Colts vs. Bengals Camp Journal, Day 13: Will Mallory Locking In?

A horrible start to the day for the Indianapolis Colts offense vs. the Cincinnati Bengals was wiped away as some players stepped up and turned the tides.

Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen watches warm ups during a joint practice with the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024, at Grand Park Sports Complex in Westfield. / Christine Tannous/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Indianapolis Colts arrived at the Kettering Health Practice Fields at Paycor Stadium on Tuesday for their final training camp practice of 2024. It was their third consecutive joint practice, this time with the host Cincinnati Bengals.

The two teams still have to face off in their preseason finale this Thursday evening, but Tuesday was the culmination of immeasurable hard work put in by both sides over the last month. The intensity level matched the meaning of camp's final practice with a showdown lasting over two hours.

Tuesday was a story of expectations turned upside down, and for the Colts' offense, resilience.

Here are Horseshoe Huddle's observations throughout the afternoon.

The 13th and final training camp practice for the #Colts is about to be underway as they visit the #Bengals. pic.twitter.com/NJ1L7zSnbO

— Jake Arthur (@JakeArthurNFL) August 20, 2024

TEAM

— Tight end Jelani Woods (toe), cornerback JuJu Brents (nose), and interior offensive lineman Tanor Bortolini (toe), all of whom left last Saturday's preseason matchup with the Arizona Cardinals early, were out on Tuesday. Running back Trey Sermon (hamstring), linebackers Cameron McGrone and Liam Anderson, and defensive end Titus Leo were all out as well.

— Defensive tackle Raekwon Davis (high blood pressure) returned to the field on Tuesday after being activated from the Non-Football Illness list on Monday. He'd missed all of the previous 12 camp practices and the two preseason games leading up to this week. Wide receiver Ashton Dulin (hamstring) returned after missing the last few practices and preseason game. Starting slot receiver Josh Downs was also seen at practice without a boot or the scooter he'd previously been using to aid in his recovery from a high ankle sprain.

— After practice, Colts head coach Shane Steichen said of Woods' injury, "Yeah, he's going to be out for a little bit. I don't have a timetable on it, but he's going to miss some time.” Later, Joel Erickson of The Indy Star reported, "Jelani Woods is expected to undergo surgery on his toe, according to a source." NFL Network's Ian Rapoport then posted on X, "#Colts TE Jelani Woods is expected to have surgery this week to repair his turf toe, sources say, and he’s out indefinitely."

OFFENSE

Anthony Richardson to Jonathan Taylor at the goal line. pic.twitter.com/1BK7xPqxT2

— Jake Arthur (@JakeArthurNFL) August 20, 2024

— Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson had a roller coaster of a day. Beginning in 7-on-7 drills in the red zone, he quickly found tight end Kylen Granson and wide receiver AD Mitchell in the front of the end zone near the left pylon for touchdowns from about 10 yards out. However, 11-on-11s for Richardson and the offense began as poorly as we've seen all summer. The offensive line was leaky at best, putting Richardson under constant duress and forcing him to act quicker. On a few occasions, Richardson would get rid of the ball but the receiver was not prepared for it to be there. Richardson also scrambled often because of the pressure from the Bengals' front, which was pushing the Colts' line back. At the lowest point, Bengals defenders could be heard shouting things like, "Bro, just throw the ball!" "Is all he do is run?" and "He just throws to spots. He doesn't even see his receivers!" Then, Richardson was intercepted when a pass to Michael Pittman Jr. was tipped and Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson dove to the ground to get the ball before it hit the grass. About halfway through practice, Steichen returned to the offensive side of the field and began watching the unit after spending the first half with the defense, and things turned around quickly. The Colts offense picked up the pace, going up-tempo, which has always been a comfort in Richardson's game. The ball got out quicker, with more zip and accuracy. Richardson ultimately went 10-of-20 passing (50%), with a touchdown to Mitchell in the low red zone, the interception, and about three would-be sacks. Richardson completed passes to Pittman (4), Alec Pierce (2), Granson (2), Mitchell, and Will Mallory.

— Since Downs' injury, it's been Mitchell seeing the most action in the slot with some Anthony Gould sprinkled in there as well. However, we're now seeing a little more diversity, as Pittman and Pierce also saw work in the slot on Tuesday. However long Downs is out, expect the Colts to mix things up in his absence, although Mitchell and Gould seem like the logical choices to see the most work there in three-receiver sets.

— Running back Tyler Goodson also got a little bit of action with the first-team offense Tuesday, as he and Evan Hull have been getting reps after Jonathan Taylor while Sermon has been out. Sermon is still the presumed RB2 behind Taylor, but that battle for RB3 between Goodson and Hull has really heated up over the last couple of weeks.

— The second-team offensive line was Matt Goncalves (LT), Dalton Tucker (LG), Danny Pinter (C), Arlington Hambright (64), and Blake Freeland (RT). With Bortolini out, Pinter appeared to get all the work with the twos. Pinter and Bortolini often rotate days with the second and third teams.

— With Woods out, Mallory immediately benefits from the vacated workload. Mallory was one of the offense's biggest standouts of the day, catching at least four or five passes from Richardson and Joe Flacco throughout the day. He got Richardson on the board with his first completion of the day after a long streak of incompletions, and he also caught a 20-yard crosser from Flacco before adding a touchdown in the red zone. Mallory's biggest obstacle to this point has been staying healthy.

— It was clearly a good thing for Flacco to get Dulin back on the field. Flacco, in particular, has strong connections with Dulin and Gould; Gould when he's looking for a big play downfield and Dulin when he needs to move the sticks. Flacco and Dulin connected on another couple of catches to move the chains during 11-on-11s when the offense was starting to find its first signs of life for the day.

— For as rough of a summer as he's had, Freeland made a nice pancake block on a defensive back when the second-team offense dialed up a screen pass for Dulin. The play had good blocking with Freeland out front, leading the charge. A couple of other depth players who had nice plays were receivers Juwann Winfree (from Flacco) and D.J. Montgomery (from Sam Ehlinger), each of whom caught touchdowns in the red zone during 7-on-7s.

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DEFENSE

— Since the offense and defense play on different fields without a clear line of sight to both for much of practice, I found Erickson's defensive observation notes to be a great resource for the portions that I did not see. Check them out if you haven't already.

— This was a surprisingly staunch performance by the Colts defense against one of the most dangerous offenses in the league, led by quarterback Joe Burrow. They didn't allow Cincinnati to get into the end zone at all during 11-on-11s, which included at least 10 snaps in the red zone from Burrow's group.

— Burrow was an efficient 14-of-18 passing (77.8%) during 11s, but they were mostly short completions. He was bothered by each level of the defense, including the secondary, which saw cornerback Jaylon Jones come down with two interceptions and safeties Nick Cross and Julian Blackmon each made crucial pass breakups at key areas of the field. Defensive ends Kwity Paye, Tyquan Lewis, and Laiatu Latu each got to Burrow for would-be sacks, as did linebacker Zaire Franklin.

— In the linebacker group, E.J. Speed had multiple instances of sniffing out screen passes and runs near the line of scrimmage to stuff them before they could truly develop. Speed and Franklin were joined by rookie Jaylon Carlies as the third linebacker on the field in the base defense.

SPECIAL TEAMS

— Both Matt Gay and Spencer Shrader kicked field goals, both in specific field goal drills and punctuating live 11-on-11 drills for the offense. Gay went 6-of-6 with makes from 38, 43, 48, 50, 53, and 58 yards. Shrader went 4-of-6, converting from 38, 43, 48, and 53, and missing from 40 and 58.

The Colts and Bengals will now have one final preseason game on Thursday night. Per Steichen, "the starters will play about a quarter and a half, give or take."

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