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The Indianapolis Colts suffered another frustrating defeat on Sunday, falling 16-10 to the Minnesota Vikings on the road. What began as a promising afternoon ended in another missed opportunity for a team desperately searching for something to build on.
Indianapolis has now lost three consecutive games and dropped to 2-5 on the season. With the losing streak growing and the season slipping further off course, the pressure is mounting on a franchise that needs to find a way to turn things around.
Here's a look at the good, the bad, and the ugly from Sunday's loss.
Indianapolis leaned heavily into their run game against a Vikings defense that caused chaos for Daniel Jones through the air.
The Colts recorded 154 rushing yards as a team, with Jonathan Taylor accounting for 95 by himself. Taylor also had the lone Colts’ touchdown, a 38-yard scamper in the first quarter.
Seth McGowan was the most impressive, however. He saw the most run of his young career up to this point, knowing the Colts needed to keep Taylor fresh if they were to continue leaning into the run game.
McGowan had 46 yards on 11 carries, both career-highs. If Indianapolis does have a true fire sale ahead of the trade deadline and move on from Taylor, McGowan will have a chance to audition for a larger role in the seasons to come.
It’s safe to say Adetomiwa Adebawore has finally arrived.
The fourth-year defensive tackle was easily the best player for a Colts defense which played with the most energy and effort we’ve seen from them this season. Adebawore logged two sacks, his second multi-sack game of the season, tying his career-high for sacks in a season (4).
Adebawore is a pending free agent at the end of the season. If Colts interim general manager Ed Dodds signs him to a contract extension, I don’t think there would be many complaints.
With the DeForest Buckner era all but over, Indianapolis may already be looking at their 3-tech of the future.
The Vikings defense entered Week 7 leading the league in third-down defense, allowing a conversion just 22% of the time. Yet, the Colts found a way to have success.
Indianapolis finished 8-for-15 on third down (53%), with several conversions coming on the ground. For a unit that came into the game moving the chains just 37.3% of the time, that’s a noteworthy improvement.
Unfortunately, that didn't translate to more points.
The Colts offensive line knew they’d be blitzed, and blitzed, and blitzed again by Brian Flores’ defense. But even knowing what was coming, they couldn’t handle the pass rush.
Minnesota got to Daniel Jones for a sack four times, picking on the Colts running backs in pass protection most of the time. It’s the second week in a row the Colts have surrendered at least that many and the fifth time this season they’ve given up multiple in a game.
While Jones isn’t blameless himself, the Colts offensive line, which was supposedly one of Indy’s biggest strengths, has been all over the place through seven games. A lot to clean up moving forward.
Shane Steichen is far from devoid of blame for this loss.
Steichen's offense continues to look increasingly dysfunctional. Indianapolis managed just 10 points despite winning the time of possession battle. While the Vikings have one of the league's best defenses, Steichen couldn't find a way to consistently generate offense when the passing game stalled.
The Colts leaned heavily, maybe too heavily, on Jonathan Taylor and the running game, but that wasn't enough to compensate for the lack of a passing attack.
Steichen deserves criticism for failing to find answers against Brian Flores' aggressive defensive scheme as well as continuing to stick with Daniel Jones at quarterback, especially with the season slipping away.
Daniel Jones didn't make enough plays in the passing game, but it’s not all on him.
Indianapolis' receivers did little to help Jones against Minnesota's aggressive defense. Josh Downs managed just two catches for 18 yards, while no Colts receiver finished with more than 31 receiving yards.
The offensive line and Jones deserve plenty of blame, but the pass catchers didn't do their job, either.
Shane Steichen has continued to vehemently defend Daniel Jones to the media despite continued poor play. Sunday, Jones did nothing to back his head coach’s claims up.
Jones managed just 108 passing yards and threw an interception on the game’s final drive, ending any chance the Colts had at a late comeback.
Steichen can continue to stand behind his quarterback publicly, but at some point, the results have to justify that confidence. Jones has done little to warrant the unwavering support, and Sunday's performance only strengthened the case that Indianapolis needs to reconsider its options under center.
With the season already a wash at this point, the Colts truly have nothing to lose by giving Anthony Richardson Sr. a shot. Your move, Shane.
Indianapolis' pass rush was once again a major disappointment.
Adetomiwa Adebawore came to play, but the rest of the defensive front did not, struggling to consistently pressure Kyler Murray or disrupt Minnesota's passing game. The rest of the defense covered for their pass rush and found ways to get off the field, but that can only take a defense so far.
For a team that entered the season with questions about its ability to rush the passer, Sunday was yet another reminder that the problem remains unresolved.
DeForest Buckner can only do so much (and may be on the way out), and Indianapolis needs more players capable of making an impact up front. With the Colts now 2-5, addressing that weakness should be a priority as the organization evaluates its roster moving forward.
Spencer Shrader has been one of the most consistent players on the Colts this season, but Sunday was his worst performance of the season so far.
Shrader picked a bad day to have a bad day, missing two field goals, from 56 and 48 yards each. Given the Colts lost by six, those misses ultimately made the difference.
Definitely a day to forget for the 27-year-old, who can only hope a day like Sunday is just a fluke.
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