If you trust Pro Football Focus (subscription required) grades, Indianapolis Colts’ safety Nick Cross had a pretty miserable Week one performance against the Miami Dolphins. Maybe the fourth-year player out of Maryland just knew his efforts weren’t all that necessary against an overmatched Dolphins squad, and was saving himself for Denver in Week 2.
OK, NFL players don’t think like that. Or at least, they’re not supposed to. I didn’t think Cross was quite as ineffective in Week 1 as the PFF analysts did, but that’s water under the bridge. I will be interested to see how they rate him in Week 2 because, to my eyes, he was making plays all over the field.
Cross may not have been Indy’s best defender on Sunday. Quite frankly, as long DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart are drawing breath, it will be hard for anyone to outplay those two anchors. But Cross stepped up in a major way, so much so that he and new free safety Cam Bynum are threatening to enter their names into the “best safety tandem” in the league conversation.
Nick Cross is emerging as a force at the back of the Indianapolis Colts defense
Cross is a classic box safety. He has outstanding speed for a big defensive back and can close on plays when moving forward extremely well. He often lines up as a traditional weakside linebacker in today’s 4-2-5 defensive schemes. Against Denver, he was a force coming from that spot.
For the game, Cross had a team-leading seven combined tackles and a team-leading five solo stops. He also recorded a pass breakup. One sequence late in the second quarter showed just how active he has become. He made tackles on three out of four plays, allowing a total of 13 yards.
On the first of those plays, he stonewalled Broncos receiver Pat Bryant on a third down pass. It certainly looked like the Denver player was short of the line to gain, but a favorable spot gave the Broncos a first down.
On the next play, he was all over Troy Franklin, Denver’s long, speedy receiver. Two plays later, he stuffed J.K. Dobbins, the Broncos’ powerhouse bowling ball of a back. It didn’t matter who had the ball – Cross hit him, and the player went down.
Throughout the game, especially when he was lined up in the linebacker position, Cross read runs and quick passes extremely well and came up to make sure tackles.
In the second half, with the Colts defense struggling to slow down Bo Nix and company, both safeties made plays that would end up turning the tide of the game. On third and four from just inside Indy territory, Cross broke up a Nix pass for Even Engram that forced a punt. On the next series, Bynum ended the drive with his second interception in as many games.
That perfectly captured this tandem. Bynum’s ability to patrol the deep middle allows Cross the freedom to attack and make plays near the line.
This is exactly how two safeties are supposed to complement each other. It’s still early in their pairing, but it is looking like Indianapolis’s safeties may be developing the kind of special rapport that elevates an entire defense.