Colts defense in trouble down the stretch for this worrisome reason

The Indianapolis Colts defense has an issue that they must address to save their season.

The Indianapolis Colts are 6-6 and despite losing a close game Sunday, they are still right in the playoff hunt. The offense is playing at an elite level behind Jonathan Taylor and the defense forces the most turnovers in the NFL. Because of those two things, Indianapolis has a chance against any team.

This doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement. Offensively, things have been going well for the most part, aside from a turnover-heavy Week 12. The Colts offense has done a good job protecting the ball all year, so it’s likely they’ll bounce back.

Defensively however, things haven’t been great. We’ve already covered how all the takeaways mask a defense that struggles to consistently get stops, but Sunday’s game against the Buccaneers highlighted another huge issue for the Indianapolis defense. The Colts defense struggles to defend tight ends, and there are plenty more coming.

Colts defense’s struggles against tight ends is a problem for playoffs

On Sunday, Tampa Bay’s tight end Rob Gronkowski absolutely had his way. He finished the game with seven receptions and 123 yards, and seemed to be open whenever Tom Brady needed him. This could easily be disregarded because that’s just Brady and Gronkowski, arguably the greatest quarterback-tight end duo of all time.

Unfortunately, it’s just the latest example of a pattern for Indianapolis’ defense.

Beyond Week 12, the Colts have struggled to defend tight ends all season. In Week 11 against the Buffalo Bills, they gave up six receptions and 80 yards to Dawson Knox. The week before that, it was the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Dan Arnold who had five receptions for 67 yards.

To put it all into perspective, on the season Indianapolis has allowed 104 receptions and 837 yards to tight ends, both second-most in the NFL, slightly behind the Eagles. That doesn’t bode well for a team looking to make a playoff run in the AFC.

Tight end-loaded AFC will challenge Colts playoff hopes

Of the top five tight ends based on receiving yards, three are on AFC teams who have a good chance of making the postseason: Travis Kelce, Mark Andrews, and Darren Waller. In addition to that, Indianapolis still has to play the Patriots with Hunter Henry, who leads all tight ends in touchdowns, the Cardinals with Zach Ertz, and the Raiders with Waller.

That means as the Colts get into the must-win portion of the schedule, they will be up against their biggest challenge. The defense will have to find answers if this team is going to make a postseason run. While the turnovers are great, Indianapolis needs to improve its coverage on tight ends to save its season.

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