INDIANAPOLIS – Here’s our latest ‘hits and misses’ piece on 1075TheFan.com highlighting the good and bad from the previous game.
Week 11 in Buffalo brought the finest hour of the Chris Ballard/Frank Reich era.
What was the good and bad from the Colts (6-5) dismantling the Bills (6-4) by a score of 41-15?
Hits
-Game Plan Execution: This goes for all three phases. The offense (finally) went all-in on Jonathan Taylor in recent weeks. It’s worked and was the exact plan needed to attack a banged-up Buffalo defense up the middle. Defensively, a major credit to Matt Eberflus and his backup safety duo for successfully disguising their pre-snap looks in rattling Josh Allen enough. Anytime you have as convincing and dominant of a win as the Colts did on Sunday, the praise starts at the top.
-Jonathan Taylor: Again, the Colts have expanded the workload for No. 28 in recent weeks. The success has been there. Taylor had 32 carries for 185 yards and 5 total touchdowns on Sunday. At times, the Bills had chances to make plays against Taylor, but he exposes any tackle attempt that isn’t met with proper technique and fundamentals. In that weather, the presence of Taylor mattered even more. Making an MVP-list? Taylor’s name has to be on it.
-Handling The Elements: Speaking of the weather, the Colts were again masterful in handling everything that comes with that. They avoided the fatal turnover. They made their kicks, while Buffalo missed two, thus making sure that a comeback wouldn’t get off the ground. And the Colts continue to win the penalty battle by a substantial margin. The Colts still have to get to January football, but if they do, they’ve shown they can more than handle less than favorable weather.
Misses
-Xavier Rhodes: In the end, we did see a cornerback rotation behind Kenny Moore on Sunday (Xavier Rhodes 36-of-56 snaps, Rock Ya-Sin: 35-of-56, Isaiah Rodgers: 29-of-56 and T.J. Carrie: 6-of-56). Early on though, the Colts rolled with Rhodes quite a bit. And the Bills found success in targeting the veteran corner. As the Colts play some deeper wideout groups in the Bucs and Cardinals (and play in better weather), teams are going to test Rhodes and their cornerback depth. It’s something to keep an eye on.
