A Pair of Colts Cornerbacks Earn PFF’s ‘Week 14: NFL Team of the Week’ Honors

According to Pro Football Focus, a pair of Indianapolis Colts cornerbacks: Kenny Moore and Rock Ya-Sin have been named to their ‘NFL Week 14: PFF Team of the Week’ following each defensive back’s standout performance on Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders:

PFF TEAM OF THE WEEK

Offense

QB: Ryan Tannehill, Tennessee Titans

RB: Derrick Henry, Tennessee Titans

WR: A.J. Brown, Tennessee Titans

WR: Allen Robinson II, Chicago Bears

TE: Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs

FLEX: Stefon Diggs, Buffalo Bills

LT: David Bakhtiari, Green Bay Packers

LG: Cody Whitehair, Chicago Bears

C: Chase Roullier, Washington Football Team

RG: Kevin Zeitler, New York Giants

RT: Tristan Wirfs, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Defense

DI: Aaron Donald, Los Angeles Rams

DI: Zach Sieler, Miami Dolphins

EDGE: Haason Reddick, Arizona Cardinals

EDGE: Khalil Mack, Chicago Bears

LB: Deion Jones, Atlanta Falcons

LB: Kenny Young, Los Angeles Rams

CB: Taron Johnson, Buffalo Bills

CB: Kenny Moore II, Indianapolis Colts

S: Rayshawn Jenkins, Los Angeles Chargers

S: Jordan Poyer, Buffalo Bills

FLEX D: Rock Ya-Sin, Indianapolis Colts

Regarding Moore, the Colts standout slot cornerback had some rough moments early on in coverage this past Sunday, but seemingly caught fire.

With 3:35 left in the first half, Moore intercepted Raiders’ quarterback Derek Carr with an acrobatic ‘Odell Beckham Jr. rookie season-like snag’ in the corner of the end zone over star tight end Darren Waller—which may very well be the best interception you’ll ever see:

Moore wasn’t done for the day; however, as with 9:23 left in the fourth quarter, he stripped the football from Raiders wideout Hunter Renfrow on a tackle near Las Vegas’ own 28-yard line, which his teammate Taylor Stallworth recovered.

With the Colts already up 34-20 and firmly in Las Vegas’ scoring territory, that second turnover of the game for Moore may have very well sealed the win for Indianapolis.

Moore finished the game with 5 tackles (5 solo), an interception, a pass defensed, a forced fumble, and a QB hurry.

Also per PFF, Moore had 2 defensive stops (which is a tackle that constitutes a failure for the offense) and allowed 9 receptions on 12 targets (75% completion rate) in coverage for 118 receiving yards, a touchdown, an interception, and an NFL passer rating of 98.6—while committing one penalty in coverage.

However, his two forced turnovers were critical for the Colts and may have propelled their convincing victory over the Raiders—before it got further out of hand late.

Per PFF, for his outstanding efforts on Sunday, Moore received a +89.8 defensive grade overall—including a +93.0 coverage grade. It’s worth noting that Moore has the highest coverage grade of any PFF cornerback over the past two weeks.

Meanwhile, 2nd-year cornerback Rock Ya-Sin had a much more unheralded performance for the Colts—as there were no jaw-dropping interceptions or game-clinching forced fumbles.

Rather, Ya-Sin had two pivotal third-and-goal stops to force field goals, not touchdowns, on consecutive Raiders’ offensive drives to begin the 3rd quarter—including a pass disruption that was incomplete to Raiders’ wideout Nelson Agholor in the end zone and a touchdown-saving tackle on Agholor a drive later at the Colts’ 5-yard line:

While those plays weren’t sexy—and certainly won’t show up on Sportscenter anytime soon, they were big plays by Ya-Sin for the Colts, as it limited the Raiders to just 6 points, not 14 points—which further dictated how the game would be played, clearly in the Colts’ favor.

On the afternoon, Ya-Sin finished with 4 tackles (4 solo) and a pass defensed. Per PFF, he had two stops and was targeted 3 times in coverage, allowing 2 receptions (66% completion rate) for 8 receiving yards and an NFL passer rating of just 70.1.

During Sunday’s big win, Ya-Sin finished with a +87.2 overall defensive grade—which was highlighted by a +88.4 coverage and +77.8 tackling grade respectively.

Even though the young cornerback has taken some lumps recently this season, Ya-Sin has placed himself in good positions in coverage—he’s just been too grabby when he doesn’t need to be.

On Sunday, Colts fans saw firsthand what happens when Ya-Sin simply covers receivers straight up, still plays physical (but not unnecessarily), and just trusts his talent, instincts, and abilities—demonstrating sound coverage and tackling.