The Colts’ trip to Arrowhead has put Shane Steichen and Lou Anarumo squarely in the spotlight, and the questions are coming fast.
For starters, there is no hiding from what last week revealed. The AFC did not suddenly turn into an easier road.
The Chiefs, Bills and Ravens all showed up with authority, and the Texans, Jags and Bengals also held up their end of the bargain. If there was any thought that the conference had softened, that idea took a hit.
For Indianapolis, the bigger issue is more immediate: there has to be a real answer for the linebacker play. The concern is not subtle. There is a worry that the offseason was built around a single scripted stretch of plays, and there is also skepticism about how much truth there was to the buzz around Walley’s practice work.
One proposed fix is moving the green dot from Bynum to a linebacker, with the hope that cleaner communication will help both the linebackers and the secondary. But that alone does not settle the biggest matchup concerns. There is still uncertainty about whether a Colts defender can be trusted to stop Kelce from getting what he wants in the middle of the field, and there is doubt about whether the group will hold up any better against K-9 than it did against Henry.
Then comes the problem of the blitz. Spagnuola’s pressure packages are coming, and the Colts need more than one answer.
They need plays ready for the all-out rush, not a reaction after the defense is already showing 17 men at the line of scrimmage. If the situation calls for a blitz, one is going to come.
There were at least some signs of life in the pass rush last week. The pressure on Jackson looked better than it has in a while, and that matters because Mahomes is just as slippery.
He can escape, extend, and even make a fake throw work once he’s beyond the line of scrimmage. Beating the Chiefs usually means a relentless rush, not just a few hurried pockets.
Indianapolis has to keep him moving and finish when it gets a hand on him.
On offense, the Colts also need more from the script. If scripting plays is as simple as it looked, then Steichen needs to script at least a half.
The start cannot unravel as quickly as it did last week. Indianapolis has to attack vertically and horizontally, and if Pierce is not ready for that job yet, then Downs needs to be sent downfield.
Or somebody does. The field has to stretch.
The offensive line may have a few more tools to work with, too. Cut blocks are legal, and the idea is simple enough: get a defender to the ground, force the next wave to navigate a mess, and maybe open up a sliver of space for a slant that has not shown up yet.
Even with all of that, there is still optimism here. There is also a real fear that the Colts could look better than they did a week ago and still leave Arrowhead empty-handed.
That is how hard this place has been, especially across the Mahomes years. And one win would change plenty.
It could even change how people feel about Jones after a line that read: Jones 19 - 31, 1 TD, 1 INT, 2 Sacks. Mahomes 15 - 27, 2 TDs, 1 INT, 2 Sacks.
Somehow Mahomes is back, but Jones is still injured? One win changes a lot, so I’m thinking we feel much better about Jones after this week.
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Warren pointed to those missed opportunities as the clearest issue to clean up, and it was hard to argue with him after the Colts repeatedly stalled on third downs and in the red zone. For a team trying to establish itself early in the season, those are the hidden problems that tend to linger if they are not addressed quickly, especially when defensive lapses are already adding pressure on the other side of the ball. [Read more 🡒]
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Colts Face A Brutal Chiefs Test In One Area That Could Decide It
The Colts are heading into a matchup with Kansas City that already looks like the kind of game where one area can tilt the whole afternoon, and Maurice Elston of Arrowhead Pride laid out why in a recent Q&A. His breakdown centered on what the Chiefs do best on defense, where they can be challenged, and how Indianapolis might try to navigate a unit that rarely gives away easy answers.
Elston also touched on Patrick Mahomes coming off his Week 1 return from injury, a development that always changes the feel of a Chiefs game even when the conversation starts with defense. He pointed to rookie wide receiver Cyrus Allen as a name to keep in mind for Kansas City, which only adds another layer to a matchup the Colts will need to manage carefully if they want to keep it from turning into a long day. [Read more 🡒]