Colts vs. Titans week 17: Defensive post-game grades

The Colts won in Tennessee 33-17 to put themselves into the playoffs. Winning the game was needed, and they won it on the strength of their defense.

Early on, the Colts could not be stopped offensively. They were doing everything they wanted whenever they wanted. But then they made stupid mistakes. The defense was their to clean up their mistakes. Here is how each unit on the defense played.

This unit was going to have to perform well if the Colts wanted to win, and that’s exactly what happened. They were able to hold Derrick Henry in check and not allow him to explode for any huge runs. They weren’t able to get any sacks, but they did enough to make Blaine Gabbert uncomfortable. Good game for this whole unit.

Darius Leonard showed yet again why he is the best defensive rookie in the league. He had 8 tackles, 2 pass defended and an interception. He finished as the league leader in tackles, and set a franchise record for most tackles in a season. The rest of the unit played well too, not allowing Henry to reach the second level.

The secondary did a good job locking up the Tennessee wide receivers. Gabbert was only able to muster 165 passing yards. Kenny Moore came away with an interception late to put the game away as well. They did a good job not allowing big plays.

The defense has been playing great the last few months. They need to keep that play up in the playoffs, starting next week against Houston. If the defense continues to play at this high level, they are going to be an extremely hard team to beat.