The Indianapolis Colts dominated a flawed New York Jets football team Sunday.
It was a near-perfect performance from the Colts that led to the 36-7 victory.
The defense scored 16 points with a safety and two interception return touchdowns.
Took care of business. #NYJvsIND pic.twitter.com/H6Wg1kq69L
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) September 27, 2020
The 2 pick-sixes equal the Colts’ total from the previous 4 seasons combined.
Special teams kept the possession battle consistently in the Colts’ favor.
Phillip Rivers led a vanilla offense that ate up clock and put up some points of their own.
Along the way, Rivers became a member of the 400-touchdown and 60,000 passing yards club.
It was another total team effort with few standout individual performances.
But finding this week’s studs proved much easier than any duds in this impressive win.
STUD: Xavier Rhodes
Believe it or not, there was a time when the outcome of this game was considerably uncertain.
Well, at least to the Jets and their fans
Xavier Rhodes set the defensive tone with an opening possession pick-six for the early Colts lead.
X gonna take it from you. 🚧 #NYJvsIND pic.twitter.com/77JH8GFsCC
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) September 27, 2020
But the Jets marched down the field to tie the score on a 16-yard Sam Darnold to Braxton Berrios pass.
Phillip Rivers responded in kind with his 400th career touchdown pass to regain the lead.
After a field goal made it 17-7, Sam Darnold drove the Jets to the Colts’ 7-yard line, threatening to cut the lead to 3.
But Rhodes cut in front of a diving receiver to pick off Darnold in the end zone and the rout was on.
Stud: Rigoberto Sanchez
Punter Rigoberto Sanchez only had four punts on the day.
Sanchez’s average hang time was about 4.6 seconds.
On one punt, the gunner forced a fair catch by pitching a tent and chilling out next to the returner as he waited for the ball.
But on the other three, a gunner went beyond the ball, positioning himself to field the punt on a hop before it crossed the goal line.
This forced the Jets’ returners to take three more fair catches at the 6, 6, and 7-yard lines.
It was a perfect day for the punter and his gunners.
Stud: Phillip Rivers and his nondescript records
Phillip Rivers’ Hall of Fame credentials will be debated for a long time.
He could shorten that discussion by leading the Colts to a Super Bowl victory.
But for now, his career has been a quiet ascension up the ranks of statistical leaders.
The newest member of the 400 TD/60,000 Yard Club. pic.twitter.com/qiK1XYc3vb
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) September 27, 2020
In a way, this game was a microcosm of his career.
Watching the film, I thought he might be a candidate for a dud position as even the punter was more conspicuous.
But at the half, Rivers boasted a near-perfect 152 quarterback rating.
He finished with a quietly effective stat line of 17/21/219/1/0 for a 125.6 rating.
On a team with a superior defense and strong special teams, that is more than enough to make the Colts a Super Bowl contender.
Stud: Everybody Else
With all due respect to Darius Leonard‘s 11 tackles and TJ Carrie’s pick-6, not many performances stood out.
The defense shut down the Jets after Rhodes’ second interception without a weakness shown.
Yet another milestone for the Maniac. 😈 pic.twitter.com/XMJWmroiq7
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) September 22, 2020
Rivers distributed his passes to ten different receivers, 8 of whom had at least one catch.
Jonathan Taylor had the most running yards, but Jonathan Wilkins had the longest run.
And Nyheim Hines was in the middle of everything.
It was a total team effort, the kind that can cover up weaknesses and play on strengths.
Dud: Rodrigo Blankenship and the doinks.
Rodrigo Blankenship did not have a perfect day.
He doinked a 41-yard field goal attempt off the right upright that could have accelerated the outcome.
As it wound up, he didn’t hurt the Colts’ chances.
But his attempt came between two Colts punts in the first half, when the Jets defense still offered hope of a competitive game.
One of Blankenship’s kickoffs came down at the 1-yard line, just shy of a touchback.
The Jets returned it 40 yards to kick off what was almost a second touchdown drive.
Alright, I told you it was tough finding duds.
But it could have been worse.
Blankenship’s first extra point also hit the upright, although it bounced through to save the day.
Dud: LB Bobby Okereke, but it was the DL’s fault
Remember how I said it was difficult to find duds in this week’s performance?
Bobby Okereke was the defender closest to the Jets’ Braxton Barrios when he caught the Jets’ only touchdown.
Is it unfair to blame a linebacker chasing a wide receiver for 8 seconds as the quarterback escapes two certain sacks?
When Sam Darnold "just plays," he's tremendous. What a job and Braxton Berrios can be a player in this league. #TakeFlight pic.twitter.com/jZmRm3PFwM
— Jets X-Factor (@jetsxfactor) September 27, 2020
Well, life is not fair and after all, it is the only blemish other than Blankenship’s doink that I can pick on.
But if I want to be fairer, I can blame the Colts’ defensive line who had Sam Darnold in their grasp twice on the play.
Or I could just credit Darnold for his elusiveness and Barrios for his effort to break free.
But that is a column for a different team.
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