Colts vs. Panthers: Indianapolis Grades, Notes and Quotes
On the cusp of answering a number of season-long questions with a late comeback that forced overtime, the Indianapolis Colts continued their song-and-dance routine with another disappointing defeat on the heels of a number of Andrew Luck turnovers, losing to the Carolina Panthers 29-26 to fall to 3-5 on the season.
Things didn't start well for the Colts, with two turnovers on the team's first five offensive plays, and the Panthers took advantage by building a 23-6 lead early in the fourth quarter. After another Luck interception the game looked out of reach until very late.
On the other side of the ball, the defense played its best game of the season by far, largely shutting down a Panthers offense that was gifted a number of chances on Colts turnovers.
Another loss will definitely sting, but the Colts are still on top of the AFC South and finally showed signs of life against the Panthers on both sides of the ball. With a trip to Denver set for next week, Indianapolis will need to build on its late turnaround against Carolina.
Position Grades for Indianapolis Colts
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Position | Grade |
QB | C- |
RB | B |
WR | C |
TE | C+ |
OL | C- |
DL | B- |
LB | B |
DB | C+ |
Special Teams | A |
Coaching | C |
All the talk during the days leading up to this game was around Luck’s possibly injured ribs and whether or not the Colts had properly reported them. But on Monday night it was the same old song and dance for the former-No. 1 pick, who put in his worst game of the season through three quarters before mounting a miraculous comeback to force overtime.
He didn’t receive much help from his receivers, who were unable to get any separation until late in the game, but another three-interception game—his fifth game with two or more picks in six starts—is not acceptable from a player expected to be in the MVP discussion, and it's starting to weigh heavily on the team.
The defense looked the best it has all season, largely thanks to a pass rush that took advantage of Carolina’s deficiencies on the offensive line. From start to finish Cam Newton was pressured, and the linebackers and defensive line did a good job of shutting down a powerful rushing attack.
Indianapolis has struggled mightily in the secondary this season, and things were better on Monday night, although the rain provided a bit of an explanation for the improvement. Having Mike Adams return is a huge asset, and Vontae Davis looked close to his best for the first time in weeks. However, Greg Toler projects as a glaring weak spot in a unit that has the potential to be a lot better.
Turnover Problems Getting Worse Before They Get Better
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If someone were to ask what was ailing the Colts and why they haven’t been flying high this season like so many expected, showing them Indianapolis' first two offensive drives Monday night would have been a pretty close approximation.
After talk all week about the turnover issues that have plagued the team, particularly in Luck’s starts this year, the Colts got down to business early, fumbling a snap on the second play from scrimmage.
The defense held strong, keeping the Panthers to just three points on the ensuing drive. It's also not entirely fair to point fingers at the backup center in the middle of monsoon-like weather for messing up the exchange.
What happened next, though, was much less acceptable. Luck, who has looked lost most of the season, had seemingly unlimited time in the pocket—a rarity this year—on third down but misplaced his pass, throwing an interception and setting up the Panthers for a quick touchdown and 10-0 lead. He would add another in the fourth quarter on a terrible throw and nearly sealed his team’s fate.
A late comeback forced overtime and turned the game around for the quarterback, but one final pick in the extra period was the final blow for Indianapolis, falling to 3-5 on the season, largely thanks to Luck's turnover struggles.
Colts Defense Makes the Best of a Bad Situation
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For arguably the first time this season, the Indianapolis Colts looked like a competent defense in the opening half against the Panthers. It kept Cam Newton in check as a rusher and a passer, put pressure on the quarterback and showed none of the frailty that had plagued the unit in the early going this season.
Things reverted a little more to form in the second half once the rain started to clear up, but largely it was the best performance of the season for one of the NFL's worst defenses.
Despite the Panthers ending up with 29 points, the Colts defense played well throughout, having to deal with a number of turnovers by Luck and the offense while forcing three of its own. It wasn't the best performance the league has ever seen, but it was an improvement on previous weeks.
Greg Toler still very much poses an issue for the Colts at cornerback, but the pass rush coming back to life was a promising sign and Vontae Davis looked elite again, with the dropped interception excluded of course.
All the hard work turned out to be for naught as the Colts fell in overtime to the Panthers, but things looked much better than it had in any game this season. If the unit can continue to improve, there might be light at the end of the tunnel for Indianapolis.
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Frank Gore, Not Andrew Luck, Needs to Be Offensive Focus
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The rain might have forced the team’s hand a little bit, but it was clear from the get-go that the decision to lean on Frank Gore a little more than usual was the correct choice.
Luck has been a mess this season, with turnovers, poor reads and lackluster play all season, but he continues to be the focus of the offense during normal weather systems, making it hard to argue the coaches' logic. At his best, the quarterback is one of the league's best at his position, but until he turns his year around, the offense should fall to Gore as the primary weapon.
Bringing in the running back this offseason was supposed to balance the offense more than it has been in years past, and when given the chance, Gore has done exactly that. When the Colts win he has been elite; when they lose, he has been forced to the margins by early deficits and a shift to the passing attack.
He wasn’t great against the Panthers, still failing to break the Colts streak without a 100-yard running back, but Gore was much more effective than any early attempt at a passing game and was about the only Indy player who found success on offense until late in the fourth quarter.
The late comeback will keep anything from changing this coming week for the Colts game plan, but when Gore gets the team, it'll look its best. Therefore, the long-term plan should be to run the veteran as often as possible.
Chuck Pagano on Trend of Falling Behind Early
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With the exception of the New England Patriots game, the Colts losses have followed a similar model. Poor play early in the game builds a big deficit the team is forced to come back from, abandoning the running game in the process.
It nearly worked out in their favor against the Panthers, but according to Mike Berman of Indy Sports Central, Pagano recognizes the problem and isn't going to stand for it anymore:
"Pagano: "You can't dig yourselves a hole". Says it has to get fixed and it will get fixed.
— Mike Berman (@MikeBermanIndy) November 3, 2015"
Even in two of their wins, against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans, the Colts trailed early, in what has become a troubling trend for the defending AFC South champs. It is impossible to say how the record would look if Indianapolis started games better, but it wouldn't be out of the range of possibilty for it to be significantly better than it is today.
Andrew Luck on Interception Problems
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Andrew Luck sat out two games this season with an injured shoulder and is considered one of the best quarterbacks in the league. Despite these two facts though, the star leads the NFL with 12 interceptions after throwing three against the Carolina Panthers.
Having turned the ball over at least twice in five of his six starts this year, Luck's turnover problem is damaging the Colts chances and he acknowledges that he needs to fix the problem if the season is to turn around according to Zak Keefer of the Indianapolis Star:
"Luck on INTs: "It's my problem, and it's hurting the team."
— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) November 3, 2015"
The team faces a number of other issues on both sides of the ball, but fixing Luck's interception problem should be the top priority for a team on the verge of a complete meltdown.
Chuck Pagano on Defensive Performance
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Monday's loss will go down as another defeat in a largely disappointing season for the Indianapolis Colts but it was memorable for the fact that the team's defense looked like a completely different unit compared to earlier in the year.
The Colts have had one of the worst defenses in the league so far this season, but against the Panthers things were much improved, leaving Chuck Pagano quite impressed according to Mike Berman of Indy Sports Central:
"Pagano: "Defense, other than a few miscues here and there ... I thought they fought their tails off and played a good ballgame."
— Mike Berman (@MikeBermanIndy) November 3, 2015"
Failing to secure the win is not how the Colts wanted the game to end, but an improving defense is a step in the right direction for a team desperate for any signs of improvement this year.
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