Colts week two snap counts versus Jets

The Colts fell to 0-2 on the season last night, losing to the Jets 20-7 on Monday Night Football in their home opener.  It was even uglier than that score might indicate, as the Colts offense turned the football over five times and managed just seven points (that's not a very good ratio), while the team was penalized eleven times.

Following the game, let's take a look at the snap counts and a few notes we can take away from them:

Offense:

Notes:

T.Y. Hilton, despite being questionable and a game-time decision with a knee injury, played the majority of the snaps (84%).  That is impressive and was a bit unexpected for the receiver still recovering from an injury.

Donte Moncrief played six more snaps than Andre Johnson did on Monday night, and he earned them.  Moncrief caught 7 passes for 122 yards and a touchdown, while Johnson caught just three passes for 27 yards (and through two games, Johnson has caught seven passes for 51 yards).  According to Pro Football Focus, Andrew Luck had a perfect passer rating while targeting Moncrief (on eight throws) but just a 14.3 rating when targeting Johnson (on seven throws).

There also seems to be a narrative among some that Griff Whalen was playing ahead of first round draft pick Phillip Dorsett, but that isn't accurate.  Sure, Whalen was in on a couple of plays where Dorsett wasn't, but it's not accurate to take a play or two and make it representative of the whole.  On the night, Dorsett played 14 snaps while Whalen played just four.

Coby Fleener played 46 snaps.  According to PFF, he spent 22 of those plays running pass routes.  And yet he still wasn't targeted a single time.  In fact, between the three tight ends combined - Fleener, Dwayne Allen, and Jack Doyle, they spent 35 snaps running routes and weren't targeted once.

David Parry checked in on the offensive side of the football for a couple of snaps in a goal line situation, like we saw in training camp.  He was the only Colts player to play on offense, defense, and special teams on Monday night.

Defense:

Notes:

In his return to the field, Robert Mathis played 13 snaps - a figure that seems just right for his first game back as a situational pass rusher on a limited snap count.  On one play in particular, Mathis made a great play to get pressure on the quarterback.

With the injuries at cornerback, that forced some of the backups into key roles - like Jalil Brown, who played every defensive snap.

Billy Winn, who was recently acquired in a trade with the Browns and was inactive in week one, made his Colts debut Monday night, playing 14 snaps.

Two former practice squad players who were both promoted this week, Eric Patterson and Josh McNary, both saw playing time with the defense.

Special Teams:

Notes:

It should be easy to see why the Colts wanted Josh McNary on the active roster: special teams.  McNary played 20 special teams snaps on Monday night, tied for the most on the team with Sheldon Price and Colt Anderson.

Sio Moore, who the Colts traded for from the Raiders, didn't get in with the defensive unit but played 13 special teams snaps.