Colts vs. Dolphins: Defensive grades

The Colts lost in embarrassing fashion to the Dolphins 16-12, but it wasn’t because of the defense. They held up their end of the bargain.

The Colts played a Miami team that only had one win prior to this game. It ended extremely poorly, as they lost 16-12. The defense had some bad moments in this game, but mostly played pretty well. Here is how each unit graded in this game.

Justin Houston continues to play at a very high level. He had another sack today, and that puts his streak at 5 games in a row with a sack. He is the only Colts player who consistently gets pressure on the quarterback from the defensive line, although Jabaal Sheard had a sack in this one too.

Darius Leonard had his best game of the season. It was unfortunate that it was in a losing effort though. He had 13 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, and a sack. He also had an interception. Leonard is the guy who drives the defense and can make big plays. It was a shame the offense couldn’t take advantage.

Bobby Okereke added 4 tackles and Anthony Walker had 3 tackles as well. This was the best overall effort for the linebackers, although they did let Ryan Fitzpatrick scramble for a few first downs and a touchdown. That can’t happen.

Kenny Moore started things off early with a fumble recovery. He and the rest of the Colts secondary only allowed 163 yards passing and no touchdowns. Rock Ya-Sin, who had a rough game against Denver, had a good performance in this one, as did Marvell Tell.

It’s a shame such a good defensive effort had to go to waste in this game. The offense squandered every opportunity that the defense handed them.