The Colts sport one of the best defenses in the NFL but they need to bounce back against the Lions.
Darius Leonard will be returning to the Indianapolis Colts for their Week 8 matchup against the Detroit Lions after missing the last 2.5 games against the Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals. The defense has felt his absence the last two games when it surrendered a combined 44 first-half points to Baker Mayfield and Joe Burrow.
However, Leonard coming back to lead the D isn’t the only thing that will be working in the Colts’ favor. Their matchup with the Lions plays right into defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus’ hand.
When you look at these teams side by side, it’s clear the Colts’ defense has the advantage and it couldn’t be better timing as they’re about to endure a stretch of games against the Packers, Ravens and Titans (twice).
The #Colts defense has allowed 12 TDs all year, tied for first in the NFL with the Chicago Bears. pic.twitter.com/gZtQHGAPYS
— Cody Felger (@CPFelger55) October 31, 2020
Let’s take a look at the breakdown here.
Lions offense:
- 20th in NFL with 108.5 rushing yards per game
- 20th in NFL with 247.5 passing yards per game
Colts defense:
- 2nd in NFL with 199.7 passing yards allowed per game
- 3rd in NFL with 88.3 rushing yards allowed per game
It’s worth nothing both of these teams have only played six games, so that actually helps the Colts’ stats and hurts the Lions’ stats in this scenario. But when you consider Detroit has blown both early and late leads, their erratic offense has put them in bad spots more times than the coaching staff would be comfortable with. Another game under their belt would hardly affect their season totals.
And if not for Todd Gurley accidentally scoring a touchdown and Kyler Murray have a horrific three-interception day, this team is 1-5.
The Colts defense in 2016 was ranked 29th in overall DVOA. GM Chris Ballard was hired in 2017.
— Zach Hicks (@ZachHicks2) October 30, 2020
From 2017-2020, Ballard has either signed, drafted, or traded for every single defender on the now 4th ranked defense in DVOA.
Adrian Peterson (3.9 yards per rush) is this team’s leading rusher and D’Andre Swift is largely utilized as a receiver. When the Browns and Bengals got after Indy quickly in those two dreadful first halves, the defense was thrown off balance by Kareem Hunt and Joe Mixon. Detroit doesn’t have those types of threatening backs to keep the Colts playing on their heels.
The Lions also average 14.2 first-half points per game, which doesn’t seem bad, but that’s 18th in the NFL. On top of that, Indy’s defense, even without Leonard, has been lights out during the second half, where the Lions average 11.8 points (good for 16th in the league).
You mean to tell us this matchup isn’t teed up for the Colts? They obviously have to execute, but it’s all right there for them to grab a much-needed win before a daunting slate of opponents.
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