Colts Week 10 Snap Counts vs. Steelers

The Indianapolis Colts controlled the majority of the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday but found a way to lose a 14-point lead, and ultimately the game, 20-17. The Colts now have their bye week to reflect on what they can do moving forward to the next six games.

• Our weekly check in on the running backs. After finishing behind Marlon Mack in snaps in Weeks 7 and 8, Frank Gore returned to leading the backfield in Weeks 9 and 10. Gore saw 9 more snaps than Mack on Sunday and 7 more touches. Let’s hope one of these days that the coaching staff figures out that running between the tackles with your slowest running back isn’t always the best way to establish the run game.
• With Kamar Aiken out with a hamstring injury, Chester Rogers stepped back into his old WR3 role, and I don’t see him giving it back again. Through the first nine games, Aiken caught 14 catches for 131 yards (9.4 avg). On Sunday alone, Rogers saw a significant role (71% of snaps) and led the Colts in all receiving categories, catching 6-of-6 balls for 104 yards (17.3 avg) and 1 TD.
• This is probably attributed to T.Y. Hilton’s groin injury, but Donte Moncrief saw the most snaps among Colts wide receivers.
• Rookie right guard Kyle Kalis had a rough first half, with a couple of penalties and losing his matchups. Denzelle Good, seeing his first action since going on Injured Reserve came in for Kalis briefly in the second half. Good was taken back out and Kalis was put back in, and he continued to struggle. Why not stick with Good? Well, here’s your rock-solid Chuck Pagano answer: “We stuck Denzelle in for a couple series then put 68 (Kalis) back in.” When asked if it was just to get Good some playing time, Pagano said, “Yeah, we wanted to get him in the game.”
• Overall, 16 players saw offensive snaps.

• Rookie cornerback Quincy Wilson was active for the first time since Week 2 but did not see any action.
• A lack of playing time from starting linebackers Barkevious Mingo and Antonio Morrison shows that the Colts were in sub-packages much of the time, something definitely called for because of Pittsburgh’s offensive passing game depth.
• With the bye week now here, it’ll be interesting to see if the Colts phase T.J. Green out, perhaps for somebody like Wilson. Or, with the return of Clayton Geathers.
• Overall, 19 players saw defensive snaps.

*Snap counts via NFL official game book.