Colts: Does DeForest Buckner need to show us more counting numbers?
By Jerry Trotta
Do we need to see more from Colts DT DeForest Buckner moving forward?
The Indianapolis Colts gave Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens all they could handle in the first half on Sunday, limiting the reigning MVP to the worst half of offensive output in his career. However, halftime adjustments (and turnovers) ultimately proved to be the difference, as Indy was outclassed in the third and fourth quarters en route to a 24-10 defeat.
In the second half, Jackson finished a perfect 10-of-10 for 119 yards, adding nine rushes for 43 yards and a touchdown to put the game to bed. Philip Rivers and the Colts offense, meanwhile, scored just three points after the first quarter, and truthfully deserve to shoulder most of the blame for the defeat.
Indianapolis’ defense was exceptional yet again, and proved for the nth time this season that they are a championship-caliber group. For context, they allowed just 55 total yards and zero points in the first half and forced a takeaway for the seventh consecutive game, which is their longest streak in three years.
Those are impressive feats, but is it time to start worrying about DeForest Buckner’s lack of production? When you consider that former Jets castaway Leonard Williams has double the amount of sacks as he does so far this season, fans are no doubt justified in demanding more from him in the second half of the campaign.
Let’s start by saying that this, in no way, is a reactionary take from Buckner’s performance against Baltimore, as he tallied five tackles and forced a crucial fumble of running back Gus Edwards when the Ravens were knocking on the door on their opening drive of the third quarter.
However, he also failed to log a sack or a quarterback hit, and that unfortunately encapsulates his inconsistency so far this season. To put his struggles (if you can even call it that) into perspective, Buckner has registered zero sacks and no more than one QB hit in FIVE games this year.
Ask yourself this, Colts Nation: is that really the sort of production GM Chris Ballard gave up a first-round pick and $84 million for? While Buckner’s numbers certainly look good on paper, we’d much rather his production be evenly distributed than skewed because of three blow-up games.
The #Colts trade for DeForest Buckner worked out incredibly well.https://t.co/oA4mFHloqt
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) November 8, 2020
That might be asking a lot, but those are simply the standards the Oregon product should be held to after being made the second-wealthiest DT in the league behind Rams world-beater Aaron Donald in terms of annual average salary ($21 million).
Again, the Colts look brilliant trading for Buckner, but him being on pace for five sacks, regardless of the other ways in which he’s disrupting opposing offenses, simply doesn’t cut it.
