The Indianapolis Colts were dominated in all three aspects of their game against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday. Shane Steichen and his staff have major repair work to do if they hope to have a different result against the Kansas City Chiefs next Sunday night. And the fix that had better be at the very top of their To-Do List – in big bold letters and highlighted in red – concerns the defense.
Want to know how bad the Colts' revamped defense was on Sunday? For starters, they surrendered more than 500 total yards to a Ravens team that averaged 333 yards per game last year. The last time a Colts defense was manhandled to the tune of 500 yards came in Week 8 of 2023 in a loss to New Orleans.
But it’s worse than that. Far worse. In piling up those 500 yards, the Ravens had more than 300 yards passing and more than 200 yards rushing. In the last ten years, no Colts’ defense has been that porous against both the run and the pass.
The Indianapolis Colts need to fix almost everything before Week 2, but these three areas loom largest
That’s 170 games. And I stopped looking at ten years. I suspect you’d have to keep looking for a long time to find that level of across-the-board defensive ineptness.
Pass coverage
At least fans can take some solace in the fact that the Baltimore Ravens were among the best running teams in the league in 2025. The Colts' defense actually held Derrick Henry and company to just about their league-leading yards-per-attempt average from last year. But that pass defense, that’s another story.
All three position groups involved in coverage – linebackers, corners, and safeties – were beaten badly throughout the game. Justin Walley was victimized by Zay Flowers early and often. But I am going to suggest that Walley is not the biggest problem the Colts have right now.
The three linebackers who played on Sunday – Akeem Davis-Gaither, Bryce Boettcher, and Jaylon Carlies – looked helpless on far too many plays. They often seemed out of position. Other times, they were just physically bested by Ravens pass catchers. The middle of the field was wide open all day.
Boettcher is a rookie, and Davis-Gaither has never been known for his coverage. But Carlies was a major disappointment because coverage is supposed to be his strength. He needs to perform far better in the coming weeks, or there isn’t much justification for his taking up a roster spot.
Perhaps Austin Ajiake or CJ Allen can help out next week.
At cornerback, I am actually more concerned about Charvarius Ward than Walley. Neither played well on Sunday, but I thought Walley was in a better position on many of his plays. Seeing 33-year-old Chris Moore – never what you call a speed burner – run away from Ward on his long pass reception is a huge worry. I don’t think Ward looked anything like himself on Sunday.
Cam Taylor-Britt returns in Week 2 and perhaps he can pick up some of the slack.
Tyler Warren
None of the Colts receivers played especially well on Sunday, but the tight end group was the most disappointing. Oddly enough, Shane Steichen began the game in 13 personnel with three tight ends on the field. After Andrew Ogletree dropped a pass on the first play, Steichen seemed to abandon the entire 13 concept.
But Warren was on the field a lot. Still, he was basically invisible. Five targets. Three catches. 13 total yards. The number of targets was fine – trailing both Alec Pierce and Keenan Allen by just one. But where were the seam routes? Where were the deep crosses? Warren can run. Why wasn’t he asked to get downfield on Sunday?
I expect Steichen and pass game coordinator Alex Tanney to find much more creative ways to involve one of their best offensive weapons against Kansas City.
Special Teams
Spencer Shrader missed the first extra point of the game. That’s a bad omen. But in terms of looking forward, it wasn’t as bad as what happened on the very next play. Shrader’s kickoff pinned the aforementioned Chris Moore in the corner of the field. He then proceeded to run virtually untouched up the right sideline to around midfield.
The Colts' coverage personnel on that side of the field – Kapena Gushiken, Laquon Treadwell, and Jaylahn Tuimoloau – were all easily blocked, allowing an open lane for Moore. Shrader was left to make the tackle after a 42-yard return, Moore’s longest since 2017.
For the game, the Colts surrendered more than 30 yards-per-kick return and 10 yards-per-punt-return, both figures well above their numbers from last year.
The special teams collapse ran through every unit. There were multiple penalties on returns. It got so bad that even Ashton Dulin, one of the team's best special teamers, lost contain on a LaJohntay Wester punt return late in the third quarter.
Clearly, coach Brian Mason has a lot of work to do this week. It should begin with shifting Gushiken out of his edge position on coverage units, but it certainly should not end there.
These required fixes only scratch the surface. When one team rolls up more than twice the yardage as another and holds the ball for 10 more minutes, that suggests a complete collapse. So even though the running game with Jonathan Taylor was pretty good, even that could use some sprucing up. But Steichen needs to start with the more pressing problems.
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