RUN OFFENSE
What, you were expecting a productive afternoon in the rushing game? Not against the Houston Texans. Jonathan Taylor, who has run exceedingly well the first two games, couldn’t find any place to go, finishing with 68 yards on 23 carries, a measly 3.0 average with a long run of 11 yards. I thought the most telling run came from Daniel Jones, who showed surprising burst when he scrambled around the edge, lowered his shoulder as he approached the sideline and muscled his way for a short first down. It still blows me away that the Colts lost the turnover battle, 3-0, couldn’t run effectively and saw Jones have a substandard game…and won. It was the first time the Colts have lost the TO battle by three and won a game since 1999. I had hair in 1999. That’s a very long time.
GRADE: D
RUN DEFENSE
The Texans have two strong runners, David Montgomery and Woody Marks, but because of that offensive line, they haven’t established themselves as a productive running team. Houston managed 70 yards on 21 carries, a 3.3 yards-per-carry average. The tone, as usual, was set by DeForest Buckner, who’s having an amazing season after a serious neck surgery that had him thinking retirement this summer. All I know is, I had a neck fusion 20 years ago and still can’t play golf without pain. This guy is out there dominating, even on a team that stunk out the joint the first two weeks. Sunday, Buckner had seven combined tackles (two solo, five combined), 1.5 sacks, one tackle for loss and two quarterback hits. He had company with Adetomiwa Adebawore, who had 1.5 sacks, one tackle for loss and three quarterback hits. A yeoman’s performance by the whole group.
GRADE: A
