Over the last several games played by the Indianapolis Colts, ESPN NFL analyst Ben Solak has identified a trend that he believes is playing a major role in the offensive ups and downs we’ve seen from this team.

As Solak notes, three of Daniel Jones’ worst outings by EPA (expected points added) per dropback have occurred in the Colts‘ last three games.

So what’s the problem?

If you ask Solak, it’s that too many pressures are turning into sacks.

Through the first eight games of the season, Jones’ pressure-to-sack rate was among the lowest in football. Over the last several weeks, it has increased to the level it was at during Jones’ tenure with the Giants.

Daniel Jones’ pressure to sack rate (5-game averages)

Was pretty consistently around 20% for his career in New York.

First eight weeks with the Colts: dropped below 10%.

Last few weeks with the Colts: right back up to Giants levels again pic.twitter.com/qBd713vW9l

— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) November 24, 2025

With time in the pocket, the Colts can have five pass catchers as options for Jones in the passing game. But when there is pressure, additional players have to block to provide that time, taking players away from route-running responsibilities.

“With fewer routes in the concept, the Colts’ preposterously deep room of pass catchers becomes easier to account for in coverage,” wrote Solak. “When Jones could pick his man coverage matchup across the board of Josh Downs, Alec Pierce, Michael Pittman Jr. and Tyler Warren, the defense was likely to lose over time. But now that eligible receivers are getting stuck in pass protection, the Colts become easier to defend.”

Solak also points out that with there being more pressure on Jones, Shane Steichen has been far less aggressive with his play calling.

And with Jones facing more steady pressure, he’s getting the ball out more quickly, which means fewer intermediate and downfield opportunities to generate chunk plays.

In the game of football, there is very rarely ever one thing behind any success or failure. But Solak seems to believe strongly that the Colts’ offensive woes in recent games are largely a product of the pressure opposing defenses have generated and how Indianapolis is countering that.

This article originally appeared on Colts Wire: The big problem Colts’ offense must overcome, says NFL analyst