2024 Week 6: Colts 20, Titans 17
I say this every week but the Titans could have won this game. They aren’t a (1-4) team and should have maybe 3 wins. Every loss gets pinned on Will Levis because he's the starting QB, and he’s had some gaffs, but this whole team is scared in the 4th quarter. Scared of blowing their lead/close game and they do it anyway… probably because they’re thinking about it.
Indianapolis (3-3) had no business winning this game but they did. They have their easiest matchup in a month facing a Tua-less Miami so this is probably the one they drop… as is the way of the NFL. 4 of the Colts 6 games have been decided by a field goal or less.
=====================================
QB Report:
- I’ve been the Will Levis (16/27 for 95 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) guy for a while among my friends and enemies this entire season and despite the bad stat line here, I’m still totally sold on Levis. Levis was 16/27 this game but washed up and old, Calvin Ridley (0-0-0/8, 1 carry for 9 yards) had 0 catches on 8 targets, but only 4 were catchable… two batted down and two ducks, one of which was an INT. According to PFF Ridley wasn’t credited with any drops in their game but I would have assigned him 3, all of which would have been first downs and extended drives.
Levis and Ridley aren’t connecting at all. It’s so bad that if Levis never threw to him his completion percentage would rise by 8 points – they are connecting on 33.3% of targets: 9/27. Levis is 12th in intended air yards and 27th in completed yards, is there a Levis problem? I don’t think so… he played damn near mistake-free football (16/19 with a TD) outside of his Ridley targets. Are there much bigger problems in the passing game than Will Levis? 1000%. Tennessee’s best receiving threat right now is their running back Tony Pollard (17-93-1, 3 catches for -5 yards).
RB Report:
- Colts RB Tyler Goodson (8-51-0, 4 catches for 14 yards) has looked great in Jonathon Taylor’s absence. I hope he earned the starting role over Trey Sermon (18-29-0) this week. Their stat lines are a perfect representation of how the two of them compare head-to-head.
WR Report:
- I’ve already discussed Calvin Ridley enough, but what about their other guys? DeAndre Hopkins (4-54-0/6) is the only other one with some amount of life, but he’s double-covered every play and is starting to run lazy routes because of it. He knows he’s hardly going to get the ball anyway… Levis doesn’t have the time to let most routes develop.
- Tyler Boyd (3-19-0/3) and Calvin Ridley are two of the worst FA signings ever… are we sure Ridley isn’t gambling again?
- The only hope for the Titans WR group which I've said a million times is Jha’Quan Jackson. Put an energized, fast, young rookie in the slot and just let him and Levis go to work.
D/ST Report:
- Another light workload for Laiatu Latu (2 tackles, 2 QB hits)… I don’t get why the Colts are holding him back. He had a career-high 2 QB hits this game, but still just the one sack on the season. Should I make the same The Other Guys joke again?
image source: (AP Photo/John Amis)