INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indianapolis Colts quarterback Joe Flacco took a long, hard look at last week’s game tape and came to one conclusion.
He has to play better – and that includes the Colts’ offense.
Midway through his first season in Indy, the 39-year-old Flacco has taken over the starting job and is now trying to figure out how to jump-start the sluggish offense that has consistently struggled to stay on the field and sustain drives .
“It’s never easy to look in the mirror after losing,” Flacco said. “It’s just the nature of this company and that’s part of building a team so that we can actually meet these challenges. We’ve had that challenge a few times this year and we’ve done a good job (responding). We just have to keep doing that and trust that our preparation will get us into the game and allow us to play the way we want to.”
It certainly won’t be an easy Sunday Buffalo (7-2), a runaway leader in the AFC East, or with an offensive line that could once again start multiple rookies.
This is certainly not where the Colts (4-5) expected to be, trying to bounce back from back-to-back losses after getting back into the playoffs with four wins in five games. Or calling Flacco the starter about sophomore quarterback Anthony Richardson.
But the battle continues no matter who takes the photos. Richardson sat out last week when the Colts scored on a pick-6, settling for a field goal on another takeaway without getting a first down and driving for one field goal. The Colts finished with just 227 yards of offense.
That’s just not good enough.
“I think we had a couple third-and-mediums last week that we didn’t convert, but we’ve got to get back on track on third down,” coach Shane Steichen said. “I think we were pretty efficient there early in the season. The last two weeks have not been up to our standards, so we need to get back on track.”
The bills have their own offensive concerns.
Although Josh Allen was impressive, Throwing 17 TD passes and just two interceptions, injuries could cause his receiving corps to fall short on Sunday and the result could give James Cook a heavier workload on the ground against a Colts defense that has struggled all season to stop the run. Allen isn’t worried.
“It doesn’t have to be pretty, but good teams find ways to win,” Allen said. “We have a lot of guys in the locker room who don’t care about the end result, who don’t care about the style of it. They just want to make sure we find ways to get it done.”
The Colts are also trying to figure out how to get there.
Happy returns
The Bills welcomed two familiar faces this week in defensive tackles Jordan Phillips and Quinton Jefferson to improve their run defense.
Phillips is in his third stint with Buffalo, while Jefferson was with the Bills in 2020.
Their familiarity with the defense should ease the midseason transition, but coach Sean McDermott has not said whether either will play Sunday. Phillips spent seven weeks on Dallas’ reserve list with an injured wrist. Jefferson has been inactive for the last five games with Cleveland.
“It’s kind of like riding a bike,” said Phillips, who was not listed on Buffalo’s injury report. “They have some new things that I haven’t talked about yet, but I talked about today. So we’ll be fine.”
On the run
One possible solution to Indy’s offensive woes would be to get running back Jonathan Taylor more involved.
Part of the problem is continuity. While Taylor has battled an ankle injury all season, the Colts have also lost several linemen this season, which will likely happen again this week with center Ryan Kelly out. Right guard Will Fries already went down with what could be a season-ending lower leg injury.
The solution?
“We have to be physically present at the front. That’s where it starts,” Steichen said. “What can help us on our way? Obviously we want to create the explosives, but even the 4-5 yard runs, staying efficient in the run game will help.
Blitz timing
McDermott prefers his defense to apply pressure with the front four while choosing the spots to blitz.
“Just blitzing irresponsibly is sometimes irresponsible in some ways,” McDermott said, before noting that his philosophy could conflict with the teachings of his late mentor Jim Johnson in Philadelphia, who helped revolutionize the blitz.
Buffalo ranks 21st in the NFL in sacks per passing game this year. The Bills have 21 sacks and are led by Greg Rousseau (4 1/2) and Von Miller (three), the NFL’s active sack leader with 126 1/2. Miller returned last week after serving a four-game NFL suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.
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AP Sports Writer John Wawrow contributed.
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