Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - HISTORIC: Jonathan Taylor has Indianapolis Colts in ELITE Company This Season

Episode Date: October 28, 2025

Indianapolis Colts' running back Jonathan Taylor heads one of the best rushing attacks in modern NFL history this season. Today, we dissect the core aspects of this run game and why the Colts have bee...n so dominant up front. Become a Locked On Colts insider! Ask your burning questions and get prompt answers from someone who's around the team every day! Get special access from the locker room, practice field, and press box! JOIN HERE! Find and follow Locked On Colts on your favorite podcast platforms:🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-colts/📺YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLdpxJspi1hMh5HL7ExpWOQLocked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft & More🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-nfl/ Follow Jake's written work on roundtable.io/sports/nfl/colts/ and Zach's on si.com/nfl/colts/, and give them a follow on Twitter @JakeArthurNFL, @ZachHicks2, and @LockedOnColts! Today's episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!PelotonLet yourself run, lift, flex, and push forward. Explore the new Peloton Cross Training Tread+ today at https://www.onepeloton.com.PrizePicksDownload the PrizePicks app today and use code LOCKEDONNFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup.Click Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFLRugietReady to level up your confidence? Head to https://rugiet.comand use promo code LOCKEDONNFLfor 15% off your first order.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelRight now, new customers can bet just FIVE dollars, and if your bet wins—you’ll get THREE HUNDRED dollars in bonus bets to use across the app.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as non-withdrawable free bets that expire in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

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Starting point is 00:00:00 The Indianapolis Colts have one of the greatest run games in modern NFL history in 2025. Let's get to it. You are Locked on Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Thank you all for making Locked on Colts your first listen every single day.
Starting point is 00:00:30 the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Today's episode is brought to you by Fanduil. Right now, new customers can bet just $5. And if your first bet wins, you'll get $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. Hello, everyone. My name is Zach Hicks, your resident film nerd of horseshoe huddle.com. My usual partner, Jake Arthur, is the credential boots on the ground for roundtable sports. He is not here today, but don't worry. I have a very fun show plan for you guys. We're going to dive into some, some Zach Hicks related topics here on the show. First off, we're going to dissect this Colts running game and talk about just the historic pace it is on behind Jonathan Taylor and this Colts offensive line. Then we're going to dive into
Starting point is 00:01:10 Shane Steichen's aggressiveness and how the Colts two matchups with the Tennessee Titans display just the comparison between good coaching and bad coaching in the NFL. And then we're going to preview this Colts offense versus the Steelers defense and discuss how I'm pretty optimistic about the Colts' offenses chances, even though they're going on the road into a hostile environment here in week nine. But first off, guys, the main story of today, let's talk about this Colts run game. This Colts run game, I really don't think it's crazy to say this is one of the best rushing offenses in modern NFL history.
Starting point is 00:01:47 I think you can look at this from multiple different stats and angles. One is in terms of EPA per play. And yes, this is getting boosted a little bit by the fact that the Colts have like 20 rushing touchdowns through eight weeks to. zero fumbles, and that does propel it a little bit. But even with that, just in terms of EPA per play alone, the Colts run game is the sixth best offense in football. So if the Colts, if you take out all of their passing production in this season and only have their rushing production, the EPA per play, the points added per play that they have, is the sixth best
Starting point is 00:02:23 offense in football. Obviously, when you add a pretty efficient passing game on top of that, They're by far in a way the number one offense in the league, but that shows just how dominant this rushing offense has been. They're also the third best team in terms of rush success rate. This is all obviously behind Jonathan Taylor leading the NFL with 850 yards rushing, 12 rushing touchdowns, and 5.9 yards per carry. This Colts offense is just clicking on the ground, and they're kind of doing everything right right now.
Starting point is 00:02:54 One thing I also want to add, too, on top of this is, is speaking of EPA per play, this is the best rushing offense in terms of EPA per play in the last 10 years. I only have stats going back to 2016, so, you know, maybe there's some before that. But in the last 10 years, by far and away, the best rushing offense in terms of EPA per play in the NFL, even more so than the Lamar Jackson MVP seasons, where they were getting production from their quarterback and from their running back, even more so than some of these Eagles teams in recent years, where Jalen Hertz was.
Starting point is 00:03:27 rushing for like 20 touchdowns in the season, you know, this Colts rushing offense blows them out of the water. This is one of the most efficient and effective rushing offenses that we have seen in recent NFL history. And I want to dissect this run game a little bit. Let's talk about just kind of why it's so successful and why it's been successful to this degree. Before we get into those four core elements, again, one of the biggest parts is the fact that they haven't fumbled the ball and the fact that they're rushing for a lot of touchdowns. So getting that outlier aspect out of the way, it will come down a little bit once they have some fumbles this year. But getting that out of the way, I really broke this down to four core tenets of why they've had so
Starting point is 00:04:06 so much success on the ground. One, Jonathan Taylor's been playing like a superhuman this season. I have never seen a player get this much better from year five to year six. And this is not like we're talking about a year six breakout where, you know, a fringe roster player becomes a starter or a starter becomes a star. It's not something like that. This is a guy going from an already, like, a Hall of Fame trajectory, a star player, elevating his game so much in year six that this is like a Hall of Fame caliber season that he's putting forward.
Starting point is 00:04:40 He's on pace for like, what, 2,000 total yards, nearly 30 combined touchdowns, averaging almost six yards of carry. This is one of the greatest running back seasons we've seen in modern NFL history. And this is coming off of last year where Sequin Barclay ran for 2,000. yard. It's a fantastic season from Sequin Barclay. But just Jonathan Taylor's production, his efficiency, his effectiveness, his ability to create after contact, his vision at the point of attack, the way that he's creating hidden yardage for this team. And also just his ability to mitigate negative plays. He's not getting tackled for a loss. He's rarely getting tackled for short yardage. A lot of his runs are falling forward, driving the pile, getting positive
Starting point is 00:05:24 gains. So obviously where this starts, where the success starts in the ground game is just Jonathan Taylor being a superhuman. We've seen other guys have some production when they run the ball this year, Amir Abdullah and Tyler Goodson and DJ Giddens. They've been effective and fine. But it starts and ends with Jonathan Taylor being just a fantastic all around running back in 2025. The next aspect, though, that I think is very, very important. One is Quentin Nelson putting together like a Jonathan Taylor level season just at left guard. His run blocking has been some of the best that I have ever seen from the position. He has moving players.
Starting point is 00:06:01 He's been dominant out in space. He's been powerful at the point of attack. It has been a special, special season from Quentin Nelson, but also the emergence of Tanner Bordellini, especially in the last three weeks. We have seen Tanner Bordellini go from this young, promising center that has a couple gaffes in his game to looking like an all-pro center, this past. month of play. He has been absolutely phenomenal in all aspects and his ability to reach and torque and move defenders, especially only zone runs the Colts are operating out of,
Starting point is 00:06:33 has just been in something special. And then his ability to locate guys at the second level with either again on zone runs staying on his own tracks or if they're using some power stuff, just getting out in space and getting a hat on a defender, he has been special in the run game recently. And I think those two guys particularly, and this is not to down play anybody else on the offensive line. Baron Hart Ryman's been fantastic. Mackinsawvis is getting better each week. Braden Smith's been very good. But those two guys on the interior, especially Nelson's special season and
Starting point is 00:07:02 Bordellini, it's just becoming one of the best run blocking centers in the league, I think has really propelled this offense forward and had this run game be so effective. But now getting to the coaching point, getting to my third point that I really want to make a big key of is just the diversity of formations and diversity of looks that they are giving defenses. You know, Shane Steigant in the past has lived out of 11 personnel. They love 11 personnel, one tight end, one running back, multiple wide receivers, spread it out and use like the lighter box to propel your running game. And we are seeing success out of 11 personnel this year. The Colts are the number one rushing offense in the NFL this year out of 11 personnel. But what has
Starting point is 00:07:42 been really different this year is the effectiveness in 12 and 13 personnel. So when they are getting heavier personnel sets, they're getting two tight ends on the field. the Colts are the number three rushing offense in EPA per play. When they're going to 13 personnel jumbo sets and really telling the defense, like, hey, we're probably going to run out of this personnel set. They're still the number 10 rushing offense in terms of EPA per play. And a lot of those are coming in short yardage situations as well. So they have been effective in all three of those personnel groups.
Starting point is 00:08:11 The Colts are able to just mix and match what they want to do. Tyler Warren's flexibility to be a fullback or out in space really helps in this regard. and then also just the other guys getting involved. You know, Moe-A-Cox has been a fantastic second tight-in. Drew Ogletree has been doing some work in the running game. Michael Pittman, Jr., Alec Pierce, even Josh Downs at times, are coming in here and blocking at a very high level. So it's not just been the offensive line and Jonathan Taylor.
Starting point is 00:08:37 It's the other guys, too, not even just Tyler Warren, but Moe-A-Cox, Drew Ogletree, Michael Pittman Jr. coming in and playing sniffer tight-in and inserting against linebackers. These guys have all been just buying into the running game, And you're getting, you know, if Taylor is your rusher and Jones is handing the ball off, you're getting nine other guys on the field that are blocking at a very, very high level for the Colts right now in the running game. And they're consistently blocking throughout the play and giving all the time and space that Jonathan Taylor needs.
Starting point is 00:09:06 So that diversity of attack, diversity of formations and just making defense's second guess everything, I think has been key. But to me, the most important aspect, this is the most important aspect of the entire equation. aside, I guess, from Jonathan Taylor just being non-human, but this Colts offense is not dependent on the running game. It is a fantastic aspect of the team, and they go to it when they need it, and it's been fantastic, again, overall, just for this offense all year.
Starting point is 00:09:35 But they are not a run-first team. They're not a run-dependent team. They are a pass-first team. They throw at like a 70, 75% rate in the first half of games, and Jonathan Taylor this year is on pace for 303 carries. To put that in perspective, last year he had 303 carries playing in like 13 and a half games. In his career, like just game breaking season back in 2021, in 16 games, he had 332 carries. So he was the offense, those seasons.
Starting point is 00:10:05 This year, 303 carries, he's been the most efficient he's ever been with nearly six yards per carry. The Colts are getting into a lot of games where they don't need him to carry the ball 30 times into a pile. they are using him as this spare weapon and just ripping it out when they need to. Like just whenever we need a big play, we're going to give a couple carries here and there to Taylor, but we're going to throw for 200 yards in the first half and then you get the Jonathan Taylor treatment in the second half.
Starting point is 00:10:33 That's really where a lot of success has been. So the fact that the Colts aren't overly reliant on Jonathan Taylor just making magic happen for them is why we're seeing it be so effective and efficient and especially when they get in the red zone, we're seeing it be very good as well. So those are really the big reasons why I think this run game is off to historic pace. Again, the number one rush offense in terms of EPA for play in the last 10 years.
Starting point is 00:10:57 They'd be the number six overall offense in football with just the running game alone. They are off to historic pace. And I think this is one of the best rushing offenses that I have ever seen in my time covering and watching the NFL. But coming up, guys, we're going to transition to another topic that's close to my heart. I wrote a whole article for Horseshoe Huddled about how Shane Steichen's aggressiveness as a head coach is something that we really need to admire and be excited about. I'm going to dive into that more here in segment two. I'm Cody Rourke from Lockdown Bracko's, and this episode is brought to you by Peloton.
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Starting point is 00:12:29 treadplus at one peloton.com. Already, locked on Colts, everydayers, we are back. getting on to, again, some Zach Hicks topics today in the first segment, I broke down this cult historic pace that they're on with their rushing offense. Now I really want to just pull the curtain back and talk all about Shane Steichen. And the biggest reason why I want to give some praise to the Colts head coach and just the staff that he's put around him is because I've had to watch the Tennessee Titans twice this year. The Tennessee Titans in a lot of ways are the opposite of
Starting point is 00:13:04 the Colts this season. They are dysfunctional. They are cowardly. They are just struggling in every aspect. They have the flash at quarterback. I mean, Cam Ward, I think, has some goods there at quarterback. But aside from that, they are a roster that, they're a roster in an organization that needs a lot of help right now. And these two games against the Titans back in week three in this past one in week eight have really made something abundantly clear to me. And I think to just the whole NFL world that I just want to point out here in, I guess a long form style here on the podcast, but just the coaching discrepancy between these two teams. You know, we can go back to week three when their intended coach was the head coach.
Starting point is 00:13:45 So week three, probably the most frustrating aspect, I guess, even for me as a Colts fan, just being annoyed for Titans fans was back in week three, the Colts jumped out to a 17 point lead. They were flying, they were cruising. They had a pick six from Kenny Moore to start the game, and they were just kicking butt in that first quarter. But as the NFL goes, in quarter two, the Titans were making some headway. coming back. They brought it to a 17 to 6 game and they had the ball just before half time and they were moving down the field. Brian Callahan, the then head coach of the Tennessee Titans,
Starting point is 00:14:21 had a fourth and one opportunity at the, what, the Colts 39 or like 40 yard line or something like that. And they had a chance to go for it there, kill some more clock, kick a field goal right before half and make this an eight point game coming out of the half against a Colts team that was, you know, still trying to find their legs a little bit. And I, I think that they had a chance to make that a real game. But instead of going for that fourth and one, we saw some very cowardly coaching where Brian Callahan took a delay a game with his field goal unit on the field.
Starting point is 00:14:52 It backed them up, forced a 60-something-yard kick. Grover Stewart blocks that kick. The Colts go down, waste the time, kick a chip-shot field goal, and what should have been an eight-point game at halftime turned into a 14-point game. And then from there, the Colts turned that into a 21-point victory. at the Tennessee Titans home field that too. That's embarrassing when your divisional opponent beat you by three scores on your home field.
Starting point is 00:15:17 But it doesn't just end there with this Colts and Titans just matchup here. Brian Callahan is fired or getting into week eight. These two teams are in drastically different positions. The Colts are six and one. The Titans are one and six. They have no life. The Colts have all the life in the world. But even so, because this is the NFL, this game was pretty close on Sunday to start out.
Starting point is 00:15:38 I mean, obviously to start the game, it was zero-zero, but like after halftime, this game was pretty close. The Colts were up by 10, not really playing their best football. The Titans got the ball out of half. They're driving down the field. They're making things happen. Third and three from the Colts side of the field, they run the ball, set up a fourth and three. And when you're a one-and-six team, you're thinking, yeah, go for it. You're one in six going against a divisional opponent that is six-and-one leading the NFL.
Starting point is 00:16:05 And instead of that, interim coach, Mike McCoy, decides. to punt it. Punts it back to the Colts. The Colts get the ball at the, it's actually a touchback, so it makes it just doubly worse there. Very next play, Jonathan Taylor rips off an 80-yard touchdown run, big six-point swing, or I guess seven-point swing at that point that turned a feasible 10-point deficit into a 17-point deficit, and the Colts went on to win by 24. So look, the Titans were not going to win either of these matchups against the Colts. The Colts are just the better team, the quarterback's playing much better for the Colts, and everything was just clicking for the Colts where the Titans are just an absolute mess.
Starting point is 00:16:42 But the reason why the Colts have a plus 45 differential in two games against a divisional opponent, no matter how bad this divisional opponent is, is the difference in coaching. Cowardly coaching doesn't get you anywhere in the NFL. And a lot of you guys are watching this saying, man, why are we talking so much about the Titans on Locked-on Colts? It's because I want to bring this back to Shane Steichen. Shane Steichen is not the same kind of coward that Mike McCoy or Brian Callahan or some other coaches that he has gone against this season. When Stuyken has been on opponent's side
Starting point is 00:17:13 of the field this year, he's had nine opportunities in fourth or fourth and two or fewer in opponent territory. The Colts have gone for it on all nine times and they converted all nine. We've had multiple situations where they've had a couple drives where they've gone for it twice on opponent's side of the field in these fourth and short situations. In just the last two years, going back to the early 2024, they've gone for it in 20 out of 21 such situations in fourth and two or shorter. The only time they didn't go for it was week 18 against the Jacksonville Jaguars when they kicked a go-ahead field goal with like, what, three minutes left in the game, eventually they end up winning that game.
Starting point is 00:17:51 And even when you expanded out to fourth and three, because again, the Titans went, kicked it on a fourth and three situation this past week, it's still 24 of 30 for the Colts the last two years. And even in there, there's a couple situations where there's extenuating circumstances where a quarterback got hurt. It was a go-ahead field goal. There was a kick before the half in one of them. So overall, Shane Steichen has been a very aggressive coach when he's on opponent's side of the field because he understands that's what it takes to win in the NFL. If we want to bring it back to the Colts versus Titans games, these last two matchups, in that same span, those two games, Those two games where the Titans cowardly kicked the ball on the Colts side of the field.
Starting point is 00:18:31 Shane Stuyken went for it all three times in these two matchups where he had a fourth and two or shorter on the Titan side of the field. Converted all three of them. Two of those, the Colts were ended up scoring touchdowns, the other one that kicked a field goal. That's a 17 point difference that maybe wouldn't have been there if it weren't for Shane Stuyken's aggressiveness. So all this to say, it's so good to have a coach that understands how to win in this league. Look at some of the best coaches in football. Look at what Andy Reid does with the Kansas City cheese. Look at Dan Campbell.
Starting point is 00:19:00 Gosh, look at Dan Campbell for sure in what he does with the Detroit Lions. Look at Nick Siriani with the Philadelphia Eagles. You know, these are championship winning coaches or coaches that have been on the cusp of winning championships. What do they do when they get into fourth and short? They go for it. They know that you need to put touchdowns on the board to win in the modern NFL. It's more important to get those touch.
Starting point is 00:19:21 Especially if you're going to be kicking the ball back off nowadays, where teams are getting the ball at the 35 or 40 yard line. You need to make your points count. You need to make your point seven. And that's what Stuyken understands. And this is part of the reason why the Colts have been so effective and efficient this year. Shane Stuyken's aggressiveness. So big shout out to Shane Stuyken and all the people involved with game managing.
Starting point is 00:19:42 Charlie Gelman's the Colts game manager does great job on game days as well. Just watching what the Titans have done in the two matchups against the Colts this year made me just so much more appreciative of Shane Stikin. you can't be stuck in the past or just stuck in your own head when you're coaching in the NFL. Yes, the Colts have made some mistakes. They were a little bit too passive against the Denver Broncos early in the season. It almost cost them that game because they were so just dependent on trying to kill all that clock. But one thing I think you'll never have, you'll never find with Shane Steichen is the situation we saw on Sunday where Cam Ward is coming off the field
Starting point is 00:20:17 on that fourth and three decision, yelling at Mike McCoy saying we got to go for it. You will never see a Colts player yelling at Shane Stuyken saying we got to go for it because Stuyken will be on board with going for it. Heck, against the Chargers this year, they went for it on their own 39 yard line on one of the drives, able to convert to converted two more fourth downs on that drive and ended up scoring a touchdown to put up 14 points early in that game. Stikin goes for it. And I think that that's something that we really need to admire with this head coach where he trusts his players. The offense understands what needs to be done. And they're one of the best short yardage offenses in football as well. So, you know, a bit of a tangent there, obviously complaining a lot about having
Starting point is 00:20:55 to watch the Titans twice this season. But I'm very appreciative for the Colts having a modern style NFL coach who understands that aggressiveness is how you win games. So coming up, guys, I've done my two tangents on two topics. I'm very passionate about. Now let's preview this Colts offense versus Steelers defense. And while some people are thinking that the Colts offense might somehow come back to Earth again because they're facing. a good team or an average team, I don't think that this is going to be the week, even with the road game in Pittsburgh. But first, let's be real, guys. Making excuses doesn't solve anything. We've all heard them
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Starting point is 00:23:12 So head to Fandu.com to sign up today and play your game with Fandul, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. All righty, locked on Colts every day as we are back with our final segment for today's show talking all about this Colts and Steelers matchup. And I don't want to go into it too much here because the Colts and Steelers are going to be our topic for the rest of the week. It's a very important topic, very big game for both of these teams. Steelers trying to get back on track. The Colts trying to keep everything rolling and keep showing that they can be better than the basement dwellers, which they've done twice already this season for anyone doubting this offense or the same.
Starting point is 00:23:51 team. But I really wanted to dive into this Colts offense versus Steelers defense because the Steelers defense on paper is a pretty big test for the Colts. You know, when you look at it, it's the highest paid defense in football. They have some big time difference makers in T.J. Watt, Cam Hayward, Alex Highsmith, Nate Herbig has been fantastic this year. In the secondary, they have Jalen Ramsey, Darius Slay. They're, Dary, or Porter Jr. as well, Joey Porter Jr., not Darren Porter, Joey Porter Jr. There in the secondary, they have a lot of difference makers there on that defense that should be better than what they've been in recent weeks.
Starting point is 00:24:29 They've had a really tough last month, but the Steelers, again, they still have the talent on that side of the ball. That should give a team, even like the Colts, a little bit of struggle. But one thing I really want to go into is Shane Steichen in his career, especially with the Indianapolis Colts, just feast on static defenses. Static defenses, and by static defenses, I'll invoke the name of Gus Bradley here for a second, which always made it kind of weird that the Colts kept Gus Bradley
Starting point is 00:24:55 for a couple years under Stuyken, and it made the move to Louana Rumo make all the more sense because if you're showing the same picture pre-and-post snap or you're typically going to be in similar coverages or you're going to commit yourself to a style of play throughout the course of a game, Shane Steichen is too good of an offensive coach to let that beat him, you know, unless his offensive line is just getting their butt kicked
Starting point is 00:25:19 every single snap. Stuyken is just too smart of a coach to let the same thing on defense, the same looks beat him. The only way to really get under Shane Stikin's skin and really throw him off is to mix and match as much as possible, change tendencies, show different things pre and post snap, bring unique and different pressures. I mean, again, you look at what Louana Rumo does for the Colts, and the Colts defense hasn't been perfect this year, but what do they do on a regular basis. They mix and match coverages. They are bringing these really cool, unique pressure packages where
Starting point is 00:25:52 maybe they're only bringing like four guys, but it could be Buckner, plus Lottu, plus Cross, and Zaire Franklin with defensive ends dropping in the coverage. Those are the style of defenses that have given Shane Steichen issues in the past. That's why the Mike McDonald's style defenses and his
Starting point is 00:26:08 disciples have been issues for him. Brian Flores type of defenses have been issues for him as well. Those things are the only ways to really get after Shane Steck and create turnovers and get his defenses in a funk. Now we're getting into this season, though, where he's kind of figured out those issues because he has an historic run game because Daniel Jones has been so great under pressure and a lot of these skill position players are making out of the world plays. But yeah, in the past,
Starting point is 00:26:37 it has been the static defenses that he's killed, the Gus Bradley style defense. The defense is where we're going to sit and cover three and we're just going to be so good in our technique that we're going to dare offense is to try the cover three beaters. And same with like the old Tampa 2 type coaches and such like that. Now when we get to the Pittsburgh Steelers, you know, they've kind of been stuck in the past in these last couple of years where, yes, they do mix and match some things here and there. Like they ran a lot of cover of one man against the Green Bay Packers this past weekend,
Starting point is 00:27:07 but they do have a lot of static tendencies to them, a lot of spot dropping in there, a lot of just leaky play and mix and poor assignments. And when you bring that into a Shane Stuyken, any kind of Shane Stuyken offense, it leads to big time results for what Stuyken wants to do. We look at the last two years. The Colts had three quarterbacks play against the Steelers defense last year with Richardson getting hurt in the first quarter and Flacco coming in the year before Gardner Minchu out there. And the Colts would drop 30 points and 27 points in those two matchups respectively. And while it doesn't seem like much looking at it from the 2025 Colts perspective, those last two years, that's a ton of points. for the Colts, especially against, again, one of the higher-paid defenses the last two years.
Starting point is 00:27:50 We're looking at Minchu having one of his career best games against the Steelers. We're looking at Richardson had three completions for almost 80 yards in the match of last year. Flacco had a couple touchdown passes. Even that Minchu won a couple years ago, Trace Serman was the lead running back in that game. We didn't even have Jonathan Taylor in that showing, and Zach Moss got hurt early. So, you know, Siken has been able to put up points on the Steelers defense in the past. And they haven't really changed much in terms of what they do defensively. Same defensive coordinator, same things that Tomlin wants them to do.
Starting point is 00:28:22 And they just kind of rely on being good in their technique and being sound. And with what the Colton been doing this year on offense, just in terms of using pre-snap motion to identify where you're weak, to manipulating matchups, to get, you know, Tyler Warren on the best matchup possible, to get Josh Downs on the best matchup possible, you know, to get Alec Pierce one-on-one down the, the sideline, you know, I just, I don't think a static defense can, can solve this. You know, there's always the avenue where the Steelers team can overperform expectations
Starting point is 00:28:54 because T.J. Watt just goes crazy or because Alex Highsmith or Nate Herbert, they go crazy up front. But aside from that happening, I don't see many ways for this Steelers defense to really get into this Colts offense. They are just too static. They're too undisciplined in a lot of ways. And that's why we've seen 300-yard passers in three of the last four weeks against them from Jordan Love, Joe Flacco, and Carson Went. So, I mean, like outside of Jordan Love, we're not talking about the greatest quarterbacks in the world here, but they've been able to throw for 300-plus yards against this defense because of that static tendency. Static defenses are kind of a thing of the past. And the current trend in the NFL is to mix the picture as much as possible. And, you know,
Starting point is 00:29:35 it's one thing when you're doing that against Flacco and Zach Taylor with the Bengals. Flacco on a short week or Carson Wentz and what the Vikings are doing, but it's another thing when you're running against this Colts offense with how Shane Stike in his call games, with how Daniel Jones is played, and what these Colts skill position players and offensive linemen are doing currently to opposing defenses. Like, you know, if you thought it was bad when you went against Flacco, wait until you see this historic Colts offense, you know? So there is always an avenue and I don't want to be like overly confident. I don't want to downplay the Steelers either. I think they're a pretty good team overall, and I think they do some good things well.
Starting point is 00:30:11 but the Steelers are going to have to drastically change the way they play defense in one week if they want to slow down this Colts offense. Other than that, I kind of see the Colts biggest enemy this weekend, kind of being the same thing we talked about all year. We're like the only thing that can slow down this Colts offense is this Colts offense. If they get into penalty trouble, if they get into some sloppy play, then it could lead to some Steelers' takeaways. But aside from that, I think it's going to be another big week for the Colts offense.
Starting point is 00:30:40 and I'm expecting big things from Daniel Jones, Shane Steichen, and a lot of people on this Colts offense this week. So, yeah, for anyone thinking that, oh, this Colts offense might take a step back because they're playing a team with more than two wins this week. We'll see. We'll see. Shane Steikins typically doesn't struggle with the Tomlin defenses, and now he's rolling in there with a historically great offense.
Starting point is 00:31:02 So I think it's going to be a big week again for the Colts offense. If you're looking at this from a fantasy football perspective, start your Colts players. I think we're going to have a pretty fun week. But I want to thank you guys for all making Locked on Colts your first listen today and every day. The NFL season is finally here. So for your next listen, get a double dose of the Locked on NFL podcast. Tyler, the Madman, Rowland, gives you a shot, a double shot of, gives you a shot of espresso to start your football day while Tony Wiggins takes you into the barbershop for the smoothest breakdowns to end the day. Find Locked on NFL on YouTube or wherever you listen to your podcast.
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