The Indianapolis Colts may have had their best moment behind them as they lost their second game of the season after falling to the Tennessee Titans, 24-17, at home in Week 4 of the 2022 NFL season. Here we'll look at some takeaways from the Colts’ Week 4 loss.
Two weeks removed from upsetting the Kansas City Chiefs, the Colts could not handle Derrick Henry's business. By pushing his massive bulk past the line of scrimmage and avoiding others in the open field, King Henry pretty much single-handedly defeated the Colts.
Meanwhile, Indianapolis could only tread water and hope to keep up. Three errors and three missed scoring opportunities in the final 16 minutes were simply too much to overcome.
Take note that the Colts have won just one of their last six games. Whenever their offensive crossed midfield in this game, they just fell flat on their faces. Indianapolis had every opportunity to win this contest, but they couldn't pull it off.
The Colts' fourth consecutive loss against a division opponent also makes this one extra difficult to digest.
Here are our four takeaways from the Colts' Week 4 loss vs. the Titans.
4. My my, Matt Ryan
Matt Ryan sure didn't imagine his tenure in Indianapolis to go this way. Keep in mind that the Indianapolis Colts sold him on offensive balance, strong offensive line performance, and good play-action. Of course, those are all essential components of excellent quarterback play.
Instead, Ryan's reality since joining the Colts in a trade from the Atlanta Falcons has been the polar opposite. He has been orhcestrating a one-dimensional offense, playing behind a shaky offensive line, and having very little play-action.
Ryan also threw his sixth interception of the season in this game, adding to the Colts' dreadful minus-6 turnover margin. In coach Frank Reich's four prior seasons, the Colts never ended with a negative turnover ratio, but they now rank among the worst in the NFL in that category.
Is it all on Ryan? Of course not, but as with most football teams, the Colts will go only as far as he takes them.
3. Tight ends showed up
The Colts' offense had one bright spot, and it came from their tight end group. Towards the end of the first half, Jelani Woods caught his lone target of the day and returned it 33 yards to put the offense in scoring position. Matt Ryan would then connect with Mo-Alie Cox for the touchdown.
Alie-Cox eventually became Indianapolis' top receiver in this outing. He had six receptions for 85 yards and two touchdowns. He had a 34-yard long. However, he wasn't only the veteran who was making moves. Kylen Granson also showed up today.
Quite the afternoon for Mo Alie-Cox. pic.twitter.com/s9Ej7X7C5R
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) October 2, 2022
He helped the offense in moving the chains throughout the game and made an incredible sideline catch. On four targets, the second-year tight end ended with four receptions for 62 yards. In all, the tight ends accounted for 50.5 percent of Ryan's passing yards. Looking ahead, tight ends are expected to be an integral element of Frank Reich's attack, thus the Colts must improve on their performance.
2. Jonathan Taylor was a non-factor
In the first three weeks of the season, the Titans allowed 145.0 running yards per game. With Jonathan Taylor in the backfield, this seemed like a good matchup for the Colts to get their rushing assault back on track. Titans coach Mike Vrabel, however, made certain that didn't happen. His defense went all-in to ensure Taylor had no impact on this game.
Tennessee appeared to be ready for every Taylor run, as their defensive front dominated the Indianapolis offensive line. Taylor had very little room to maneuver. Rushing lanes were clogged, and the Titans tackled really aggressively. Against the Colts, in fact, they recorded five tackles for loss.
Colts coach Frank Reich, however, did not back down from his strategy and continued to run Taylor against Tennessee's defensive wall all day. The running back ended with 20 carries for just 42 yards. The star also looked like he got hurt.
Taylor fumbled the ball away on third-and-short in his attempt to get the first down. He was later evaluated on the sideline for an ankle injury. He was classified doubtful, but he seemed to be ready to return if the Indianapolis offense needed him on the last drive.
His injury will be closely monitored ahead of Thursday's game against the Denver Broncos. Take note that the Colts have now gone three games without gaining at least 100 yards on the ground.
1. One King to rule them all
The Colts boasted one of the league's best run defenses entering Sunday, but Derrick Henry didn't care and just took it to them to start the game. At halftime, Henry had 99 running yards, and the Titans averaged 7.0 yards per carry. The first-half performance of the Colts defense, meanwhile, was unimpressive.
They were missing tackles and being outworked in the trenches. They were hardly making contact with Henry at the line of scrimmage. Gus Bradley's defense fared significantly better in the second half, though. The Colts limited Henry to 15 yards rushing in the remaining two quarters.
Henry still ended the game with 147 yards and two touchdowns. He was responsible for 60.4 percent of the Titans' offense. The defense played well in the second half, but by then it was too little, too late.
With their ground game on both ends of the field sputtering, the Colts just didn't have the legs to pull this one out at home.
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