The Indianapolis Colts (3-5) are currently in a three-game skid that has them at the bottom of the division.
Coming off their most recent loss to the New Orleans Saints in Week 8, the Colts had a 17-7 lead at one point during the second quarter and entered halftime down just one point. However, they wound up struggling mightily during the second half, especially on the defensive side of the ball.
When looking at the power rankings entering Week 9, the Colts are consistently in the low 20s and seem to be treading water as a competitive team that is still struggling in a few key areas.
Each week, we’ll round up where the Colts sit in the power rankings according to several outlets. Next to their ranking, the number in parentheses indicates the change from the previous week. A positive number means they’re moving up the power rankings.
Here’s where the Colts stand in the Week 9 power rankings:
USA TODAY
Author: Nate Davis
Rank: 21 (+1)
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Author’s Take: “Only one team has scored at least 20 points in its first eight games this season. But bet you wouldn’t have guessed it’s Indy.”
Touchdown Wire
Author: Jarrett Bailey
Rank: 20 (-1)
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Author’s Take: “The Colts are like a Fast and Furious movie- just absolute chaos that makes no sense for hours on end, but they keep you engaged.”
Bleacher Report
Author: NFL Staff
Rank: 23 (-1)
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Author’s Take: “Colts head coach Shane Steichen has some explaining to do.
In the first half of Sunday’s loss to the New Orleans Saints, Colts running back Jonathan Taylor had 11 carries for 94 yards. He appeared fully healthy and on the verge of having one of his patented massive games. The Colts trailed by just a point at intermission.
So of course, Colts head coach Shane Steichen decided to give Taylor all of one carry in the second half.
Steichen told reporters after the game that it was simply a matter of game flow.
“In that situation, Zack [Moss] popped a big one, so we kept Zack in the game and kind of rode the hot hand,” he said. “And then we got into some passing situations toward the end there.”
Now, in fairness, Moss had 66 rushing yards in 11 carries in his own right. And it was neither back’s fault that the Colts secondary was carved to pieces to the tune of 12.2 yards per attempt, which is a simply staggering number.
But when arguably the most explosive runner in the league peels off 66 yards on his first four carries, you feed him. You control the game’s tempo and keep your tissue paper defense off the field.
That Steichen didn’t was bad coaching—and now his Colts have dropped three straight.
“As competitive as the Colts are, the team’s roster deficiencies become more glaring with each passing week,” Sobleski said. “At this point, the secondary doesn’t even reach NFL-caliber status. With injuries to Dallis Flowers (season-ending injured reserve) and JuJu Brents (quad), Indianapolis is down to Darrell Baker Jr. and Tony Brown as its starting outside corners. To no one’s surprise, the New Orleans Saints torched the Colts defense for 350 passing yards. To make matters worse, Grover Stewart’s suspension leaves a massive hole along the defensive interior. The Saints also accumulated 161 rushing yards.”
ESPN NFL Nation
Author: Stephen Holder
Rank: 21 (+1)
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Author’s Take: “Team QBR: 58.6 (14th)
Judging the Colts’ quarterback situation is complicated given the season-ending shoulder injury sustained by fourth overall draft pick Anthony Richardson . But the rookie showed enough promise in his limited playing time to leave the organization convinced he can be their long-term solution at the position. But the confirmation of that will have to wait until he returns in 2024. In the meantime, backup Gardner Minshew ‘s surprising production has been marred by nine turnovers in four starts — a fact that will complicate his goal of proving he’s worthy of being a team’s starter after his current one-year contract expires.”
Sporting News
Author: Vinnie Iyer
Rank: 22 (-1)
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Author’s Take: “The Colts are exciting to watch offensively with Gardner Minshew, Jonathan Taylor, Michael Pittman Jr. and Josh Downs as shootouts with Shane Steichen tend to break out at home. But their defense has totally fallen apart with injuries and ineffectiveness.”
Pro Football Network
Author: Dalton Miller
Rank: 23 (-5)
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Author’s Take: “The Colts are a well-coached team, but they are clearly understaffed on both sides of the ball. Their secondary struggled to keep things in front of them against the Saints and were bludgeoned over the head by Taysom Hill on the ground.
But a future with Steichen appears bright, even if Year 1 gets a bit ugly from time to time because of the injury to Anthony Richardson.”
NFL.com
Author: Eric Edholm
Rank: 23 (-2)
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Author’s Take: “It’s fun to see the potential of this offense, with Jonathan Taylor looking better each game and Zack Moss not slowing down. 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 . 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. 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.”
Yahoo Sports
Author: Frank Schwab
Rank: 23 (-3)
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Author’s Take: “The Colts’ lack of talent at cornerback is going to be their downfall. They’ve overcome it in some weeks but couldn’t Sunday as the Saints went up and down the field on them. Being unable to stop an opponents’ receivers is a bad deficiency in 2023.”
CBS Sports
Author: Pete Prisco
Rank: 22 (–)
Link to article
Author’s Take: “They compete in games with Gardner Minshew, but they can’t overcome all the mistakes. They are falling into a big hole in the division.”
