penalties and turnovers and if we don't clean those up it's hard to win football games.
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The Colts have a lot of offensive issues right now, but at the heart of it all are Luck's struggles. If the team wants to turn the season around, it has to start with getting its franchise quarterback right for Week 3 against the Tennessee Titans.
Chuck Pagano on the Offensive Line and Andrew Luck
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It was another awful night for the Indianapolis Colts' offensive line who, despite being overlooked by some because of quarterback Andrew Luck's poor performance, failed to handle the constant pressure the Jets brought.
For two straight games now the Colts' offensive line has looked exposed against skilled units, with blitzes constantly giving the line issues and Luck struggling in large part because of the constant pressure he faces.
Head coach Chuck Pagano said after the game that Luck should be able to deal with the poor offensive line play since he has seen it before according to Mike Chappell of Indysportscentral.com: "Been the case for 3 years now, has it not? Should be more than comfortable dealing with (it)."
Luck has been playing with a line in constant flux since joining the league, but Pagano's comments show he is fed up with the excuses from his quarterback and the offensive line, and he thinks drastic improvement is needed.
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