There is a maxim in the NFL that great teams beat bad teams, and that is just what the Indianapolis Colts did in Week 5 against the Las Vegas Raiders. The Raiders have been a poor excuse for a football team throughout this short-tenured Pete Caroll era, but they are still an NFL squad with star players.
Any one team can beat a better team on any given Sunday, but the truly elite teams are the ones that take care of business when they are supposed to. You can only play who you play after all. Not all games are going to be as easy for Indy as this game was, but if they can keep operating at this level every week, they are truly going to be one of the premier teams in the league.
On a day when almost everything seemed to go right for the Colts, it's hard to limit this list to just three winners (and it's even harder to find two losers). So, Colt's fans, take this article with a grain of salt and preface it by recognizing that many, many players are deserving of the winner category this week, but not all of them can be mentioned. That is a great problem to have after all!
Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor has a case for being the best player in football
Another week, another massive performance for the man who has been the best running back in the league this year. Taylor didn't put up eye-popping numbers in the yards category, garnering just 66 of them on the ground and 20 through the air, but he did enough to retain his title as the NFL's leading rusher through five games by a margin of 30 yards (480 total compared to James Cook's 450).
Still, when watching the game against the Raiders, it wasn't Taylor's yardage that popped. It was the three(!) touchdown performance, one of which he was able to pull off the rare octopus when he scored a touchdown and then got the two-point conversion himself.
In fact, it was a performance prolific enough that Taylor was able to add another title to his belt through 5 weeks. Not only is he the NFL's leading rusher, but he also leads the entire league with seven touchdowns through five weeks. Taylor is having a season for the ages, and he deserves due recognition for it.
Winner No. 2: Ashton Dulin
With Alec Pierce out and Adonai Mitchell going through his recent issues, the Colts had a question mark in their WR depth coming into their game against the Raiders. That question was answered emphatically by long-time Colt Ashton Dulin. Dulin led the team with 55 yards through the air, which isn't world-beating, but he was a true sparkplug for the offense.
He brought the energy, making tough catches to energize the team and springing right back to his feet after taking hits that would've knocked a lesser player unconscious. Unfortunately, Dulin's best play of the day was one that history will forget, as he housed a deep punt return just for it to be called back for holding.
Dulin's stat sheet would have been far more packed had that play counted, but the more important issue is that this is the second week in a row where the colts have had a long touchdown play called back for holding.
Luckily, with a 34-point difference between them and their opponent, the extra seven points weren't needed in this game, but in games against elite teams (like the Rams), we've seen how mistakes like that can cost them.
Winner No. 3: Laiatu Latu
If you'd been told that through five weeks of the 2025 NFL season, DE Laitu Latu would be tied for the team's lead in interceptions, you probably either wouldn't have believed it or thought that the defense must have only had two interceptions all year. Both of those thoughts would have been wrong. Latu is tied for the team lead in interceptions, reeling in two of them to pull even alongside safety Cam Bynum.
Latu's interceptions are a fun storyline, and they're his two most impactful plays of the season, but don't let those two splash plays take away from everything else the second-year edge has accomplished in his sophomore campaign.
He's achieved constant pressure on the quarterback, and though he only has one sack to his name for the season, his impact goes further than just box score stats. He's collapsing pockets and forcing quarterbacks into inaccurate throws and rushed decision making. He's not fully there yet, but Laiatu Latu has the makings to become a star in this league.
Loser No. 1: Spencer Shrader
In a season where Spencer Shrader has missed only one kick, it's a true shame that it has been cut short prematurely. The team hasn't released a full report yet, but early whisperings tell that it doesn't look good for the young kicker.
Luckily, this was a game where it was such a blowout that Shrader's services weren't needed. Unfortunately, many games going forward will require a kicker as good as Shrader has been up until this point in the season.
Unfortunately, Indianapolis will have to go shopping in the bargain bin for a replacement kicker. Hopefully, Shrader will be able to return sooner rather than later, but even then, there's no guarantee he'll be able to perform to the same level he was prior to the injury. Shrader's injury is a sour note on an otherwise bright day.
Loser No. 2: Joe Bachie
Linebacker Joe Bachie was a consistent standout performer in the preseason, to the degree that many fans were hoping he'd be a bright spot on this defense. He was familiar with defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo's scheme, and maybe he had just needed a change of scenery to fully blossom.
Unfortunately, that pipe dream might have been laid to rest against the Raiders. Bachie made some noticeably atrocious plays early on in the contest, much to the ire of the Indianapolis faithful. Luckily, on a day when the Raiders put just six points on the board, Bachie's poor play could be excused.
Still, the tape that Bachie put up against Las Vegas was worrisome, to say the least. Against inferior teams, he can get away with it, but in order to hang with the blue bloods of the NFL, he and everyone else on Anarumo's defense need to shore up.
Ultimately, there's not much to complain about for Indianapolis on a day when they steamrolled their opponent to the tune of a 40-6 final score. Shrader's injury definitely hurts, and all Colts fans are wishing him well. Time will tell how the team will replace their leading scorer's production, and hopefully, it won't hurt the team too badly.
This Colts team is for real. The team themselves know it, the opponents that line up against them know it, and now you should know it too. Shane Steichen has this squad rolling, and next week against a Cardinals squad who just suffered one of the worst collapses in NFL history versus the Titans, they should take care of business again.
The NFL is an unpredictable beast, and anything can happen in just one game. But great teams beat bad teams. And this Colts squad has the makings of a great team.