Colts: Could no-huddle offense be key to Indy’s success?

The Colts’ offense has struggled to find consistency all season, but that may change.

We thought the Indianapolis Colts would have a run-first offense. They don’t. Well, at least they don’t through the first six weeks of the season. Putting up 98 yards per game isn’t going to get the job done.

They’re also smack dab in the middle of the league with 26.2 points per game. Their best stat? The Colts pass for 265.2 yards per game, which is good for 10th in the NFL, but it’s not under good circumstances. It’s because they’ve been playing from behind in a big way the last two weeks.

Even when the Colts have had favorable matchups in their wins this season, it’s the defense that’s shined. The offense has been inconsistent and largely non-threatening. However, Indy may have found a solution to that on Sunday after their comeback 31-27 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

Here’s what Andrew Walker of Colts.com found in his research:

"“The Colts’ offense has had success with a no-huddle approach, and will continue to employ it when needed: This was particularly apparent during last Sunday’s win against the Bengals. According to Pro Football Focus, the Colts ran 10 no-huddle plays in that matchup — seven of which occurred during Indy’s highly-successful second quarter, when the team went on a 21-3 run to erase a 21-0 deficit and go into halftime trailing by just three, 24-21.“On those 10 no-huddle plays, the Colts combined to complete 4-of-6 passes for 84 yards (21 yards per completion) and ran the ball four times for 34 yards (8.5 yards per rush).”"

Look at that! Did more of an uninterrupted flow help Philip Rivers find his groove? Though it was the Bengals, who don’t sport an overly imposing defense, this experiment sure showed that there’s potential for the Colts to mix it up and get big gains both on the ground and through the air.

And the fact of the matter is that head coach Frank Reich and offensive coordinator Nick Siranni are going to have to continue finding different ways to throw opposing defenses off, especially since they’ll go up against the Ravens, Titans and Packers over the next month. Those teams all mean business and will be looking to stuff the run and capitalize off Rivers interceptions.

But that could be mitigated if the Colts pick up the pace, change up some looks, and don’t allow the defense to make substitutions. If the offense can get more comfortable in the no-huddle, this could be the answer to all their consistency woes.

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