Reviewing the Colts’ Week 5 Offense

Sep 29, 2013; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Indianapolis Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton (13) warms up before the start of the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Field. Mandatory Credit: Melina Vastola-USA TODAY Sports

Indianapolis, IN – The Colts came away with a big win this past Sunday over one of the premier teams in the NFL, and looked very strong on offense while doing it. Indianapolis racked up 317 total yards on offense against one of the best defenses that the NFL has seen in the last few years. While they didn’t have a huge game offensively, they performed very well and did enough to come away with a big win.

Andrew Luck led the way for the Colts offense, throwing for 229 yards and two touchdowns. The one thing that everyone is taking notice of in Luck’s game is the improvement that he has made in his decision making. Last season, Luck threw 18 interceptions and forced way too many throws which led to those turnovers. This year he has only thrown two interceptions through the first five games, and his decision making has been on point. If Luck continues to play at this level, you can expect to see continued success for the Colts offense.

Trent Richardson and Donald Brown were the running backs, with Richardson receiving the bulk of the carries. Richardson carried the football 18 times for a total of 56 yards which did gain some criticism from a few analysts and the Cleveland fanbase as a whole. One of the main concerns about Richardson’s game is the yards per carry statistic, and in this past weeks game it was at just 3.1. While the Colts aren’t expecting him to become the superstar of the offense, they are hoping to see a bit more of a play-maker develop with Richardson. Donald Brown scored a touchdown to go along with 37 yards on just six carries. He’s not going to be a guy to put up huge numbers on a daily basis, but he certainly has the ability to be a great change of pace running back behind Richardson.

T.Y. Hilton finally showed up again this past week with a monster performance. Hilton caught five passes for 140 yards and two touchdowns against a Seahawks defense that is known for making big plays very difficult to come by for opposing teams. Reggie Wayne turned in his weekly solid performance with six catches for 65 yards, and as always made the defense look to shut him down which opened up Hilton. After Hilton and Wayne there aren’t really any performances to talk about in the receiving corps. Darrius Heyward-Bey was held without a catch the entire game, but was targeted six times. There were a couple passes that he should have caught, but ended up dropping.

Overall the Colts offense looked extremely solid. They may not put up huge numbers each week, but with the way Luck has been playing recently, you can count on a solid performance each time out. As the Colts head into their Week 6 game against the San Diego Chargers, there are certainly things to be excited about on the offensive side of the football.

Evan Massey is an Editor at Naptown’s Finest. Follow Evan and Naptown’s Finest on Twitter.