Indianapolis Colts Week 9 NFL Power Rankings
The Indianapolis Colts dropped a 38-27 game on Sunday to the New Orleans Saints. The offense scored 20 points in the first half, and Jonathan Taylor had nearly-100 yards before the break.
Taylor only saw the ball one time in the second half, and the Colts offense went quiet.
Indianapolis fell from No. 21 to No.23 in NFL.com's NFL Power Rankings, but writer Eric Edholm likes what he sees from the Colts' attack.
"It's fun to see the potential of this offense, with Jonathan Taylor looking better each game and Zack Moss not slowing down," wrote Edholm on NFL.com. "The seeds are mostly there for something really interesting down the road.
"Gardner Minshew was slinging it on Sunday until the wheels came off, and four different receivers had impact performances against the Saints."
When a team gives up 38 points, the defense is going to take some blame. Edholm placed the bulk of the loss at the feet of the defense.
"But everything was rendered null and void by the defense's inability to force more than one set of back-to-back stops, not counting the halftime kneeldown," wrote Edholm. "Those consecutive stops came as the Colts were regaining momentum, but Minshew was picked, and then the D allowed two straight TDs."
"When Indy's front doesn't dominate, the shorthanded secondary struggles. It's a tough development for a defense that has done some decent things this season."
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That the Colts are shorthanded in the defensive backfield isn't really news. However putting so much blame on a that side of the ball while glossing over the offense getting just-seven points in the second half seems a bit unfair.
Indianapolis did a better job of protecting the football against the Saints than they did the previous week with four turnovers against the Browns. This young teams is still trying to find consistency in all phases of the game.
They'll get a chance in Charlotte this weekend when they take on their former head coach Frank Reich and his 1-6 Carolina Panthers.
The Panthers may have just-one win on the season, but that win came last week against the Houston Texans.
