Retour
A third straight loss leaves the Indianapolis Colts facing an uncomfortable reality: the season is slipping away, and the offense is now a major reason why.
For once, the defense held up its end against the undefeated Minnesota Vikings. Indianapolis still walked away with a 16-10 loss and a 2-5 record.
There aren't many players trending upward right now, but a couple deserve some credit. Here are my two risers and three fallers from Week 7.
With Sauce Gardner sidelined, Walley stepped into a bigger role at outside corner and delivered his best performance of the season.
He earned a 94.2 coverage grade from Pro Football Focus, the highest in the NFL in Week 7. Walley allowed just 16 receiving yards and forced a fumble.
Unfortunately, he suffered an injury and never returned. That's a tough way to end a breakout game, because outside corner looks like exactly where he belongs.
Facing one of the NFL's most aggressive defenses, Raimann was one of the few Indianapolis offensive linemen who didn't look overwhelmed.
He posted an 89.5 pass-blocking grade, the third-highest among NFL offensive linemen in Week 7, and helped spring Jonathan Taylor's 38-yard touchdown with a downfield block.
The Daniel Jones situation is getting more concerning by the week.
He finished 13-of-22 for 108 yards, zero touchdowns and a game-sealing interception, earning a 46.5 PFF passing grade.
Through seven games, Jones has 1,398 passing yards, four touchdowns and seven interceptions while completing just 59.6% of his passes.
Yes, he's missing weapons, and Minnesota's pressure was absurd. But his mobility has vanished, the missed throws keep piling up.
The calls for Anthony Richardson are only getting louder.
This is a name I never expected to see on the fallers list.
Shrader entered Sunday without a missed field goal this season, then missed from 56 and 48 yards in the second half. Both were long attempts, but Indianapolis desperately needed those points in a six-point loss.
He's been too reliable for us to panic after one game. Still, this was an uncharacteristically rough afternoon for a guy who has made a habit of drilling everything.
Minnesota's pass rush was a nightmare for this offensive line, and Travis had his share of struggles at right tackle.
He allowed six pressures and finished with the 134th-ranked pass-blocking grade among 157 offensive linemen who played in Week 7, according to PFF.
That's simply not going to cut it, especially with Daniel Jones already struggling to operate under pressure.
Indianapolis finally got a defensive performance good enough to win. If this offense doesn't figure things out soon, that won't matter much.