If effort and guts were currency in the NFL, the Indianapolis Colts would have at least gotten some credit for their performance in Kansas City in Week 2 of the NFL season. If the league adopted an NHL-style scoring system in which overtime losses still earned the losing team a point, the ending of Sunday night's game would go down a little easier.
Alas, that does not happen. Moral victories mean nothing. The Colts are now 0-2, and Shane Steichen finds himself with a lot of problems to fix before his squad hosts the Texans next week.
Houston is also 0-2, and the one silver lining about Indy’s start is that they are currently tied for second in the AFL South, just a game behind defending champion Jacksonville. There is still plenty of time to right the ship. But to do so, Steichen has to make some tough decisions.
3 solutions for glaring Indianapolis Colts problems heading into Week 3
We will all learn this week just how serious the injuries to starters Alec Pierce and Charvarius Ward are. Sauce Gardner was also in a lot of pain against the Chiefs. Those are three vital members of the team, and their availability will determine some of the moves Steichen and GM Chris Ballard will make this week. But we already know several of the broader problems that require immediate attention.
Tyler Warren needs to become more dangerous
Steichen did get his star tight end the ball more against the Chiefs. His targets increased from five to seven in Week 2. He caught six passes compared to just three against the Ravens. He did score his second touchdown and converted a first down as a running back. And I thought he had a very good game blocking for Jonathan Taylor.
All that said, the 2025 first-round draft pick barely impacted the game. His six catches resulted in 21 yards. He had a lower yards-per-catch number than the anemic 4.3 he achieved in Week 1. This was especially egregious considering that the Colts lost their best deep threat, Alec Pierce, early and were already missing Ashton Dulin.
Tyler runs a 40-yard dash in the 4.6-4.7 range. He consistently averaged 12 yards per catch in college and posted a number just under 11 in his rookie season. What has happened to his route tree? Why can’t the Colts offense figure out a way to get him free on deeper routes?
With a dangerous running threat like Jonathan Taylor in the backfield, opposing defenses should be forced to cheat forward, which should, in turn, make Warren a dangerous downfield threat. But over two games, he is regressing in a major way. That has to stop.
Get Deion Burks on the field
Depending on the seriousness of Pierce’s injury, the Colts rookie receiver should get a lot of work this week. Even if Pierce makes a miraculous recovery, Indy needs the type of explosiveness Burks can offer. We saw it briefly on his two jet sweeps against KC. Now it is time for him to do more.
His contributions should not be restricted to offense. Anthony Gould is not the answer as a punt returner. His failure to field Matt Araiza's punt at the end of the first half robbed the Colts of a chance to steal some crucial points in the middle of the game. Television announcers mistakenly attributed the error to the fact that Ashton Dulin was unavailable.
But Dulin has never returned a punt in the NFL. His return is not the answer. Josh Downs has suddenly become far too valuable to use as a punt returner. The team needs someone else, and though Burks has little experience with punts himself, he is the most likely candidate.
He may not be ready for a larger role but Steichen must find that out sooner rather than later.
The defense needs a radical overhaul
One day, Bryce Boettcher, AJ Haulcy, and CJ Allen might be very good NFL players. They are not as of now. The middle of the Colts' defense is a mess. Allen at least was on the field for a handful of plays on Sunday night and recorded his first tackle. But he didn’t look very good. His fellow rookies weren’t much better.
This has reached a disturbing point after just two weeks. Lou Anarumo’s defense has surrendered more than 500 yards in consecutive weeks. 675 yards through the air. 354 yards on the ground.
These numbers are fireable, but Ballard and Steichen are not likely to part ways with their defensive coordinator any time soon. Not when they essentially stripped the defense down to the bone this offseason.
But unless the team is willing to essentially sacrifice 2026 as its young players develop, major changes must be made. Given the talent on the roster, there is only so much that Anarumo can do, but here is a start. Switch to a base 5-1-5 alignment and shift into a 5-0-6 on passing downs. This is basically a linebacker-less defense.
Akeem Davis-Gaither should be the only linebacker to play more than fifty percent of the snaps. Otherwise, load up on the line, where the team does have some versatile talent, and in the defensive backfield, where the team is in desperate need of more players who can cover.
They cannot continue surrendering 500 yards-per-game.
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