The Colts looked like a high school team compared to the Saints last night. The offense should be embarrassed with their effort.
It took until the middle of the fourth quarter for the Colts to put points on the board. It was long over before that though. They got thrashed to the tune of 34-7 and didn’t even look like they belonged on the same field as New Orleans. The offense is a big culprit of that.
The only reason this grade isn’t lower is because Jacoby Brissett didn’t turn the ball over. He was flat out terrible last night. He was 18/34 for only 165 yards and no touchdowns. The offense couldn’t move the ball down the field because Brissett was missing wide open guys.
As soon as the Colts got behind, Brissett looked like a deer in the headlights. He had no idea what to do or how to handle the situation. The last couple of months showed that he isn’t ready for this stage. It’s a good idea to look for another answer for the future because he ain’t it.
The only chance this team had to win this game was to run it well. Low and behold they did not. Marlon Mack was shut down, recording 11 carries for just 19 yards. Jordan Wilkins scored the lone touchdown late in the game, but it was a pitiful effort from this group.
A big reason why the running game was so bad was the poor play of the offensive line. They did not open up any holes all game long. Quite frankly, they got pushed around at the point of attack. This unit was expected to be better after having played so well in 2018.
In the passing game, they allowed consistent pressure on Brissett. While Brissett was only sacked once, clearly the pressure affected his throwing ability. This team’s success starts and ends with the offensive line, and it was bad last night.
The Colts opted for only two active tight ends last night. They were almost invisible out there. Jack Doyle had 2 catches for only 21 yards. He was the only tight end to get targeted. He didn’t block poorly but also didn’t block super well either. Very average night.
Another deeply average group was the wide receivers. Most of this was not their fault as Brissett was missing them in wide open spots. The lone bright spot on maybe the entire offense was the play of Zach Pascal. He finished with 4 catches for 44 yards.
T.Y. Hilton was a non-factor in this game. It looked like he was on some sort of snap count. He finished with four catches for 25 yards, and most of that was late in the game after it was well in-hand. Frustrating night for this position group.
The entire offense should be ashamed of their effort last night. They couldn’t even make it competitive at any point in this football game.