The Indianapolis Colts emerged victorious over the Chicago Bears with a 21-16 victory that the team sorely needed. The defense performed in much better fashion than in their previous two outings, despite missing defensive standout DeForest Buckner. They kept pressure on Bears quarterback Caleb Williams throughout the game, racking up four sacks, and managed to keep the Bears running game contained. Running back Jonathan Taylor likewise had a standout game, running for 110 yards, two touchdowns, and one 25-yard reception.
But everyone else in the AFC South had less to celebrate. The Houston Texans, already assumed to be the guaranteed champions of the division, were slaughtered by the Minnesota Vikings, while the Tennessee Titans likewise lost to the Green Bay Packers in spectacular fashion. But the worst week clearly went to the Jacksonville Jaguars, who were killed by the Buffalo Bills during Monday Night Football.
Suddenly, the AFC South looks a lot more competitive for the Colts, and the Week 4 power rankings reflect that. The team has a chance to make a statement in Week 4 -- don't count us out yet -- and fans will be looking for them to show the league they can be real playoff contenders.
Bleacher Report: #21 (+4)
After starting the season 0-2 and allowing over 200 rushing yards in back-to-back games, the Indianapolis Colts desperately needed two things—a win and some run defense.
The team got both Sunday against the Chicago Bears, shutting down Chicago on the ground. But the team didn't exactly rack up the style points doing so—quarterback Anthony Richardson had another shaky outing passing the ball and the Colts were out-gained by a sizable margin.
The engine for the victory was running back Jonathan Taylor, who piled up 135 total yards and two scores on 24 touches. Taylor told reporters after the game that getting a win was all that mattered in Week 3.
"It's a lot (of momentum), especially being here (at home). All we needed is one," Taylor said. "It was a great opportunity to get going and now we've got to continue to build on this."
"The Anthony Richardson experience continues to be one helluva ride," Sobleski said. "The 22-year-old's peaks reach a level where most quarterbacks can't go. But his valleys have been far more prevalent and border on making him unplayable. Still, the flashes of his immense potential are exactly why the Colts must continue to start last year's fourth overall pick and simply endure those lows along the way. Indianapolis is far more capable of doing so when its defense actually plays well. The Colts were the league's worst run defense, by far, entering Week 3 action. The unit held the Chicago Bears to 63 rushing yards at 2.3 three yards per attempt. Indianapolis will be a difficult out as long as it is playing complementary football."
Stephen Holder, ESPN: #24 (+4)
QB Anthony Richardson has had some of the most explosive plays this season, leading the NFL with 12.6 air yards per attempt. But his play-to-play consistency has been problematic, costing the Colts some easy first downs. Richardson is completing 49.1% of his attempts, down from 59.5% in the four games he played as a rookie last season. His injury layoff could have negatively impacted his mechanics.
Josh Kendall, The Athletic: #21 (+3)
The Colts’ 22-year-old quarterback finished with a 39 passer rating and continues to confound his fan base by alternating amazing completions on impossible passes with maddening misses on easy passes. Richardson is completing less than 50 percent of his passes this season, the lowest number in the league, and his passer rating (55.9) ranks 29th. He’s played only seven career games so it’s way too early to panic, but this was a trend Richardson exhibited throughout his college career.
Pete Prisco, CBS Sports: #21 (+6)
Anthony Richardson is still too inconsistent, but at least they gave the ball to Jonathan Taylor in this game. They need to lean on that more.
Frank Schwab, Yahoo! Sports: #20 (+6)
Among all QBs last season with 150 attempts, Bryce Young had the worst completion percentage at 59.8%. Young was the only one under 60%. Through three games, Anthony Richardson is at 49.3% and hasn't been above 50% in any game. His inaccuracy is practically unheard of in the modern NFL.
Nate Davis, USA Today: #20 (+2)
If they're going to emerge as a playoff-caliber outfit, QB Anthony Richardson can't remain at the bottom of the league with 49.3% completion rate.
Conor Orr, SI: #23 (+1)
Anthony Richardson is…not playing well. This is the kind of stew Indianapolis wanted to sit in when they took Richardson out of Florida and are gambling on the idea that patience will lead to something truly spectacular. And, it just might. I don’t have a problem waiting because outside of Andy Dalton, no quarterback is lighting the world on fire statistically and if Richardson can figure it out, he becomes in the class of Mahomes and Allen-type players who are Thanos-like in their power.
Eric Edholm, NFL: #18 (+6)
What a breath of fresh air to see the Colts have an effective game defensively, taking away the Bears’ run game and forcing them to live and die with Caleb Williams. Gus Bradley's unit forced just enough mistakes to make it a strong game overall from the defense. Offensively, though, the questions remain. Do the Colts need to revise their plans for Anthony Richardson? It’s not a stretch to say they won on Sunday despite his performance. He’s been an all-or-nothing player through three games, completing less than 50 percent of his passes and averaging two picks per game. Richardson hit on two big passes against Chicago, for 40 and 44 yards, and those two completions made up more than half his passing yards. He showed some toughness late as a runner, but overall, this still feels like Jonathan Taylor’s offense -- or it should. Richardson’s big-play ability is what makes him dangerous, but his turnovers and accuracy issues are impossible to ignore.
Mike Florio, NBC Sports: #20 (+8)
The more reps he gets, the better Anthony Richardson will be.
David Helman, Fox Sports: #25 (+1)
The process of breaking in a young, inexperienced quarterback is a lot less exciting in reality. After that incredibly fun season opener, this has been a frustrating offense to watch the past two weeks. Better to be frustrating in a win, though. And rookie pass rusher Laiatu Latu looks like a player. So that's nice.