The Dopey Report Card

Lots of good stuff from the Colts' 31-20 victory at Houston: a running game, six sacks of the Houston quarterback, no sacks allowed, and more. Now about that Anthony Richardson concussion...

RUN OFFENSE

One week after Deon Jackson fumbled twice and the rushing game accounted for 25 measly yards against Jacksonville, the Colts were thrilled to get Zack Moss back in the lineup. Look, he’s no Jonathan Taylor – very few backs are anywhere close to Taylor – but he’s a definite upgrade. Give credit to the offensive line as well, which helped him run for 88 yards on 18 carries and did not give up a single sack. Anthony Richardson had two touchdown runs early in the game but was concussed on his second scoring run and eventually had to leave the game. As for Taylor, he’s got two more games on the PUP list, at which point both him and the Colts have some difficult decisions to make. This could get uglier before any resolution is reached. More on that in the coming weeks.

Grade:B

RUN DEFENSE

You could see this coming from miles away. Houston was missing four of its five starters on the offensive line, including tackle Laremy Tunsil, their best lineman. If the Colts had struggled in this area Sunday, alarm bells would have gone off. Not to worry: Houston did next-to-nothing on the ground, finishing with 52 yards, the lowest total allowed by the Colts since Week 4 of 2021 against Miami. Another monster statistical game for Zaire Franklin, who had 13 tackles and one tackle for loss. His 30 tackles in two games are the most by a Colts defender through two weeks of a season. E.J. Speed was everywhere as well, finishing with six tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack. More good play from DeForest Buckner (two tackles for loss and a sack) and Kwity Paye (five tackles, one tackle for loss and a sack).

Grade: A