Injuries along the Indianapolis Colts defensive front were too much for this unit to overcome on Sunday, with Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence having all the time he needed in the pocket.
The Colts entered Sunday’s game with Samson Ebukam, DeForest Buckner, and Tyquan Lewis on injured reserve, in addition to also not having Kwity Paye, who was out for the second week with a quad injury.
That’s four of the Colts’ top-eight defenders coming into 2024 training camp that they were without. This required them to rely more heavily on Isaiah Land, Adam Gotsis, Taven Bryan, and Adetomiwa Adebawore.
According to Pro Football Focus, Lawrence dropped back 34 times on Sunday and was pressured only once. For some context, that’s a pressure rate of just 2.9 percent. The next closest quarterback in Week 5 was Caleb Williams at 17.1 percent.
On the day, Lawrence completed 28-of-34 passes for 371 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
In addition to the Colts’ own struggles, the Jaguars also had a good game-plan built around limiting the Indianapolis pass rush with a heavy dose of quick passes, screens, and play-action.
Not helping the Colts’ pass rush woes was that defensive coordinator Gus Bradley only blitzed Lawrence on five of those 34 dropbacks. I imagine that Bradley didn’t want to leave an already shorthanded secondary with one less defender in coverage, but also, at some point, if the four-man rush isn’t working–something has to change.
If a quarterback has time in the pocket, it oftentimes doesn’t matter what is taking place in the secondary from a play-call standpoint. Asking your cornerbacks and safeties to routinely cover for three or four seconds is rarely going to end well.
At a minimum, the Colts will be without Buckner for at least one more game and Lewis for at least three more. Hopefully Paye can be back at practice this week and have a chance to play.
This is a defense that is built around winning in the trenches, and when that isn’t happening, odds are that it is going to be a long day.
