Monday Morning Awards: Week 12 @Texans

The Colts had a perfect chance to take a commanding division lead, yet they blew it in a 20-17 loss against the Texans on TNF. The short week did not do the Colts any favours, as they were ravaged by injuries for this matchup, and two of their most important players, Hilton and Desir, were clearly not at 100%. Anyways, I took advantage of the extra time to write this article to take a look at the All-22 footage of the game, which is always very insightful, gave me a much better understanding of this game.

MVP of the Game: Kenny Moore II

Moore signed a $33M extension in the off-season, and it is looking more and more like he actually is one of the most underpaid defensive backs in the NFL. Moore not only is an excellent nickel cornerback, but he is also one of the best open field tacklers in the League and can also rush the passer. What more do you want from your slot cornerback? Moore’s talents were on full display against the Texans, where he racked up 8 tackles, 0.5 TFL, an interception and a quarterback hit on Watson on an outside blitz were his speed off the line was just amazing

Honorable Mention: Jonathan Williams

Dud of the Game (The Grigsy): Jacoby Brissett

Yes, there were several Colts players that had a bad game, but none was more important to the outcome of the game than that of Jacoby Brissett. JB looked uncomfortable and out of rhythm all game long, and the passing attack had perhaps their worst game of the season.

Looking at the game film, it is true that the Texans secondary had a great game and that the Colts receivers got little to no separation, but it is also true that Brissett missed some wide open guys and left a huge number of plays on the field. He made some good throws that should have been caught, but in the end, his mediocrity and lack of decisiveness against a well-coached defense was what cost the Colts the game.

Brissett is an average NFL quarterback, he won't cost you any games but he also won't win you games either. This might be an overreaction, but after this game I'm starting to think the Colts should heavily consider taking a quarterback early in next year’s Draft.

Honorable Mentions: Pierre Desir, Frank Reich

Play of the Game: Kenny Moore’s tip drill interception

Early in the second quarter and with the Colts offense constantly stuck in horrible field position, Moore made a great play on a tipped pass at the line, tipping the pass himself and then catching the interception. The Colts scored a touchdown on the following drive taking advantage of the short field.

Worst Play of the Game: Brissett scramble on 4th and 7

With the Colts down by 3 and with the game on the line, Brissett threw an incomplete pass to Pascal on 3rd down resulting in a 4th and 7. Reich then burnt a precious timeout to get the play right, but it sure was not the right one. Brissett stayed in the pocket for way too much time before trying to get the first down with his legs, which he failed to do.

Considering how far he was from the sticks, going for the scramble was a rather questionable call. Why not throw it and give your receiver a chance to make a play? JB is not the fastest quarterback, especially with a banged up knee, so tucking it and running certainly was not the best choice there.

Honorable Mention: Refs screwing up the late fumble.

Best Position Group: Running Backs

There were some individual good performances, but there was not a single position group without its flaws. The running backs might be the best candidate, as Jonathan Williams had himself a solid follow-up game after his breakout performance versus the Jaguars, and Nyheim Hines got 51 yards on just 9 carries (even though he had a bad bad drop).

Unsung Hero: Josh Andrews

After Ryan Kelly injured his knee on a 3rd and 26, backup center Josh Andrews took the field the following drive. Andrews impressed me a lot on just one drive, as he showed some incredible aggression in the running game, getting key blocks in all of the Colts big gains on the ground. Kelly thankfully was able to re-enter the game, but I wanted to see more of Andrews.

Rookie of the Week: Ben Banogu

Banogu had a sack on Watson and also made a great play on 3rd down maneuvering his blocker allowing Kenny Moore to make the stop. This was not a great week for Colts rookies, as Rock Ya-Sin was out with an ankle injury, and Tell had a rough outing facing Will Fuller. Bobby Okereke also did not make that much of an impact at linebacker.