Colts Stock Report Week 18

The Indianapolis Colts went into Sunday’s game on the back of another loss, this time against an NFC team, the New York Giants, which took the losing streak to six games. The Colts came up against an AFC rival this week in the Houston Texans who were penciled in for the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. The Texans were sitting at 2-13-1 and were coming off a loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. There were some strong showings during the 32-31 loss, and a few poor ones, as well.

Stock Up:

Zack Moss has been a bright spark the past few weeks on an offense that has been disastrous to watch. Moss again made the most of his snaps on Sunday, producing when called upon. He managed 114 yards rushing and a touchdown on just 18 carries, averaging over 6 yards a carry. For a team that is about to enter a huge transition and evaluation period, a showing like the one on Sunday will surely keep Moss in Chris Ballard’s good books.

The biggest positive result of Sunday's game was the Colts' Draft Position being boosted to the fourth overall pick in the draft. The Colts' loss, combined with the Denver Broncos’ win moved the Colts up in the draft and gave them a better shot at drafting closer to the first overall pick. The Colts are entering a rebuilding phase for the franchise and the higher the draft pick, the better for a team that is lacking at the most important position on the team, a quarterback.

Stock Down:

Speaking of quarterbacks, one who did not help himself on Sunday was Sam Ehlinger. Ehlinger started just his third game of his career and his inexperience showed massively. He did have some flashes but it was overshadowed by poor decision-making. Ehlinger finished the game with 209 yards passing, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. Ehlinger’s best chance at sticking around in Indianapolis will be trying to lock down the backup job, but at this moment, it doesn’t look like he’s the favorite to land it.

Jeff Saturday had the opportunity to end the year on a high with a win over the team with the worst record in the league, he couldn’t manage it. Since Saturday took over as the Colts' interim head coach the team has won just one game and lost seven straight games. To add to a horrendous record, the Colts' offense ranked in the bottom three of the league in every category and was outscored by a huge amount routinely. Saturday just isn’t head coaching quality and should not be getting the job full-time off the back of his 2022 showing.