The Indianapolis Colts’ offensive-line did the unthinkable on Thursday night, holding the Houston Texan’s defensive squad consisting of J.J. Watt, Jadeveon Clowney and Vince Wilfork to zero sacks, after giving up three sacks the previous week against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Per @PFF, Matt Hasselbeck was pressured on just 4 of his 29 drop backs against the Texans. Great night for the Colts offensive line/TEs.
— Kevin Bowen (@KBowen1070) October 9, 2015
Considering how poorly the offensive-line had played in previous outings, three sacks allowed by the line in the span of two weeks can’t necessarily be taken as a bad thing. We all saw what happened Thursday when backup quarterback Matt Hasselbeck had time to deliver the ball to his receivers. Hasselbeck finished with 218 yards, two TD’s and no interceptions in the Colt’s 27-20 victory over Houston.
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Despite the rough start to the season, the Colts still have 11th ranked offensive line in run blocking and pass protection, per Football Outsiders. The Indy offense looked smooth and connected Thursday night, something it has not been for the majority of the season.
We can thank the offensive line for that.
Running back Frank Gore was a mere two yards away from being the Colts’ first 100-yard rusher in almost 50 games, the longest drought in the NFL. The line created many open gaps for Gore throughout the game, and did an excellent job at shutting down Watt and Clowney, to give Hasselbeck more than enough time to make the throws needed to secure the victory. When the line does its job – and does it good, the team succeeds.
With games against New England, New Orleans and especially Denver coming up, the offensive-line will need to continue its consistency if the Colts want to keep racking up wins and keep their Super Bowl aspirations alive.
The Colts will go as long as their offensive line takes them.