New York Giants Week 17: First Look at Indianapolis Colts Defense

Let's look at what the Giants might expect from the Indianapolis Colts defense.

The New York Giants are still making their playoff push, and one win clinches a playoff spot for them. Unfortunately, only two games remain, and one is against the 13-2 Philadelphia Eagles. Fortunately, the Giants play the 4-10-1 Indianapolis Colts this Sunday, who aren’t a “roll over and die” team, but the Giants should win this game.

Personnel

Usually, this section starts with the opposing defense's strength, but this time, I get to do that and be selfish by talking about one of my favorite players: Bobby Okereke. When Okereke was coming out of Stanford for the 2019 NFL Draft, he was one of my top linebackers in the class because of his instincts, athleticism, and coverage ability. Fast forward to 2022 (or 2023 by game time), and he still does all of those things well.

Perhaps no defense requires more from their linebackers than the Colts, but Okereke and Zaire Franklin answer the call week in and week out. EJ Speed is the third linebacker that rotates in when Okereke or Franklin need a breather or when the Colts use three linebackers.

Franklin has been the iron man for the Colts, playing on 1,009 of 1,013 possible defensive snaps. Okereke and Franklin have combined for 270 tackles this season and 99 stops for a gain of three yards or less. For a defense that asks the most from their linebackers, they’ve had their linebackers answer the call all season.

Of course, the Colts spent almost the entire season without star linebacker Shaquille Leonard.

Along the defensive front, the biggest contributors are DeForest Buckner, Grover Stewart, Yannick Ngakoue, and Kwity Paye, with Dayo Odeyingbo being used as the third edge rusher. Buckner is the big name here as one of the most disruptive forces on the defensive interior in the entire league.

Buckner is currently tied for the eighth-most pressures by an interior defensive lineman with 46 and nine sacks - good for sixth-most by interior defensive linemen. On the other hand, Stewart is the opposite -- he won’t make a massive difference in the passing game but is a one-man wrecking crew when it comes to stopping the run.

Stewart is currently fourth among interior defensive linemen in run stops with 28, behind only Christian Wilkins, Jonathan Allen, and Zach Sieler. As a run defender, Stewart has an average depth of tackle of just 1.9 yards, leaving little room to run on the interior.

On the edge, Ngakoue is second on the Colts in pressures with 44, but he’s been horrid against the run this season (and just about every other season in his career). Spoiler alert: I’ll say that the Giants should run wide to his side.

Paye is the lesser-known of the two starting edge defenders, but I think he’s miles ahead of Ngakoue. While he hasn’t found as much success as a pass-rusher with just 26 pressures, he’s been much more reliable as a run defender.

For comparison purposes, Paye has played 129 fewer snaps against the run than Ngakoue but has 17 more tackles, eight more run stops, and just one missed tackle, compared to Ngakoue’s four.

In the secondary, the Colts are missing one of their best players in Kenny Moore II - who’s been dealing with an ankle injury that’s kept him from practicing and playing. When he’s active, Moore is arguably the best slot corner in the NFL.

In Moore’s absence, Julian Blackmon has played more in the slot than his usual deep safety role. Rodney Thomas II has subbed into the deep safety spot while Blackmon is in the nickel.

On the outside, Stephon Gilmore has been the only player consistently playing cornerback. With injuries shuffling the secondary around, the corner lining up opposite Gilmore has been either Brandon Facyson or Dallis Flowers.

Facyson has experience with Colts defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, who was with the Raiders last season. Flowers is an undrafted free agent corner out of Pittsburg State with elite athleticism, and if we’re being honest, he would have been drafted if he wasn’t 25 years old at the start of his rookie year.

With Blackmon playing slot and Thomas moving to deep safety, Rodney McLeod has been one of the few players getting to play the usual role that has him as a box safety, with occasional snaps in the slot or as deep safety.

Scheme

The Colts operate out mostly of a four-man front with two linebackers and five defensive backs behind them. It’s rare for the Colts to bring on a third linebacker unless it’s an obvious running situation.

With Bradley as defensive coordinator, the Colts are sticking to his usual tendencies: Cover-3 on the back end with stunts along the defensive line. Perhaps the biggest adjustment from Bradley compared to his previous landing spots is that now, like many modern defenses, he’s working in more two-high looks pre-snap.

The main benefit of showing two-high looks pre-snap for the Colts is that while you can make the educated guess of cover three being played, it’s difficult to know who will shift where. With two safeties up deep, the one on the left could be who has deep responsibility, causing the linebackers and nickel to shift to the left with the safety on the right rolling down to the flat. The defense could spread out, and the right safety could come down to play the shallow middle.

Up front, the Colts like to run stunts, allowing them to have more opportunities to create pressure along the line while only rushing four linemen, not sacrificing a defender in the back seven. In a stunt, one rusher will attack an offensive lineman to occupy them, while another rusher loops around that initial defender, leaving the offensive lineman in an almost impossible position.

This is a defense that doesn’t do a wide variety of things at any level, but the few things they do, they do pretty well when healthy. Don’t expect to see many blitzes from the Colts, partially because their defensive line is good enough where they don’t have to and partially because it’s just not what Gus Bradley does as a defensive play-caller.

What This Means for the Giants

The Colts sitting in cover three for most games means there are some clear spots to target throwing the ball - underneath. Whether that means to have Saquon Barkley as a check-down option or to use him often in the screen, swing, and flat game, do it.

Indy switches between press and off coverage, so the Giants should have checks in place to get the ball out quickly into the flats when the Colts play off. When the Colts press, there should be a deep route on the outside, a flat option on the same side, and an intermediate option on that side, overloading the zones.

RPOs should make their return to being a consistent part of the Giants offense against possibly the best defense to call them against.

Regarding running the ball, using Daniel Jones in the zone read game should be a priority, but even if that isn’t the plan, give the ball to Saquon Barkley. Let Barkley run wide, and let him run directly at Ngakoue.

Getting into a running situation and then going no-huddle to prevent a sub should be the focus. Keep Ngakoue on the field, then run directly to his side.

Final Thoughts

The Giants are the better football team here. That’s not to say this should be an easily winnable game, but it’s certainly a game that the Giants should win.

The Colts are dealing with injuries throughout and have backup-quality players starting because of it. The game plan is there for the Giants to exploit Indy and secure a spot in the playoffs.

---

Join the Giants Country Community

• Sign up for our FREE digest newsletter
• Follow and like us on Facebook
• Submit your questions for our mailbag
• Check out the new Giants Country YouTube Channel.
• Listen and subscribe to the daily LockedOn Giants podcast.
• Subscribe and like the LockedOn Giants YouTube Channel
• Sign up for our FREE message board forums
• Get your Giants tickets today from SI Tickets!