Dopey Report Card (Colts-Titans)

A 300-yard-plus game for Gardner Minshew. Six sacks of Will Levis. Two 100-yard receiving days. That's four wins in a row. The Colts are in the playoff hunt. Imagine.

RUN OFFENSE

I wasn’t expecting much from the run game against a Tennessee team ranked sixth in the league against the run coming into the game. Indy managed 55 yards (51 from Zack Moss) and that was it. Tennessee did what it wanted to do, putting the ball in Gardner Minshew’s hands, but Minshew, and his receivers, made them pay. Despite the running issues, Indy won its fourth straight for the first time since 2018, swept Tennessee for the first time since 2018 and scored 20+ points for the 11^th time in 12 games.

GRADE: C-

RUN DEFENSE

Welcome back, Grover Stewart. As soon as he exited the lineup due to a PED suspension, the Colts’ run defense went straight to hell. Sunday was another in a stretch of porous performances, the Colts surrendering 177 yards on 42 carries, and the 4.2 yards-per-carry average would have been worse if not for punter Ryan Stonehouse’s “fumble” and loss of 11 yards. They had been allowing 148.2 rushing yards per game the previous five games, but now Stewart comes back, and while he may not cure all their ills, he’s established himself as a significant game-changer and figures to upgrade a struggling unit. Derrick Henry went for 102 yards before suffering a concussion, then Tyjae Spears added 75 in his stead.

GRADE: C-