In Week 12, the Indianapolis Colts won a close game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The victory was sealed by a strip sack from Samson Ebukam. The play was the perfect exclamation for a day dominated by Indy’s pass rush. The Colts had six total sacks on Sunday and kept Baker Mayfield under pressure.
This has been a theme for Indianapolis in recent weeks. After a slow start to the season, the pass rush for the Colts has been very impactful during the last three games, recording 15 total sacks over that stretch. Let’s take a look at how Indy’s pass rush currently compares to the rest of the NFL.
NFL standings ordered by total team sacks
1. Baltimore Ravens: 47
2. Buffalo Bills: 41
3. Miami Dolphins: 38
4. Dallas Cowboys: 37
5. Kansas City Chiefs: 37
6. Indianapolis Colts: 36
7. Los Angeles Chargers: 36
8. Washington Commanders: 35
9. Cleveland Browns: 34
10. San Francisco 49ers: 33
11. Minnesota Vikings: 32
12. Philadelphia Eagles: 32
13. Arizona Cardinals: 32
14. Pittsburgh Steelers: 32
15. Seattle Seahawks: 32
16. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 31
17. Tennessee Titans: 29
18. Cincinnati Bengals: 28
19. Las Vegas Raiders: 28
20. New York Jets: 28
21. Green Bay Packers: 26
22. Los Angeles Rams: 25
23. New England Patriots: 24
24. Jacksonville Jaguars: 24
25. Houston Texans: 24
26. Denver Broncos: 23
27. Detroit Lions: 23
28. Atlanta Falcons: 22
29. New York Giants: 21
30. New Orleans Saints: 18
31. Carolina Panthers: 18
32. Chicago Bears: 17
The Colts currently have the sixth-most sacks on the season with 36. The Baltimore Ravens are comfortably at No. 1 with 47, but top three is definitely in reach for Indianapolis. Currently, the Miami Dolphins are third with 38 sacks on the year, just two more than Indianapolis.
As the Colts push for the playoffs, the pass rush will need to remain a factor. It’s not a coincidence that Indianapolis is riding a three-game winning streak at the same time the pass rush is dominating; the two are connected. In order to win in this league, especially late in the season, you have to be able to get after the quarterback. Indy is doing a good job of that right now.