Pro Football Focus Highlights Colts Running Backs Nyheim Hines, Jordan Wilkins

Although the season opener didn’t turn out as well as expected, Indianapolis Colts running backs Nyheim Hines and Jordan Wilkins received favorable Sunday grades for different reasons.

The Indianapolis Colts’ 27-20 road loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday is one they’re ready to move on from, but not one to forget. There were obvious opportunities for improvement to be observed on tape.

However, it wasn’t all bad.

The Colts outgained the Jaguars by 204 yards, but self-inflicted wounds can come back to haunt a team.

There were a handful of players who stood out as positives for the Colts, according to Pro Football Focus. While there were no Colts on the “PFF NFL Week 1 Team of the Week,” here are the Colts players who ranked in the top 10 for their position league-wide on Sunday.

Nyheim Hines

Special Teamer No. 1 (90.3), 6 ST snaps (25.0%)

7 carries for 28 yards (4.0 avg.), 1 touchdown. 8 receptions (8 targets) for 45 yards (5.6 avg.), 1 TD

While you would think Hines would be recognized by PFF for his effectiveness on offense after scoring two early touchdowns, his play on special teams made the biggest impression.

Hines registered four snaps with the Colts kickoff return team in which he returned one for 24 yards. He did not register any official statistics in his two snaps on punt return.

Jordan Wilkins

Special Teamer No. 3 (86.4), 10 ST snaps (41.7%)

Wilkins saw almost all of his action on special teams, appearing in one offensive snap compared to six on kickoff return, three on punt returns, and one on kickoff coverage.

He didn’t register any statistics, but blocking and closing the gaps on return men are likely what led to the positive results.

Darius Leonard

Linebacker No. 3 (79.3), 50 snaps (100%)

9 tackles

Leonard didn’t stuff the stat sheet like we often see, but he flew around the field and was a sure tackler against the Jaguars offense.

He led the Colts with nine tackles (four solos), including no missed tackles, and PFF credited Leonard with four stops that constituted a forced offensive failure. He applied pressure on Jacksonville quarterback Gardnew Minshew II once.

Quenton Nelson

Guard No. 10 (77.1), 74 snaps (100%)

0 pressures allowed, 0 penalties

The Colts offensive line gave quarterback Philip Rivers time to throw, and Nelson was a big part of that as he was credited with not allowing any pressures of any kind.

Nelson received pretty even marks across the board, receiving a grade of 74.3 in run blocking and a 73.5 in pass protection.

When running behind Nelson, tackle Anthony Castonzo, and center Ryan Kelly on the left side, the Colts picked up 66 yards on 13 carries (5.1 avg.), one TD, four first downs, and two runs of 10-plus yards.

Philip Rivers

Quarterback No. 9 (73.2), 73 snaps (98.6%)

36-of-46 passing (78.3%) for 363 yards (7.9 YPA), 1 TD, 2 INTs, 88.7 passer rating, 1 carry for 3 yards.

Sunday was Rivers’ 225th consecutive start, tops among active players. His 227 passing yards in the first half were the most by a Colt in the first half of a game since Andrew Luck’s 237 yards against the Houston Texans in 2018.

On the surface, Rivers’ two (nearly three) interceptions are damning toward his weekly grade. However, he got the ball out quickly and spread it around to nine different receivers. When he wasn’t forcing passes that were to be intercepted, he made some throws that gave his pass-catchers opportunities to picmkup yards after the catch, and made three throws at least 20 yards downfield. He had a high-quality passer rating of 105.3 in going 9-of-11 on play-action passes.

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(Jake Arthur has covered the NFL and the Indianapolis Colts for nearly a decade and is a contributor for the team's official website, Colts.com. He’s on Twitter and Facebook @JakeArthurNFL, and his email is jakearthur0890@yahoo.com.)