Jake's Takes | Colts Fumble Their Way to Loss vs. Steelers

The Indianapolis Colts put together a roller-coaster of a performance in their 24-17 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers at home on Monday Night Football.

The Indianapolis Colts are a confusing, frustrating team to watch.

While playing on their home field of Lucas Oil Stadium in front of a nationally-televised, Monday Night Football audience, the Colts (4-7-1) couldn't overcome their own issues or the Pittsburgh Steelers (4-7) in their 24-17 loss.

After a completely anemic performance by the offense through the first half, the 13-point hole that the Colts faced heading into the locker room appeared insurmountable. However, in the second half, they found just enough spark and were given enough breaks to make things interesting and briefly take the lead, but ultimately fell short.

Here are my main takeaways from the evening.

© Jenna Watson/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK

—Matt Ryan and the Colts' offense can't carry on like this for the rest of the season. If the Colts' offense is going to be watchable (let alone functional) for the remaining five games of the regular season, then something's got to change. There really isn't a shortage of options either. From the play-calling, to the lack of execution of said plays, to the leaky offensive line, to the non-existant downfield passing game, to the clock management; take your pick. On Monday, the Colts mustered just 6 yards of offense through the first 22 minutes of the game. Their five drives in the first half netted a field goal, two punts, a missed field goal, and an interception. They did score two touchdowns in the second half but they also punted once, lost a fumble, and turned the ball over on downs on their final drive of the game. This group needs work moving forward.

The Colts completed their first pass at 7:05 of the 2nd quarter.

That's the latest into a game for a team's first completion since the 2020 Broncos, when they were forced to use WR Kendall Hinton at QB due to COVID. pic.twitter.com/ZOcrGki1rC

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) November 29, 2022

© Jenna Watson/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK

—The offense was dragged, kicking and screaming, to score points. As mentioned, the offense did put 17 points on the board but it didn't come without its challenges. On the opening kickoff of the second half, Dallis Flowers returned the ball 89 yards to Pittsburgh's 19-yard line. Running back Jonathan Taylor found the end zone four plays later. Two drives later, the Colts scored their second touchdown, wherein tight end Jelani Woods fumbled the ball out of bounds early in the drive. The Colts also had the aforementioned blocked field goal and two turnovers. On one turnover, they benefitted from a pass interference penalty in the end zone before Taylor lost a fumble in the red zone.

Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

—It's time to make Jelani Woods a fixture in the offense. Woods missed the last couple of weeks with a shoulder injury but was thrust into a large role on Monday while Kylen Granson was out with an illness. Despite the fumble and a drop, the rookie responded positively with single-game career highs in receptions (8) and receiving yards (98). The Colts' tight ends have been wildly inconsistent in their usage throughout the season, but having someone like Woods as a frequent flyer in the offense moving forward seems like it would be an asset.

© Robert Scheer/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK

—Edge rusher Yannick Ngakoue is catching fire. The Colts have had some issues where they go long stretches of time without much pressure on the quarterback, and with injuries along the defensive front, defensive end Yannick Ngakoue has really started to heat up. In the first quarter, he had sacks on back-to-back plays to force a Steelers punt on a drive that began on the Colts' 38-yard line and got to their 24. Ngakoue now has 8.5 sacks on the season, which gives him seven consecutive seasons with at least 8.0 sacks and six consecutive games with at least a half-sack. The latter is the longest active streak in the NFL. Colts defensive coordinator Gus Bradley recently spoke to reporters and was asked about Ngakoue. “He’s doing a good job. I’ve seen him really grow through the year," Bradley said. "He’s really working hard at it. He’s taking extra reps in practice. Last week – because he’s had like a veteran’s day off health wise, but last week he came out and practiced and felt like he needed to get a good practice in on Wednesday. So, it’s good to see that his hard work is coming to fruition some and he’s becoming a more well-rounded player versus the run, versus the pass. He’s a guy that’s just like everybody else, he wants more. But it was great to see that he had the big play for us last week.”

That's 8 1/2 sacks for Yannick Ngakoue. He has 8+ sacks in all 7 seasons. Only others to do that in their 1st 7 seasons since sacks became official in 1982:
Reggie White
Aaron Donald
Derrick Thomas
DeMarcus Ware

— Josh Dubow (@JoshDubowAP) November 29, 2022

Things get much, much more difficult for the Colts next week again on national television as they travel south to face the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football, who boast the second-ranked scoring defense and seventh-ranked scoring offense.

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