The Indianapolis Colts are 5-5 coming out of their bye week and will have a chance to crack into the postseason during the final seven weeks of the season.
But how have they looked in their first 10 games? Let’s take a look at how the roster has performed thus far in 2023:
This grade is mostly on Gardner Minshew since unfortunately for the Colts, Anthony Richardson was only able to play in 67% of the offense’s snaps in the four games he appeared in before his season-ending shoulder surgery.
To Shane Steichen’s credit, when Richardson was in the lineup, he showed moments of greatness, and if he was able to stay healthy, it is fair to say the Indianapolis would’ve won a game or two more with him, and there would have been better play and excitement from the quarterback position.
As far as for Gardner Minshew, he’s been a roller coaster of a ride as the full-time starter.
He has his drives where he’s able to guide the offense to a touchdown but also has his moments where he makes questionable decisions that lead to turnovers and he can play with happy feet that hold back the passing attack.
There shouldn’t be an expectation that Indy can win because of Minshew but he can’t be the reason why they lose games, which has been the case at times.
If he cuts down the turnovers and plays more decisive after the bye then they should be able to win more games with him in the lineup.
This position group has done a great job throughout the season since Week 1. Despite not playing in the first game and splitting work since Jonathan Taylor returned to the lineup, Zack Moss has the fifth-most rushing yards (617) in the NFL.
Moss also has the fourth-most big play rushes (10+ yards) with 15 this season.
Because of the emergence of Moss, Shane Steichen has a great one-two punch at running back with him and JT.
Both players are the strength of this offense and who they can lean on to help close out games after the bye week.
It will be interesting to watch how Steichen utilizes his backs for the rest of this season.
For this position group, the focus has been on the trio of Michael Pittman Jr., Josh Downs, and Alec Pierce.
Pittman Jr. has been the leader of the group. He has the sixth-most receptions (66) and 12th-most receiving yards (677) across the league.
His YAC yards (312) are the 10th best as well and he leads the NFL with the most receptions (13) inside the opponent’s 20-yard line.
Downs has been very impressive in the first half of his Year 1 and has made a reputation for himself on his ability to pick up first downs for the offense, especially in third-down situations. He’s tied for fourth-most first-down catches (12) on third downs.
Year 2 has been relatively quiet for Pierce but that has mostly been in part due to his role in the offense and Anthony Richardson not being in the offense.
He should have been the deep threat in the passing attack, which Shane Steichen was building to but with Gardner Minshew at the helm, Pierce just hasn’t been allowed to shine this season.
Overall as a unit, the receivers have been solid this season. They’ve had their moments but also have some room for improvement.
Especially getting open early in their routes for Minshew who can struggle if nobody is open after his first read.
In comparison to 2022, this part of the offense is performing much better than where it was at this point a year ago.
