Cheers & Jeers: Colts-Bears

Reviewing positives and negatives from the Indianapolis Colts’ Sunday road triumph over the Chicago Bears.

INDIANAPOLIS — A defensive road triumph shifts more cheers to the Indianapolis Colts defense after Sunday’s 19-11 victory over the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field.

The Colts (3-1) are off to their best start since 2013 after knocking off the previously unbeaten Bears (3-1).

As always, there’s good and bad when assessing cheers & jeers.

Cheers

— The Colts have won three consecutive games for the first time since Weeks 5-8 of 2019.

— The Colts are 3-1 for the first time since 2013.

— The Colts’ No. 1-ranked defense has allowed 11 or fewer points in each of their three consecutive wins. The last time that happened was in Weeks 15-17 in 2013.

— Colts opponents have scored just 56 points in four games, the fewest total in the first four games since 51 in 2013. The Colts rank No. 1 in that stat.

— The Bears rushed for just 28 yards on 16 carries, the fewest rushing yards allowed by the Colts since Arizona had 24 on Sept. 27, 2009. It’s just the 10th time in Colts history an opponent has rushed for 28 or fewer yards.

Justin Houston sacks quarterback Nick Foles on Sunday :: Mike Dinovo/USA TODAY Sports

— Justin Houston had a sack to bump his team-leading total to 3.5. Dating back to last season, Houston has had at least a half sack in six consecutive games.

— DeForest Buckner had three of the team’s five quarterback hits. Houston had the other two.

— Linebacker Anthony Walker had a team-high 11 total tackles, nine of them being solos.

— Linebacker Bobby Okereke was second with eight total tackles, including one for a loss.

— Tight end Mo Alie-Cox continued to make important plays with a 13-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter. The third-year pro leads the Colts with 194 receiving yards, 17.6-yard average per catch, and two TD catches. He’s scored in back-to-back games.

— The Colts’ lone touchdown came on their opening possession of 53 yards in six plays. The Colts have scored touchdowns on their opening drives in three of four games.

— Wide receiver Zach Pascal had a 36-yard reception on the scoring drive. He also contributed an 11-yard catch on the opening possession. Pascal finished with three receptions for a team-high 58 yards.

— Rookie safety Julian Blackmon, in just his second pro start, had his first interception and broke up three passes, including two where his timely hits dislodged the football for incompletions.

Safety Julian Blackmon (32) celebrates his first NFL interception :: Colin Boyle/USA TODAY Sports

— The Colts secondary had seven passes defended.

— Blackmon’s interception was the seventh for the Colts. The last time the team had seven INTs in the first four games was 2015. The Colts have also had an interception in three consecutive games. The last time that happened was 2019.

— Rookie kicker Rodrigo Blankenship made all four field-goal attempts from 21, 30, 44, and 30 yards. The undrafted newcomer is 12-of-14 on FGs and tied for the NFL lead with 45 points. He’s just the third rookie in franchise history with four or more field goals in two games in a season.

— Rookie running back Jonathan Taylor rushed for 68 yards on 17 carries (4 yards per carry).

— Wide receiver Marcus Johnson, promoted from the practice squad on Saturday, made the most of his one reception with a 27-yard catch on a contested jump ball.

Marcus Johnson leaps to bring down a 27-yard reception :: Mike Dinovo/USA TODAY Sports

— The Colts allowed quarterback Philip Rivers to be sacked only once.

— Rivers completed passes to nine different targets.

— Rivers has not thrown an interception in the past two games, and his only interception in Week 2 wasn’t his fault as the pass bounced off the hands of Alie-Cox to a defender.

— Wide receiver T.Y. Hilton drew two pass-interference penalties for 36 yards on Bears cornerback Kyle Fuller.

— Rookie linebacker Jordan Glasgow partially blocked a punt. He also had a special-teams tackle.

— Former Bears tight end Trey Burton made his Colts debut with two receptions for 16 yards. He also recovered a late onside kick with 1:35 remaining.

— Punter Rigoberto Sanchez had five punts for 252 yards (50.4 average) with two inside the 20-yard line. Sanchez tied Chris Gardocki (80) for the fourth-most punts inside the 20 in team history.

Jeers

— After being the only team without an offensive three-and-out possession in the first three games, the Colts had three against the Bears.

— The Colts had 10 offensive plays with negative yardage, not counting three kneel-downs at the end.

— On their opening possession of the second half, the Colts failed to convert a third-and-1 rush as Jordan Wilkins was stuffed for a 3-yard loss.

— An offense that ranked seventh in rushing last season managed 103 yards on 38 carries, just 2.7 yards per rush.

— Wilkins and running back Nyheim Hines combined to rush for just 39 yards on 18 carries.

— The Colts are 28th in red-zone offense at 46.67% (7-of-15). They were 1-of-4 (25%) at Chicago.

— The Colts were 8-of-19 (42%) in third-down efficiency. For the season, they rank 30th at 34.62% (18-of-52).

— Eight penalties for 76 yards were too many for one of the least-penalized teams in recent years. All-Pro left guard Quenton Nelson was flagged for holding for a second consecutive game.

— Safety Khari Willis was flagged for holding and pass interference, the latter costing 32 yards.

— Cornerback Xavier Rhodes allowed receptions of 33 and 25 yards.

— Rookie cornerback/kick returner Isaiah Rodgers allowed the Bears’ only touchdown, a 16-yard pass to Allen Robinson II with 1:35 remaining.

— The Colts had only one sack. They had nine in the previous three games.

— Pascal was targeted eight times, but had just three catches.

— Hilton had just three receptions for 29 yards.

— Running back Nyheim Hines had three receptions for just eight yards. He was the only Colts pass-catcher to not have double-digit receiving yards.

— Defensive linemen Denico Autry and Ben Banogu committed neutral-zone infractions.

— The Colts allowed David Montgomery to score on a 2-point conversion rush to make it a one-score game late.

(Phillip B. Wilson has covered the Indianapolis Colts for more than two decades and authored the 2013 book 100 Things Colts Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. He’s on Twitter @pwilson24, on Facebook at @allcoltswithphilb and @100thingscoltsfans, and his email is phillipbwilson24@yahoo.com.)