The defense has been the best thing about the Indianapolis Colts this season but even they have some critical room for improvement.
The Indianapolis Colts enter Week 6 at 2-2-1 and the reason Indy even has those two wins is because of the defense. Coming into the season, the expectation was that this would be a dominant defense and that has been the case through five games. Led by Stephon Gilmore, Grover Stewart, and Zaire Franklin, the defense has been doing its best to keep Indy in games.
Through the first five weeks, the Colts are allowing 18.8 points a game (10th-best in the NFL), 312.6 total yards a game (eighth-best in the NFL), and have the fourth-best rushing defense, giving up just 96.6 yards a game. Without the play of this defense, the season could already be over for Indianapolis.
However, as good as the defense has been, there’s still room for improvement. Obviously, professionals can continue to fine-tune every aspect of the game but there’s one specific thing that Indy’s defense has to be better at moving forward. Indianapolis has to start forcing more turnovers.
The Colts’ defense needs to force more turnovers
Last season, it was takeaways that made the Indianapolis defense special. They finished the year with 33 total forced turnovers, one less than the Dallas Cowboys who led the league. This season, the Colts have only taken the ball away five times in five games. That currently ties them for the 23rd-most turnovers in the league. In order to be a really special defense, and win more games, Indy has to get back to taking the ball away.
The biggest problem for the Colts is the struggling offense. Not only have they struggled to consistently move the ball and score, but they’ve also turned the ball over 11 times in the first five weeks. While the defense is already doing its best to keep Indy in games, the defense can help the offense even more by forcing turnovers.
For starters, it evens the playing field since the Indianapolis offense is turning the ball over so much, but more importantly, it gives Indy’s offense a short field. For a unit that’s struggling to score, giving them great field position can go a long way in getting more points on the board.
Obviously, the defense has been good for the Colts, but in order for them to go to the next level as a unit and for the team to have a better chance of winning, Indianapolis must start consistently taking the ball away from opponents.
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