Eventually, a game like Week 16 was going to happen. Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo has done arguably the best coaching job of his career this season with a banged-up but efficient defense. His scheme, though, has always had one issue.
And that problem goes back to the years he spent with the Cincinnati Bengals as their DC. His system devalues the importance of inside linebackers. They need to tackle, but pass coverage has always been iffy. Zaire Franklin and Germaine Pratt embody that error.
The Colts have had a gaping hole over the middle of the field defensively all season. Not all offensive systems are designed to exploit it; instead, they focus on wide receivers instead of tight ends and running back check-downs. The San Francisco 49ers' scheme, however, is tailor-made to take advantage of the kind of defense Indy runs.
San Francisco 49ers completely exploit the Indianapolis Colts defensive issue in Week 16
Indianapolis's problem wasn't that the team didn't have good cornerbacks, Sauce Gardner and Charvarius Ward. The Colts' corners played well enough. No matter if Gardner and Ward had played, the problem would have remained.
Franklin and Pratt simply are not good at coverage. Pratt has a quarterback rating allowed of a terrible 122.3 with Indianapolis, and he has allowed four touchdown catches. Franklin isn't much better, allowing a quarterback rating of 106.1.
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan must have been salivating before the Week 16 matchup. He must have been laughing during the game. Tight end George Kittle had seven catches for 115 yards and a touchdown, and he didn't play in the fourth quarter due to an ankle injury.
Running back Christian McCaffrey had five catches for 26 yards and two touchdowns. The last of which he was wide open after Franklin completely blew the coverage.
The McCaffrey score made it 41-27, and there was little hope that the Colts would get the win they needed to move to 9-6. Instead, Indianapolis is now 8-7, and an 8-9 finish appears likely. The defense has been better than expected overall, especially against the run, and injuries cannot be an excuse for the poor game against San Francisco.
After all, the 49ers offense moved the ball with ease, while Philip Rivers needed to be mostly brilliant to keep Indy close, even though San Francisco was missing defensive stars Fred Warner and Nick Bosa. San Francisco finished with 441 total yards and 28 first downs. They averaged 6.8 yards per play.
But again, it wasn't the lack of Sauce Gardner and Charvarius Ward that forced the Colts' defense to be bad. It was the natural hole in Anarumo's scheme and the lack of talented inside linebackers in coverage.