These stats prove the Colts’ defense is ready to bully Lamar Jackson

The Colts pass defense is uniquely prepared to make a spiraling Lamar Jackson’s Sunday a living hell.

Earlier this week, we found it prudent to analyze what the Colts defense could learn from the Pittsburgh Steelers, one week after the Steel City euthanized Lamar Jackson’s offensive efforts in a slop-fest of a rivalry game.

But it’s certainly worth noting: Perhaps Indy already has everything it needs in place to ruin Jackson’s Sunday, without borrowing anyone else’s strategy.

After all, pass rush specialist Justin Houston made it clear this week that he and his brothers aren’t scared of uncovering Jackson’s bag of tricks.

And they have no reason to be. Jackson’s arm has looked more suspect in ’20 than it did during his MVP season in 2019, and the Colts have spent their first seven games of the season largely choking out the opposing quarterback’s ability to throw downfield. If the ball gets deep, it’s also picked off by Indy’s DBs at a higher rate than any other team but the Bucs.

This is a defense meant specifically to rattle Jackson.

Xavier Rhodes has returned to form in 2020, and Rock Ya-Sin has recovered from a mysterious absence to remain a stable force, but ballhawking free safety Justin Blackmon has changed the trajectory of this roster completely.

Indy’s defense has managed to perfectly pair a disruptive pass rush with a group of DBs uniquely suited to limiting the damage downfield, and it’s allowed the defense’s numbers to climb precipitously in nearly every counting stat.

We’ve seen Jackson buckle under pressure, and we’ve seen his accuracy decrease this year, unable to establish the run nearly as well as he did during Baltimore’s magical 2019 season, buoyed by an exceptional Mark Ingram year.

Perhaps the Colts don’t really have to learn anything from any other team about how to best contain Jackson. Maybe the solution involves simply revving up their defense to the highest degree, knocking him off his block, and trusting the core in the secondary.

Could work. Should work.

Colts: 3 defenders who stand to benefit most from Justin Houston-DeForest Buckner tandem

Here are three Indianapolis Colts defenders who stand to benefit the most from the Justin Houston-DeForest Buckner tandem.