INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indianapolis Colts quarterback Joe Flacco took a long, honest look at last week's game tape and came to one conclusion.
He must play better — and so must the Colts' offense.
Midway through his first season in Indy, the 39-year-old Flacco has taken hold of the starting job and is now trying to figure out how to jump start the sluggish offense, which keeps struggling to stay on the field and sustain drives.
“It’s never easy to look in the mirror after losses," Flacco said. “It’s just the nature of this business and that’s part of building a team, being able to actually face those challenges. We've had that challenge a couple times this year and we’ve done a good job (responding). We’ve just got to continue to do that and trust our preparation is going to carry us into the game and allow us to play the way we want to.”
It certainly won't be easy Sunday against Buffalo (7-2), a runaway leader in the AFC East, or with an offensive line that could again be starting multiple rookies.
This is certainly not where the Colts (4-5) expected to be — trying to rebound from back-to-back losses after moving back into the playoff picture with four wins in five games. Or naming Flacco the starter over second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson.
But the struggles have continued regardless of who's taking snaps. Richardson sat out last week when the Colts scored on a pick-6, settled for a field goal after another takeaway without getting a first down and driving for one field goal. The Colts finished with just 227 yards in offense.
That's simply not good enough.
“I think we had a few third-and-mediums last week 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 on in the season. The last two weeks haven’t been up to our standards, so we’ve got to get back on track.”
The Bills have their own offensive concerns.
While Josh Allen has been impressive, throwing 17 TD passes and only two interceptions, injuries could leave his receiving corps short-handed Sunday and the result could be giving James Cook a heavier workload on the ground against a Colts defense that has struggled all season to stop the run. Allen isn't fretting.
“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, don’t care about the style points of it. They just want to make sure that we’re finding ways to get it done.”
The Colts are trying to figure out how to get there, too.
Happy returns
The Bills welcomed back 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 smooth the midseason transition, but coach Sean McDermott hasn't said whether either will play Sunday. Phillips spent seven weeks on Dallas' injured reserve list with an injured wrist. Jefferson was inactive the last five games with Cleveland.
“It’s like riding a bike, really,” said Phillips, who wasn't listed on Buffalo’s injury report. “They have a couple of new things I haven’t went over, but I got them down today. So, it’ll be OK.”
On the run
One potential solution for Indy's offensive woes would be getting running back Jonathan Taylor more involved.
Part of the problem has been continuity. While Taylor has battled an ankle injury throughout the season, the Colts also have been down multiple 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’ve got to be physical up front. That’s where it starts,” Steichen said. "What can get us going? Obviously, we want to create the explosives, but even the 4- to 5-yard runs, staying efficient in the run game is going to help.”
Blitz timing
McDermott prefers to have his defense apply pressure with its front-four while picking spots when to blitz.
“To just blitz irresponsibly is in some ways irresponsible at times,” McDermott said, before noting his philosophy might go against 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 play this year. The Bills have 21 sacks and are led by Greg Rousseau (4 1/2) and Von Miller (three), the NFL’s active sacks 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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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Michael Marot, The Associated Press
