The Dopey Report Card (Colts-Panthers)

Simply call it the Kenny Moore II game. The Colts' nickel corner dominated this game with two pick sixes, the first time that's happened in franchise history.

RUN OFFENSE

The good news is, the Colts rediscovered Jonathan Taylor, handing off to him 18 times and throwing to him five times. This is a significant departure from last week, when he rushed for 94 or his 95 yards in the first half, then was made to disappear by the coaching staff. The bad news is, the running game, facing one of the worst run defenses in the league, produced just 78 rushing yards on 30 carries, a 2.6 yard-per-carry average. The Colts’ offense managed a grim total of 195 total yards, the fourth lowest total in a victory since 1984. If not for Kenny Moore II – we might mention him a time or two – the Colts would have found themselves in the middle of a tight, low-scoring game. Unimpressive, to say the least.

GRADE: D

RUN DEFENSE

Shaq Leonard may not be making the splash plays for which he has become famous throughout his career, but that’s two straight games with 10 tackles, the latter coming with Zaire Franklin injured and \out of the lineup. We haven’t seen the game-changing plays – yet – and there’s no way of knowing if the old Shaq will eventually return, but the past two weeks have been promising. In the game, he bypassed former Colt safety Antoine Bethea for most tackles by an Indy player in the first six seasons (565). DeForest Buckner was a game-changer Sunday, dominating in the run and pass game, finishing with four solo tackles,  two tackles for loss, a sack and two passes defensed when he used his height to bat down two passes by the undersized Bryce Young. Carolina ran the ball effectively, however: 138 rushing yards on 28 carries, a 4.9 yard average. Still, after giving up an average of 38 points per game in their previous three games, this was a massive improvement.

GRADE: C+