3 things we learned from the Colts in Week 1

The Indianapolis Colts Week 1 Youth Quenton Nelson Jersey , 34-23 loss looks bad on paper if you’re simply looking at the score, but the Colts showed signs of being a team that can make the division very interesting as the season progresses. It wasn’t all good, otherwise they would have won the game, but they were clearly better prepared than in year’s past.The season is obviously very young, so there’s not much that we can truly know about them, but the four quarters we all saw did give us a little peek at what the Colts may be this year. It’s certainly not all doom and gloom, but the team still has a long way to go.Here are 3 things we learned about the Colts in Week 1.The Colts defense is bending a bit too muchIt’s understood that the Colts new defensive scheme is going to have these kind of games where they allow a ton of yards. They want the speed and instincts from their players in order to turn the ball over, and the defense is ultimately made to play with the lead. Similar to the days of Peyton Manning.Well, that didn’t turn out too well Sunday. At first, I presumed the Colts were significantly better in the first half being as the defense had only given up 10 points. That was not the case, in fact, they were technically better in the second half in a couple areas. Let me explain.The Bengals actually were trying to rack up some big plays by putting guys like Joe Mixon in space, but the Colts forced two turnovers in the first half and managed to turn the tide a bit. The Colts did, however, allow 7.36 yards per play (28th) in that first half, but because they were so good on third downs Youth Braden Smith Jersey , they weren’t allowing long, sustained drives. They allowed one 10-play drive that ended in a field goal, but otherwise, a 5-play drive — a touchdown drive nonetheless — was the high for Cincinnati in the first half. The Colts’ 22 defensive plays in the first half was fourth-lowest in Week 1.In the second half the Colts allowed 6 yards per play (24th), and that isn’t good either, it’s just less than the first half. They began to allow long drives as Andy Dalton regained his confidence and the Bengals were putting points on the board each [possession. They scored on every meaningful drive in the second half aside from their first.They were equally porous on the ground and through the air allowing 5.1 rushing yards per attempt, and 7.6 net passing yards per attempt throughout the duration of the game, and that simply has to stop.It’s going to be a process, we know that much, this defense is new for most of the Colts. But, Matt Eberflus must scheme a way for them to take away some of the big plays that came in space Sunday. The Colts only allowed 4 plays over 20 yards, but they allowed a 75% completion rate which tells you that the Bengals challenged the Colts to stop them on these underneath routes as the game wore on. The Colts have to be better in that respect, but again, that’s how this defense is designed. The pass rush did create some occasional pressure, but Andy Dalton was 11-of-14 in the second half and was nearly unaffected by it. An increase in successful pressure needs to be created in future games if those in the back seven are going to be able to stop anyone this year.The second half is still the Colts’ enemyThe Colts were 6-of-8 on third downs in the first half. They were rolling. They were getting some good yardage on second downs — 7.5 yards per play (10th) — to make third-and-manageable a regular occurrence Sunday afternoon. They did manage to go 5-of-9 on third downs in the second half, but they simply weren’t doing anything with ball averaging only 4.05 yards per play.With the Bengals scoring on their possessions http://www.authenticsindianapoliscolts.com/cheap-jabaal-sheard-jersey , the Colts allowed both of their sacks in the second half, Luck nearly threw 2 more interceptions, and added the crucial fumble recovery in the final seconds to sew it up. No amount of stats can tell you that a team shouldn’t give away a 23-10 second-half lead with Andrew Luck under center.The thing is, though, is that they did. They were dominated in the fourth quarter, again, and when they did begin to get it together they coughed up the ball. Last season the Colts amassed a total of 3 touchdowns all year, and while you’d have to be quite irrational to think that will be a trend with Luck under center, it’s still a problem that needs to be rectified by Frank Reich at the very least.Colts offensive line is a work in progress, but still better The Colts started two backups, a rookie, a former first-round pick, and an old guy Sunday. Andrew Luck did get forced out of the pocket a handful of times, and did take his two sacks on the day, but with all things considered, this group of lineman did a pretty solid job of protecting the franchise quarterback.Luck dropped back 56 times... Fifty. Six. against one of the better defensive fronts they’ll play all season. The Bengals did generate 8 QB hits behind the line of scrimmage White Joe Haeg Jersey , but very few of those were hard hits or affected Luck’s ability to make the throw outside of the two sacks. It’s not an excuse for them, necessarily, rather more of an acknowledgement for the workload they were tasked with and how they worked together.For some perspective about the group this offensive line had to battle in Week 1, five of them that they matched up against accounted for 31 of the Bengals’ 41 sacks from 2017. That was no small feat in my eyes by this Colts’ line. I was actually pretty encouraged by their efforts and am quite interested to see what they can accomplish once they’re fully healthy.Colts fans are used to having a swiss cheese offensive line, and everyone wants Luck untouched as he comes back from an entire season of rehab — I get it. They may still have a bad year with the injuries they’re accruing, but Week 1 wasn’t one of the games we should attempt to form much of a judgement. They could just as easily improve with such a young group along the front line.There are too many bad things that could have happened with Joe Haeg in his first start at left tackle and the slowest human on earth (J’Marcus Webb) at right tackle — so let’s not overblow this one. It is Week 1 after all. HOUSTON (0-3) at INDIANAPOLIS (1-2)Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBSOPENING LINE - Pick-emRECORD VS. SPREAD - Houston 0-3, Indianapolis 2-1SERIES RECORD - Colts lead 25-7LAST MEETING - Colts beat Texans 22-13, Dec. 31, 2017LAST WEEK - Texans lost to Giants 27-22; Colts lost to Eagles 20-16AP PRO32 RANKING - Texans No. 30, Colts No. 26TEXANS OFFENSE - OVERALL (8), RUSH (8), PASS (13).TEXANS DEFENSE - OVERALL (16), RUSH (20), PASS (14).COLTS OFFENSE - OVERALL (28) White Chester Rogers Jersey , RUSH (29), PASS (23).COLTS DEFENSE - OVERALL (18), RUSH (15), PASS (15).STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES - Texans have lost league-high nine straight and are one of three winless teams in NFL this season. ... Houston's last win came Nov. 19 vs. Arizona. ... Deshaun Watson is first Texans quarterback with back-to-back 300-yard games since Matt Schaub in 2012. ... Watson has connected with Will Fuller for TD pass in seven straight games. ... WR DeAndre Hopkins has caught at least one pass in all 82 games played. ... DE-OLB Jadeveon Clowney needs two tackles for loss to reach 50 in career. ... S Kareem Jackson needs one interception to tie Johnathan Joseph's franchise record (14). ... DE J.J. Watt has eight sacks against Andrew Luck, second-highest total of any active quarterback behind only Blake Bortles (nine). ... Since 2014, Texans are league-best 21-1 when leading at halftime and have held opponents to league-low 34.2 percent on third-down conversions. ...Indy swept last season's two-game series after losing three straight to Houston and is 14-2 at home against Houston. ... Colts' next win will be No. 300 since moving from Baltimore to Indianapolis in 1984. ... K Adam Vinatieri needs one field goal to break Morten Andersen's NFL record (565). Vinatieri also needs three field goal attempts to pass Gary Anderson (672) for second all-time and one game played to pass George Blanda (340) for No. 4. ... Luck has thrown TD pass in league-best 26 consecutive games and needs one more game to tie Peyton Manning for No. 2 in franchise history. ... Luck also needs 260 yards passing to reach 20,000 and 16 yards rushing for 1,500 in career. ... WR T.Y. Hilton needs two catches for 450. ... Indy ranks sixth in sacks allowed (five), while defense is tied for fourth in sacks (10). ... Colts also have most tackles for loss (22) in NFL this season. ... Rookie LB Darius Leonard has 31 tackles last two weeks and leads NFL with 41. ... Fantasy tip: Hilton has historically played well against Texans. With Luck back, Colts looking for more big plays and Houston struggling, Luck and Hilton could have another big day against familiar foe.