Colts: Ultimately win the day

Indianapolis Colts fans had lots to be happy about with the performance of their beloved team, whether it be the poise of Brissett, the tampering pass rush of the young defenders or the absurd stat line by Marlon Mack. With all of the positives out of this game it runs fluid and comes with a few heartbreaking negatives that held the Colts back from a week one victory.

Colts fans got a sigh of relief after their stellar, and clean performance against the excellent defense that is the Los Angeles Chargers. Jacoby Brissett showed all of the haters that he is a legit quarterback, possession after possession driving his team down the field, putting them in scoring position time and time again.

Brissett showed wonderful poise throughout the game, with a steady hand in big moments, supreme decision making, and made big time throws when the team needed it the most. The offense was hot in all categories, as Mack had an incredible stat line of 25 carries which he stormed for 174 yards and a touchdown.

While Mack did have an inspiring game, however this was due to the play from the offensive line. The Colts O-line is still a force and have improved from last year. Smith struggled on a few plays to contain Joey Bosa but picked up his slack later in the game, but the run blocking was as good as it has ever been lead by ‘Big’ Quenton Nelson. The Colts offense is in good hands with the confidence of Brissett, strong offensive line play, and play calling by Frank Reich.

The Chargers scored 30 points on the Colts defense, which comes out as a bad look for the young squad. However, the box score lies to the public. Of course yes the Chargers did truly score 30 points but this withholds the true narrative of the game.

There were key moments in the game that resulted in costly penalties for the Colts, which all exclusively led to touchdowns for the opposing team. For example, in the first quarter the defense made a stop in the red zone to force a field goal attempt, on the play of the attempt Denico Autry got called on a silly “unnecessary roughness” which gave the Chargers a fresh set of downs inside the 10 yard line resulting in a one yard touchdown for Austin Ekler.

Fast forward later in the game, it is third and long critical moment in the game Kemoko Turay comes screaming off the edge to sack Phillup Rivers and force a punt and change of possession back to the Colts who had the momentum on offense, but on that very play Justin Houston (veteran pass rusher) jumped the gun and gave the Chargers another chance on the down. This neutral zone infraction handed the Chargers another look at the drive and ultimately another touchdown to none other than Austin Ekler.

In an overall clean and well played game by the Colts defense, there were mistakes on the most critical moments in the game. But, it was not all negatives for the Colts defense as there was flashes of playmaking ability all around the field, with young pass rushers causing havoc on the quarterback or Malik Hooker with his mind boggling interception to afford the Colts a chance at the game.

To hit on the point again this game was littered with facts that should excite all Colts fans, and should put other teams in a state of worry. This was a well played game by the Colts, there will be more opportunities for this squad to show their abilities in the near future.

The Chargers may have slipped by and gotten the better of the Colts this time. But with points being left on the field and penalties we all wish could be taken back, the Colts outlook for the rest of this season as well as for the future is clear and bright, it’s a great time to be a Colts fan.