The good, the bad, and the ugly from the Colts’ roller coaster loss to the Browns

After seven weeks of the 2023 NFL season, the Indianapolis Colts are 3-4. This comes after a thrilling back-and-forth Week 7 game against the Cleveland Browns. Indy lost the game 39-38, but the team had a ton of chances to win. As you can guess, with a score like that, there were plenty of good and bad from the Colts on Sunday. Unfortunately, there was some ugly as well. Let’s get into it all.

The good from Colts in Week 7

Colts RB Jonathan Taylor

It was good to finally start to see the old Jonathan Taylor back at work in Indy’s backfield. Taylor and Zack Moss had a nearly 50/50 share this week, after Shane Steichen mentioned it would be a ramp up after getting activated from the PUP list. Taylor finished with 120 total yards (75 ground, 45 air) and found the endzone for the first time this season. Expect the coaching staff to keep ramping him up each week until he starts to get the majority of carries in the next couple of weeks.

The big 3 wide receivers

With starting tight end Kylen Granson recovering from his concussion, we saw the Colts really rely on their big three core receivers this week. Josh Downs keeps getting better each week, with his best performance of the year coming on Sunday, as he led the way with five catches for 125 yards and a big early touchdown. Michael Pittman Jr.’s usage was unusually quiet until he was able to break a long TD in the fourth quarter that got the lead back for Indy, and Alec Pierce was finally involved catching all three of his targets.

Downs, specifically, is really showing that he could be the next great Colts receiver and one that all opposing defensive staff now must account for each week. As for Pittman, he seemed a bit frustrated postgame as to why he wasn’t involved and will be something to watch going forward but I think it was the matchup against Browns DB Denzel Ward, but time will tell.