The Indianapolis Colts (1-2-1) took a step back Sunday, losing 24-17 to the Tennessee Titans (2-2) at Lucas Oil Stadium.
At one point, the Colts were getting dominated 24-3 and it appeared all hope was lost. Then, the offense started to click, cutting the lead to 24-17 halfway through the third quarter. Even all that time wouldn’t be enough for the Colts to complete the comeback, and they lost their fourth game in a row to the Titans.
Before turning around on a short week for Thursday Night Football, here’s a look at the snap counts on offense, defense and special teams from the Week 4 loss:
Offense
Analysis
Second-year G Will Fries took over the starting right guard role from Danny Pinter, who played just four snaps on special teams. It’s the first major change on the offensive line this season.
Matt Pryor continued to be the unquestioned starter at left tackle while rookie Bernhard Raimann didn’t play a single snap on offense.
RB Nyheim Hines didn’t receive a touch until five minutes remained in the third quarter.
TE Mo Alie-Cox has regained his starting role and led the way in targets, receptions, yards and touchdowns in Week 4.
WR Alec Pierce played 15 fewer snaps than Parris Campbell but out-targeted the latter for the second game in a row.
Defense
Analysis
With S Julian Blackmon (ankle) inactive, rookie S Rodney Thomas II played every single snap.
LB Shaquille Leonard made his season debut but played just 16 snaps before leaving after a nasty collision with LB Zaire Franklin. Leonard is in the concussion protocol.
Dealing with an elbow injury after not practicing all week, DT DeForest Buckner was on a serious pitch count, playing just 35% of the snaps. It marks the second-lowest single-game snap share of his career.
CB Isaiah Rodgers played a season-high 44% of the defensive snaps. It was the second week in a row he logged 24 defensive snaps.
After playing just one defensive snap in Week 3, rookie S Nick Cross followed that up without playing a single defensive snap on Sunday.
With Buckner limited, DL Tyquan Lewis played 74% of the defensive snaps, the second-most among defensive linemen.
Special Teams
Analysis
CB Tony Brown (83%) led the way in special teams snap share followed by LB E.J. Speed (78%), LB Grant Stuard (65%), LB JoJo Domann (61%) and WR Ashton Dulin (61%).
In addition to playing 100% of the defensive snaps, rookie S Rodney Thomas II also logged 43% of the special teams snaps.
RB Deon Jackson saw 57% of the special teams snaps without seeing a snap on offense. However, the injury to Jonathan Taylor could give him the opportunity to see more work on offense given the short week.
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