The Indianapolis Colts aren’t having a jolly Christmas after falling to the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.
It was a letdown performance from the Colts. After scoring a touchdown on the opening drive of the game, the offense failed to find any footing. The run game couldn’t find any room, Gardner Minshew was under pressure often, and the passing attack clearly missed Michael Pittman Jr. in this matchup. As far as the defense, it was an up-and-down day.
They let up two long touchdown drives but held Atlanta’s offense to 5/13 on third downs and 0/3 on their red-zone trips but the Falcons still put up 406 yards of offense which helped set up five field goal drives that helped put 29 points on the board.
Despite the dreadful Christmas Eve loss for the Colts, the good news is teams in the playoff hunt also lost so they still have a chance to win the AFC South and currently hold the seventh seed in the playoff picture heading into their Week 17 matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders.
Before getting to that game, let’s take a look at five takeaways from Indy’s road loss to the Falcons:
1
Little impact from Jonathan Taylor
When Michael Pittman Jr. was ruled out of this matchup, it was apparent that the Colts would need a big performance from Jonathan Taylor. It appeared that he and the offense were going to have a great day on the opening drive.
Taylor picked up 22 rushing yards on that drive and punched it in for the game’s first touchdown.
Jonathan Taylor punches it in for the #Colts first touchdown pic.twitter.com/jfLAUSOVhu
— Cody Manning (@CodyTalksNFL) December 24, 2023
After that, it was tough sledding for Taylor. The Atlanta defensive front did a great job keeping tight rushing lanes giving him little to no room to work with throughout the afternoon.
Taylor just managed to get 21 more rushing yards after picking up more than half of his total (43 rushing yards) on the first drive of the game. This was not the performance the offense needed from Taylor and the offensive line on a day when the passing attack couldn’t get into a rhythm.
2
Pass rush wasn't there
Two clear things tend to happen to the Colts when they have lost games this season. Both were on display in this contest. One was the first takeaway, no life from the rushing attack and not having the passing attack pick up the slack.
The other is when the Indy defense’s pass rush can’t get any consistent pressure on the quarterback which leads to the opponents having time to sit in the pocket and move the sticks by taking what the secondary is giving to them.
The Colts got their only sack of the game early in the second quarter from Kwity Paye which helped force the defense’s first three-and-out of the game but they failed to get home for the remainder of the game.
At halftime, Indianapolis had one sack and three QB hits. By the end of the game, they only registered one more QB hit. If the Colts are going to get themselves in the postseason in the final two weeks then they need some consistency from the pass rush.
3
Offensive line's worst game of the season
Despite not having the full starting offensive line throughout the season, the Indy offensive line was one of the most consistent units on the roster. But against the Falcons, that wasn’t the case. They struggled to open up lanes for Jonathan Taylor and give Gardner Minshew time in the pocket.
The backfield combined for 2.9 YPC with Taylor only managing 2.4 YPC on 18 rushing attempts. That number dropped off after halftime because Taylor was at 2.7 YPC at the end of the second quarter.
As far as pass protection, they struggled all game. Entering halftime, Atlanta’s defense registered three sacks and six QB hits. They were able to repeat that in the second half to get to a total of six sacks and 11 QB hits.
Both of those numbers are season highs. The previous high in sacks was five in their win over the Baltimore Ravens. They allowed eight QB hits in the losses to the Jacksonville Jaguars and New Orleans Saints. Indy also gave up eight QB hits in the win over the Tennessee Titans.
If the Indy offensive line can’t have a bounce-back performance next week against the Maxx Crosby and the Raiders then it can lead to the team looking at the playoffs from the outside.
4
No answer for Bijan Robinson
The Falcons offense was fueled through their rookie running back on Sunday. Bijan Robinson was their leading rusher (72 yards) and receiver (50 yards). He averaged 6.42 yards on his 19 touches.
Robinson averaged 6.0 YPC on his 12 rushing attempts and 7.1 yards on his seven receptions. His explosive playmaking ability was on display. He picked up first downs for their offense and helped set them up in favorable third-down situations.
It will be dependent on Josh Jacobs’ health for Week 17 but the Colts have another impact running back on deck. After allowing 122 total yards to Robinson, the defense will have to do a better job of keeping Jacobs (if he plays) at bay next week.
5
Michael Pittman Jr. was clearly missed
With the ground game struggling to find a way to get things rolling, the passing attack couldn’t find any consistency and it was clear, they were missing Michael Pittman Jr. from the lineup. Mr. Reliable has been the go-to target for Gardner Minshew and a big reason for helping the offense move the chains this season.
The leading receiver was Kylen Granson. He finished with five receptions for 62 yards on seven targets. Without MPJ, the Colts needed Alec Pierce and Josh Downs to have a larger impact but it was a quiet day for the young receivers.
Downs had a team-high in receptions (six) and targets (nine) but had the third-most receiving yards (39). Pierce ended his day with three catches for 30 yards on seven targets.
D.J. Montgomery was the only other wide receiver to register a reception. With this contest being a two-score game early in the third quarter, Indianapolis couldn’t find an answer in their passing attack.
Pittman Jr. has been that guy for the offense this season and without him on the field, it was very noticeable. This will be a game that MPJ’s agent will point to in contract negotiations with Chris Ballard in the upcoming offseason.
