Colts vs Bills: Week 7 Snap Counts

The Colts got a win at home Sunday in what was a very one-sided affair. By midway through the first quarter, the Colts appeared to be easily the better team and didn’t do anything to cause doubts about that fact.

The Bills were by far the worst team the Colts have played this season, so they should have done just what they did, but that hasn’t always stopped them from showing up and being underwhelming.

With just the Raiders ahead before the Colts get their bye week, lets take a look at the snap counts from week 7 and see what they can tell us about this team.

Notes

• The offensive line has looked very good for two weeks now. They’ve had the same group of guys on the field for the whole game, except in this one when Castonzo and Kelly were pulled later in the game once it was in hand. If this group continues to build continuity, they won’t just be good, they have the potential to be a great offensive line.
• You might be surprised to hear that Dontrelle Inman, the free agent receiver signed October 16th, led all other receivers in snaps. I know I was. Maybe that is because despite doing so, he wasn’t targeted at all.
• Jordan Wilkins, who got no offensive snaps last week, had 15 this week and was definitely a solid contributor. He had 6 carries for 46 yards and a catch for 8 yards. He doesn’t have to be the star, but getting good production out of him on limited use is exactly what the offense needs.
• T.Y. Hilton didn’t play quite as many snaps as we usually see, and while he was a big contributor, he didn’t have to be leaned on completely. That was good because he likely needs time to recover to 100%, but his impact was clearly felt, despite barely breaking 50% of the snaps for the offense.

Notes

• Despite his short time with the team, S Mike Mitchell played nearly every defensive snap. His impact has been huge in his two games with the team and if he can keep it up it’ll reinforce what a good signing he was to help cover needs of an injury plagued safety position.
• Darius Leonard continues to be a huge factor on the defense, playing 52 of 56 defensive snaps. 17 tackles and a fumble recovery, further proof that Leonard wasn’t just getting numbers as a product of chance, but that he is legitimately a playmaker.
• The loss of Jihad Ward to injury had a noticeable impact on Turay’s time on the field Sunday. He has pretty consistently hovered just north of 50% of the defensive snaps. This week he hit 71%. Turay had a good game and made the most of his playing time, but hopefully Ward won’t be out long, as he has been a valuable asset on passing downs.
• Curiously, Nate Hairston saw his playing time drop dramatically this week while Quincy Wilson saw his increase quite a bit. Hairston struggled against the Jets and Wilson had a solid game on Sunday. With Kenny Moore seemingly having a strangle hold at the top in terms of the pecking order, it may be that Hairston and Wilson will be battling it out for playing time going forward.