Colts’ Winners & Losers: Week 7 vs. Browns

Winners

Julian Blackmon

The Colts’ safety play has been subpar this season, but Julian Blackmon did have a standout game against the Browns, with an interception, a pass breakup and two tackles for loss in the run game. There are not many other options at safety, but with the way the season is going the team might choose to give young safety Nick Cross some playing time to see what he has, and those snaps will not be coming out of Julian Blackmon’s after games like this.

Shane Steichen

Colts are the only team with more than 20 points on every single game this season, and the offense is noticeably better and much more polished on just his first season as the Colts’ head-coach, while dealing with an absurd amount of injuries, and his star running back missing the first four weeks with a contract dispute. The offense put up 38 points against a Browns’ defense that has been historically good so far this season, and Minshew looked much better than last week. Steichen also showed adaptability and the ability to learn from his mistakes fast, as he leaned on a lot more in the running game, and tried not to put much pressure on Minshew. There were still some mistakes and decisions I did not agree with it, but it is safe to say the Colts have found a good head-coach.

Kenny Moore II

Kenny struggled the final 7 weeks of the 2021 season and the entire 2022 year, but has been quietly turning things around this year, and now got back to his pass-rusher ways as Gud Bradley dialed up some creative blitzes that resulted in free looks for Kenny. A free agent after this season, Kenny could not have chosen a better time to bounce back.

Josh Downs

The rookie wide receiver continues to impress, with his second consecutive touchdown and now leading the team in targets, Downs could blow by the expectations set for him when the season starts. He has out-targeted Pierce in every single game this season, and the target difference now stands at 47 for Downs and 25 for Pierce.

Losers

Mo Alie-Cox

With the injury to Jelani Woods, Alie-Cox had the perfect chance to show some sort of improvement and perhaps avoid being cut this offseason. So far this season has been far from that, as he finished the game on Sunday with one reception for -6 yards on a blown up screen. MAC stats for the year are now 4 receptions for 61 yards and a touchdown through seven games.

Rodney Thomas

The first big play Rodney made this season was an interception on a Walker heave on 3rd and 16 at the Colts’ two yard line, which basically amounts to a pinpoint punt. Even when he does manage to make a play on the ball, Rodney would have been better served swatting it down. Other than that, some questionable angles (like on Ford’s 69-yard touchdown), disappearing acts, and just two tackles. With the season slowly going down the drain don’t be surprised if Nick Cross starts eating into his snaps as the Colts want to figure out how far along he is.

Darrell Baker Jr.

While he did get robbed on the final two plays of the Browns’ game-winning touchdown drive, there was nothing spectacular about Darrell Baker Jr. and he blew another chance to earn playing time after Brents’ injury. If the rookie misses a significant amount of time the Colts would be better served bringing in a different guy.