The Indianapolis Colts suffered a brutal loss in Week 9 to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Indy's offense had been nearly perfect for much of the season, but had a bit of a meltdown against the Steelers. Five turnovers by quarterback Daniel Jones were especially alarming.
But just when the offense needed the defense to be great, it couldn't. Pittsburgh didn't put up massive numbers offensively, but much of the reason is that the Steelers were working with a short field because of Indy's turnovers.
What the Colts lacked once again was a consistently disruptive pass rush. Indianapolis had three sacks, but only four quarterback hits. Plus, once again, it was Laiatu Latu getting most of the pressures as he had 2.5 of the sacks and three of the four pressures.
The Indianapolis Colts need to call the Cincinnati Bengals about Trey Hendrickson
Indianapolis needs more players than one to provide pressure, and there is one trade that would fix everything. Trey Hendrickson, who played under Lou Anarumo when Anarumo was the defensive coordinator with Cincinnati as recently as last season, might now be available on the trade market.
Before Week 9, the Bengals kept saying the edge rusher wouldn't be moved. After Week 9, things could very well be different, and that is because Cincy entered Sunday's game against the Chicago Bears 3-5 but with a very outside chance of making the postseason. Then things happened.
While former Colts quarterback Joe Flacco was putting up impressive numbers against the Bears (he had a career-high 470 yards passing with four touchdowns), Chicago was putting up impressive numbers as well. After Cincy scored to make the game 42-41 with 54 seconds left, the Bears managed a drive that finished with a 58-yard touchdown pass to Colston Loveland.
The Bengals' stunning loss could be great news for the Colts. According to FOX Sports' Jay Glazer, Cincinnati has begun saying "yes" to teams calling to see if Hendrickson might be tradeable. The asking price might be high, though, as no trade has yet happened.
No team makes more sense for Trey Hendrickson to be moved to than the Indianapolis Colts. Anarumo obviously knows how best to use the elite edge rusher, and Indianapolis has the draft capital or players to deal to Cincy. General manager Chris Ballard, though, would need to change his way of doing business.
In nine years, he has made one in-season trade. Giving up a high draft pick for a player past 30 years old might not be to his liking. But the Bengals are now 3-6, not going to the postseason, and don't have Hendrickson under contract past this season. The Colts need to call about his availability immediately.