The decision Colts defenders ‘got to make’ before the snap
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Indianapolis Colts defense had a rough couple of weeks to start the season when it came to stopping the run.
In the team’s week one loss to the Texans, the Colts allowed Houston to finish with 213 rushing yards.
The following week in Green Bay, the Colts allowed the Packers to have 261 rushing yards.
Both of those games were Colts losses.
Entering last weekend’s contest against the Bears, Indianapolis knew it needed to improve its rush defense. And it did, at least statistically.
The Colts held the Bears to just 63 rushing yards on 28 carries.
Sure, the Bears had not found much success on the ground prior to the Colts game, but it was still a massive improvement from the Colts defense.
This Sunday, that same defense will hope to find just as much success stopping the run against the Steelers.
“Same thing with the Steelers, we’ll go in, look at the things we did wrong in the last game and the last two – first and second game – and then get them corrected,” Colts linebacker E.J. Speed said. “And then go into the Steelers’ game with high confidence, knowing our assignments and get the job done.”
As one might expect, the rushing defense was a major point of emphasis at practice for the Colts over the past couple of weeks.
“Obviously, having that bounce back game and holding them to what it was – 63 or 65 yards,” Colts head coach Shane Steichen said. “We’ve just got to continue that trend, have that mentality, fit our gaps, play with fundamentals, technique and swarm to the football for sure.”
Entering this week, the Colts have allowed the second-most rushing yards in the NFL. They have allowed 179 yards on the ground per game. The only team allowing more rushing yards is the Dallas Cowboys.
“There’s a lot of things that you can do schematically to make yourself right,” Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin said. “But, at the end of the day, you got to make a decision before the ball is snapped that they’re not going to run the ball on you. And I think that was something that we all looked at each other and I came to agreement on and that’s something we’re going to continue to hold on for the rest of the season.”
Pittsburgh running back Najee Harris is 12th in the league with 209 rushing yards this season.
Kickoff between the Steelers and Colts is set for 1 p.m. EDT inside Lucas Oil Stadium.