Colts vs. Jaguars: Week 11 defense grades

The defense started out poorly, but played really well after that in a 33-13 victory. It was an impressive effort from a unit that has had injury problems.

The Jaguars started this game with a touchdown early and it gave them a 7-0 lead. But after that, it was all Indy. A big reason for that was the solid play of the defense after that early TD. Each unit stepped up their play and made it hard for Jacksonville to move the ball.

Justin Houston had another sack in this game, and that extended his streak to 6 games in a row with a sack. While the rest of the unit may not have recorded a sack, they were able to still push the pocket around to make Nick Foles uncomfortable.

They were a big part in limiting the rush game of Jacksonville as well. The Jags only rushed for 29 yards in this one. The defensive line was able to plug up holes at the point of attack and keep Leonard Fournette in check. If forced the Jags to be one-dimensional.

Darius Leonard was uncharacteristically quiet in this game, recording only 5 tackles. Anthony Walker also had 5. But once again, they were able to keep the running game at bay by clogging up the middle. Bobby Okereke picked off a two point conversion and returned it for two points of his own. They weren’t great, but they didn’t have to be.

Even though they allowed 296 yards and two touchdowns, the secondary still played pretty well in this one. Kenny Moore made several nice one-on-one tackles and had a sack on a corner blitz. Rock Ya-Sin had a pick too. Malik Hooker had a big hit to keep a completion from happening too.

The defense was really good when they needed to be. More performances like this would be great for this team moving forward.