Monday After Awards: Colts vs Bears

It's a good thing the NFL doesn't awards points (or victories) based on how well a team plays. Because, overall, the Colts didn't play well again this week. What they did do, though, was play well enough to win.

I'll admit, outside of what my family told me, and what I saw on highlights, I didn't see much of the game. I was busy running a marathon in Minnesota this weekend, which got in the way of my Colts viewing action. I did get to listen to plenty of updates from the Vikings' thrashing of the Texans, though. So that was nice.

MVP - T.Y. Hilton

I've been semi critical of Hilton this season (and last) primarily due to his high number of drops, and ability (at times) to disappear in games. I also think the Colts feed him the ball more than they should because of his contract. But this week Hilton was lights out. He was targeted 11 times, and caught 10 passes, which is phenomenal. The Bears didn't have an answer as Hilton tallied 171 yards and a touchdown.

Hopefully this is the start of a trend for Hilton. The Colts will need him consistently make plays in the passing game as the season progresses. Mostly because the passing game is the only way the Colts can make plays.

Mr. Automatic Award - Adam Vinatieri

Vinatieri gets another mention this week because his accuracy is a huge reason why the Colts are in most games this year. Having a reliable kicker (and holder...sorry San Diego) is huge. Hopefully Vinatieri keeps it going.

Swiss Cheese Award - Colts Defense

When you get torn apart by Brian Hoyer and the Bears, you have a problem. Hoyer was nearly unstoppable and the Bears put up some gaudy numbers on the Colts defense. Seriously. If you looked at just the stats from the Bears offense, you would assume they won. Hoyer was 33-43 for nearly 400 yards and two scores, Jordan Howard tallied 116 yards, averaging 7.4 a carry, and the Bears had three receivers over 70 yards.

And this is the Bears we're talking about. What happens when the Colts take on the Packers and Steelers later this season?

First Win Award - Colts

The TV broadcast may have mentioned this, but I wasn't aware of this stat. Yesterday was the first time the Colts had beaten the Bears in Indianapolis.

LVP - Pass Rush

Each week I have so many options for the LVP. The coaching, the defense, the offensive line, Ryan Grigson, etc. This week, I'll go with the Pass Rush. Although since it doesn't exist, maybe it shouldn't be included?

Seriously though, the Colts pass rush is ridiculously bad. The Colts have only tallied 7 sacks in 5 games, and had almost no pressure on Hoyer yesterday. Oh and who is the Colts leader in sacks? Erik Walden, who has four of the seven sacks. It's not good. And the lack of a pass rush isn't helping an inexperienced secondary either.

Recap

Next week the Colts head to prime time to take on the Texans. A win would vault the Colts into first place (!) in the AFC South. No, that isn't a typo.