Colts: Xavier Rhodes and defense punking Sam Darnold was best part of Sunday’s win

Colts CB Xavier Rhodes dominating was easily the best part of Sunday’s blowout win over the Jets.

After a shaky start to his tenure with the Colts, cornerback Xavier Rhodes was evidently out to make a statement on Sunday against the Jets. Through the first two games of the 2020 season, the former All-Pro was given a lousy 61.8 grade from Pro Football Focus, allowing three receptions on four targets, the bulk of which came in a disastrous debut in Week 1.

Sunday, however, was an entirely different story, as he was arguably the Colts’ top performer. He got Indianapolis off to a roaring start by intercepting Sam Darnold on the opening drive of the game and returning it 44 yards to the house to give head coach Frank Reich side’s an early 7-0 advantage.

Rhodes jumped an out route and somehow managed to go untouched up the sidelines despite being chased by seemingly the entire Jets offense.

Look at that blistering speed from the 30-year-old! Nobody was catching him. Unfortunately for Darnold, this was just the beginning of a long afternoon for him under center. With a little over five minutes remaining in the second quarter, the Jets were knocking on the door following an impressively commanding drive.

On a first-and-goal from inside the 10-yard line, the USC product saw an opportunity to bring his team within three points and took a shot in the corner of the end zone to wide receiver Lawrence Cager, who was just promoted from the practice squad.

However, Rhodes sniffed it out and picked Darnold off for the second time in the game.

Rhodes was preaching throughout training camp that he was better suited to play in the Colts’ zone-oriented coverage packages. After a tough start to the season, it’s clear that the former first-round pick is slowly starting to adjust to the new scheme.

Because of his early struggles, Rhodes bouncing back and punking Darnold was undoubtedly our favorite part of Sunday’s blowout win.