The Indianapolis Colts (3-3-1) continued their cycle of taking one step forward and two steps backward in their 19-10 loss to the Tennessee Titans (4-2) on Sunday at Nissan Stadium.
While the defensive side of the ball proved again to be the better unit, the offense continued to be anemic. They were plagued by turnovers and poor efficiency on third downs.
Here are the studs and duds from the Colts’ Week 7 loss.
STUD: DT Grover Stewart
Stewart was a menace against the run all day. Looking at Derrick Henry’s stat line may not appear so. But Henry was held to 94 rushing yards on 27 carries before the final drive of the game when he added 34 rushing yards on three carries to ice the game. Stewart logged 12 tackles (seven) solo and was a massive reason why the Colts held Henry to 3.5 yards per carry leading up to that last drive.
DUD: QB Matt Ryan
There is some blame that falls on the shoulders of the offensive line, but Ryan is doing a poor job of keeping the Colts from hurting themselves. He threw two interceptions in this game, and the Titans wound up scoring 10 points off of them. Ryan now has four games this season with at least two turnovers. The offensive line has been utterly brutal to start the season, but Ryan also needs his share of the blame.
STUD: WR Parris Campbell
Our player of the game, Campbell continues to thrive as the Colts work toward using a quick-passing mentality because of the issues across the offensive line. Campbell posted single-game, career-highs in targets (12) and receptions (10) while pacing the offense with 70 receiving yards and a touchdown. Campbell has been playing much more like a No. 2 wide receiver over the last two weeks, and it’s very encouraging to see.
DUD: P Matt Haack
Rarely does a punter land on this list, but Haack was one of the players who struggled the most on Sunday. Four of his five punts landed outside the 20-yard line while his other punt was a touchback. Haack averaged 35.2 yards per punt. The Colts need a better performance from their punter moving forward.
STUD: RB Jonathan Taylor
Though he wound up seeing 17 touches in the game upon his return, it felt like Taylor wasn’t featured like we normally see him. That’s probably because he only had 10 carries in the game. Still, he was efficient, going for 58 rushing yards and adding 27 receiving yards on seven receptions.
