INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The best offense in the NFL isn’t showing any signs of slowing down.
The Colts raced away from the Chargers 38-24 in an impressive, overwhelming performance Sunday, blowing past Los Angeles to maintain the best record in the NFL and overcome a defense that looked overmatched at times.
Indianapolis (6-1) has questions to answer defensively.
But the offense looks like it’s here to stay.
1. On paper, the Los Angeles secondary looked like one of the NFL’s better units.
The Chargers entered Sunday’s game ranked sixth in the NFL in passing yards allowed per game (177.5), fourth in yards per dropback (5.7) and sixth in interception percentage (3.21%).
But the Los Angeles defense favors static coverages, rotating similar looks without disguising much, and Indianapolis head coach Shane Steichen has been excellent against defenses that are easy to read.
Colts quarterback Daniel Jones picked the Chargers apart. Los Angeles has a good pass rush, and the Chargers were able to move Jones off his spot in the pocket a few times. Veteran Khalil Mack even came away with a sack.
The rest of the time, Jones essentially did what he wanted. Jones completed 22 of 33 passes for 275 yards and two touchdowns, spreading the ball around easily to his receivers and repeatedly picking up first downs.
Jones has thrived this season because he’s excellent at identification. Making the picture easy for Jones to read is a losing proposition.
Thank goodness for DeForest Buckner
2. DeForest Buckner is still the Colts’ best defensive lineman.
Buckner has been besieged by double teams this season, and on one key play on Sunday, he was triple-teamed, a guard coming over to hit from the blind side while he tried to escape the other two Chargers interior linemen.
The thing about Buckner is he just keeps coming.
Held without a tackle for the first half, Buckner finished the game with five tackles, four quarterback hits and two critical sacks, making the first in the red zone and then coming up with the closer, a huge 12-yard sack of Herbert when it looked like the Chargers might finally cut the deficit to a single touchdown late in the fourth quarter.
Buckner has been the driving force for the Colts pass rush this season, creating most of the opportunities for other players to get home.
With Justin Herbert scrambling all over the field on Sunday, Buckner had to finish the game himself, and he came up big in a key moment.
3. Jonathan Taylor has been so brilliant this season that his statistical lines have started to feel commonplace.
Taylor, likely the focus of a Los Angeles defense that had struggled against the run this season, picked his way through huge holes in the Chargers front line for 94 yards on 16 carries and scored three touchdowns, the third time this season that he’s hit three touchdowns.
Indianapolis also threw it to Taylor three times for 38 yards, another sign that he’s been a complete back this season.
4. Alec Pierce is developing into a complete receiver right in front of everybody’s eyes.
Pierce could always get deep, and on a key third-and-17 early in the game, he beat the Chargers secondary to get wide open for a 48-yard gain, a reminder that he can always take the top off a defense.
It’s the other stuff that has made him devastating.
Pierce has become a receiver who can move the chains, lethal on crossing routes and other short throws. With a chance to put the game away at the end of the fourth quarter, Jones dropped back and fired a dart to a covered Pierce, who walled off the defender and made a difficult hands catch — the same qualities that make him so good deep — to end the game.
Pierce finished with five catches for 98 yards, and he looks closer to a No. 1 receiver than he’s ever looked before.
Colts pass rush isn’t good enough even against Chargers’ banged up line
5. The Indianapolis pass rush simply hasn’t been good enough off the edge this season.
Laiatu Latu, the first defender taken in the 2024 draft, was expected to take a huge step forward this season, becoming the kind of weapon off the edge that could wreak havoc on a game and give Buckner the help he needs. The team’s other defensive ends — Indianapolis lost Tyquan Lewis and Samson Ebukam to injury on Sunday — are power players who are good against the run, but they do not provide the early wins.
Latu was credited with a sack and four quarterback hits on Sunday, and he burnt himself out chasing a scrambling Herbert, who kept getting out of trouble with his legs.
But this was the game the Colts needed Latu to take over. Los Angeles is playing without its top three tackles — Rashawn Slater, Joe Alt and Trey Pipkins — and the Chargers did not have fourth tackle Austin Deculus on the left side for most of the first half.
The Colts have to dominate a line in that weakened position, considering that the Indianapolis cornerbacks have been hit as hard by injury as the Los Angeles tackles. Herbert’s mobility allowed him to escape a lot of rushes, but the pressure wasn’t consistent enough, allowing Herbert to rack up more than 400 passing yards.
Indianapolis did sack Herbert three times and hit him 15 times, but that’s to be expected with the Chargers offensive line in disarray. When the Colts play teams with their offensive lines intact, it will be difficult to stop them.
6. The Colts cornerback situation isn’t getting better any time soon.
With Charvarius Ward on injured reserve for at least four weeks, Indianapolis is starting Mekhi Blackmon and Jonathan Edwards, and even though both young players are fighting — Blackmon, in particular, is a physical player — the Los Angeles wide receivers tore them apart.
The Indianapolis pass rush is going to have to make up for it by getting to quarterbacks, unless, and probably even if Colts general manager Chris Ballard makes a trade.
Chargers tight end Oronde Gadsden had 164 yards receiving, Keenan Allen had 119 and the Chargers often had receivers wide open early in the snap, giving Herbert plenty of outlets.
7. The Chargers were one of the NFL’s best defenses against tight ends entering Sunday’s game. Armed with superstar Derwin James at strong safety, Los Angeles entered the game with the fifth-fewest catches and yards allowed to tight ends this season.
But Colts rookie Tyler Warren is not an ordinary tight end, and Steichen is no ordinary play designer.
Indianapolis got Warren free in the flat for 29 yards on the second play of the game, then used a similar play in the second half to get Warren up the right sideline for 29 more. Los Angeles entered Sunday’s game giving up 32.3 yards per game to tight ends; Warren finished with four catches for 69 yards and a touchdown on a slant to the back of the end zone.
Los Angeles clearly wanted to use James to shadow Warren, and when he could find the rookie, Jones often went elsewhere. On the other hand, the fact that the Colts still found ways to get the ball to Warren with James on the field is a signal the rookie is going to be difficult to take out of any Indianapolis game plan.
8. Nose tackle Grover Stewart created a couple of interceptions for Indianapolis early this season.
Big and powerful, Stewart drove his blocker into the quarterback’s face to create errant throws on both of Camryn Bynum’s interceptions the first two weeks. Outside of plays like those, Stewart typically does not provide much more than power in the passing game, a skill that can be valuable if a team is getting pressure off the edges.
The big nose tackle got a chance to make a play for himself on Sunday.
Working as a bull rusher again, Stewart got his hands in the air in front of Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert and knocked it high into the air, then made the catch as it came down, becoming the biggest Colt in history to ever make an interception in the process.
Stewart is listed at 314 pounds, and he actually weighs around 330. Before Stewart, the biggest Colt with an interception was Jon Hand, a 6-7, 300-pounder who made an interception as a rookie in 1986.
9. Strong safety Nick Cross likely isn’t getting enough credit for the way he’s played this season.
Cross does have limitations in coverage that can be exploited. He is also an explosive athlete, a physical and willing tackler who makes his presence felt with every hit.
His athleticism leads to big plays. Cross leads the Colts in tackles this season, has 1.5 sacks and made a remarkable pick on Sunday for his first interception of the season.
Working in one-on-one coverage, Cross fended off the physicality of Chargers wide receiver Quentin Johnston with his left hand, stopped the ball with his right hand and then cradled the ball with his left hand for an interception, a pick that became critical later with Herbert moving up and down the field.
Ameer Abdullah has become a key role player
10. Veteran running back Ameer Abdullah seemed like a pickup for insurance purposes only.
Abdullah, 32, was signed to the practice squad in response to Tyler Goodson’s elbow injury at the start of the season, and he did not play for the first four weeks. The Colts often sign veterans like Abdullah for emergencies, but players who are available in the middle of the season usually don’t have much left.
From the looks of it, Abdullah has plenty left at 32.
The veteran back, known for his time as a third-down back with the Lions, Vikings and Raiders, offered a few flashes in the last couple of weeks.
He broke out on Sunday. Abdullah carried twice for 19 yards, caught a pass for eight yards and returned a kickoff 81 yards at the start of the second half, displaying impressive burst for a 32-year-old. The Colts clearly trust him; Indianapolis rarely gives a carry to any back other than Taylor, and Abdullah was given back-to-back carries in the first half, a sign the Colts see him as a viable change-of-pace to Taylor.
Joel A. Erickson covers the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts thoughts: Daniel Jones, DeForest Buckner and Laiatu Latu
