There’s no nice way to say it: The Indianapolis Colts defense got rag-dolled.
It got slammed, dragged and tossed around by the Green Bay Packers, who ran all over the Colts in the first quarter of Indy’s eventual 16-10 loss Sunday at Lambeau Field. After exploding for 164 rushing yards in the opening frame — the most in the first quarter of a regular-season game since the Denver Broncos rushed for 167 in 2011 — the Packers finally cooled off and finished the game with only 261 rushing yards.
This dreadful performance came one week after the Colts surrendered 213 rushing yards in a season-opening loss to the Houston Texans. Those combined 474 rushing yards allowed through two games are the most the Colts have surrendered in any two-game span since 2012 (530 rushing yards to the Kansas City Chiefs and Texans in weeks 15 and 16).
Back then, Gus Bradley was in his final season as the Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator, commanding the iconic Legion of Boom defense.
Now, he’s in his third season as the Colts’ defensive coordinator, though in the first two games of the season — and more specifically, the first six quarters — there’s nothing iconic about the defense he’s coordinating.
He knows that.
“It starts with me as a play caller. Getting us in the right call, executing the call, things like that, I take full responsibility for that,” Bradley said. “I think also, though, you got a look at (whether) there’s a bust on a play. (Whether) there’s a missed a tackle on a play. So, there are a few things that we looked at that said, ‘All right, it’s a shared responsibility.’ It’s not just one thing. We gotta correct all of these things and get them right.”
“The Colts have had a tough time stopping the run and they stay in the same front for the most part..
They don’t really make a lot of defensive adjustments and they just didn’t do a good job at all yesterday” ~ Bill Belichick #PMSLive https://t.co/pQ36SLj2Jt pic.twitter.com/9vzZYAerJZ
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) September 16, 2024
Bradley added that the Colts’ performance against the run in the first quarter was “about as poorly as you can play,” as running back Josh Jacobs gashed them for 81 yards on just 10 carries, with 49 yards on the opening drive.
There was the 12-yard run that came after the Packers used a bit of misdirection before handing it off to Jacobs. Center Josh Myers got just enough of Colts defensive tackle Grover Stewart on an interior block that allowed Jacobs to sneak past Stewart’s outstretched arms and into the second level before being dragged down by a slew of defenders.
There was also the 34-yard run on first-and-20, after the Colts drew two holding penalties, when left guard Elton Jenkins stood up Colts defensive tackle Adetomiwa Adebawore, giving Jacobs a lane to run right off Adebawore’s backside and up the sideline before being pushed out of bounds.
“I’m a big believer in, ‘You see what you coach,’” Bradley said. “And right now, they’re not playing very good, so we’ve got to get it right as a coach, and if you’re not demanding it, you’re accepting it. That’s what the conversation (Monday) in the meeting was, ‘These things need to get right,’ and there’s accountability throughout (the coaches and players).”
Perhaps the most damning stat is that Colts safety Nick Cross, who was viewed as a potential weak link heading into the season, leads the entire NFL with 29 tackles and has single-handedly been saving the Colts’ porous front seven from being even worse. His 18 solo tackles are more than linebackers Zaire Franklin and E.J. Speed, both of whom seem to have regressed considerably from the career years they had in 2023. Fittingly, Franklin and Speed each had missed tackles on Jacobs that resulted in first downs.
“It’s a personal thing,” Speed said. “I believe when we talk about defeating the run, most of it is ‘want to,’ and we gotta find our niche in that, and we need to prove this week (against) Chicago that we are a force against the run. I’m sure we can do that.”
Unlike the Packers, the Chicago Bears aren’t led on the ground by a former league rushing champ. In fact, Chicago is averaging just 3.5 yards per carry, which is the fourth-lowest mark in the league. So, if there was ever a time to fix the run defense, this is it, especially as the Colts try to navigate injuries to two key defensive linemen.
Star defensive tackle DeForest Buckner was placed on injured reserve Tuesday after suffering a high ankle sprain during Sunday’s game.
Meanwhile, rookie defensive end Laiatu Latu exited Sunday’s game late with a hip injury. He had imaging done on his hip Monday and is considered day to day, per a league source. Colts coach Shane Steichen added “we’ll see” when discussing Latu’s status.
As the Colts search for improvement, they’ve taken some solace in silver linings. Bradley said he was encouraged by his team’s performance in the second half against Green Bay. The Packers managed just 24 yards on 19 carries (1.3 yards per carry) after Bradley noted his team might have been “too cute” with its schemes early on and shifted to a more traditional defense.
“That’s really what happened, starting eight minutes into the second quarter was just like, ‘All right, let’s get in base (formation), and let’s do the same thing over and over again where we know exactly how to fit, and let’s play ball,’” Bradley said. “I think that you saw them play faster because of it and more aggressively.”
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Maybe the Colts can carry their second-half stinginess into Week 3 against Chicago. If they don’t, well, an 0-3 start isn’t insurmountable, but it’s damn close.
(Photo of Gus Bradley: Todd Rosenberg / Getty Images)
