Indianapolis Colts 2021 NFL Season Analysis

What seemed like a historic 2021 season for the Indianapolis Colts, with the great performance of running back Jonathan Taylor and great victories against contending teams, ended as a tragedy and a great disappointment for their fans who had an almost certain place in the Playoffs. In the end they made one of the great ridicules of the season by falling against Jacksonville in week 18 and losing their ticket to the 2022 NFL Playoffs.

Prologue: The Trade by Carson Wentz

Following the retirement of veteran Phillip Rivers, the Colts were left with the QB position vacant. There was immediate speculation about a possible reunion between then-Philadelphia quarterback Carson Wentz and his former offensive coordinator, now head coach at Indianapolis, Frank Reich, who once brought out the best in the quarterback with the Eagles.

These teams quickly came to an agreement involving a third-round draft in 2021 and a conditional round draft in 2022, which would become a first-round draft as Wentz played 75% of the offensive snaps this season.

With this trade executed by GM Chris Ballard, the Colts were looking for security at the quarterback position in the short and medium term and, of course, reaching the Playoffs. Unfortunately they did not succeed and the outlook for Wentz leaves more questions than answers in his first year with the Colts.

The 2021 Indianapolis Colts season

The start of the season was quite difficult for Reich’s team, losing in four of its first five games against the Seahawks in the opening week, Rams, Titans and Ravens.

However, they soon turned the page and put themselves in a good position to compete for the Playoffs by winning 8 of their next 10 games. In the end, as we already know, they fell in their last two matches with their fate in their own hands and thus let go of qualifying by finishing with a 9-8 record.

This team started as a clear contender to win the AFC South, but the alarm came when the Titans team swept them and it became clear that they are still one step behind to compete for the division. Even so, he was one of the big favorites to qualify for the Playoffs with the three Wild Card tickets.

It is difficult to give Wentz the benefit of the doubt because his performance represents a setback if we take into account that Rivers did qualify them for the Playoffs. The numbers between the two were relatively similar, even Wentz threw more touchdown passes and fewer interceptions than Rivers, but it must also be taken into account that the offensive line had a low game in terms of protection, since with Rivers they allowed 21 sacks per game. the 32 that allowed Wentz.

The playmakers that arose

Another reason why Wentz did not shine (for good) was the great level of Jonathan Taylor who had a total of 332 carries for 1,811 yards and 18 rushing touchdowns, a significant increase compared to the 232 carries for 1,169 yards and 11 touchdowns. from 2020; a major shift in the team’s offensive approach that led to them winning multiple games on the year, so Wentz’s weight in this offense remains in question, though he can probably improve with a second year under this offense.

One of the gratifying performances of the year was that of second-year receiver Michael Pittman Jr., who for the first time exceeded 100 receptions in a season for a total of 1,080 yards and six touchdowns. The Colts sent seven players to the Pro Bowl and five to the All Pro team: Ashton Dulin and Quenton Nelson as part of the second team and Luke Rhodes, Jonathan Taylor and LB Darius Leonard, who continues to shine and is the heart of this team’s defense. .

Speaking of defense, the team finished ranked as the ninth-best defense in points allowed (365) and tenth against the running game (1,854); however, in the passing game the defense finished 19th, allowing 3,980 yards: nearly 800 less than the bottom-ranked Ravens with 4,742 yards.

The Colts’ 2021 season MVP

There is no doubt that the team’s MVP is Jonathan Taylor, who was the rushing yards champion with 1,811. His closest competitor was Nick Chubb with 1,259. Taylor was also the leading rushing rusher with 18 rushing, followed by rookie Najee Harris with 15 touchdowns.

Taylor took the reins of the offense permanently this year, and he’s aiming to do so for the next few seasons. During this year he set some important franchise records such as most rushing yards in a season, most rushing touchdowns in a season (18), most combined touchdowns (20, matching Lenny Moore) most touchdowns in a single game (5) and the longest carry for the franchise (83 yards).

Taylor is likely to be considered for the NFL MVP award as early as this season, though he most likely won’t win it because of the quarterback preference.

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The best moment of his season

The moment of glory and when everything pointed to great things in the Playoffs came when they defeated the Buffalo Bills 41-15 in their own stadium. It was in this game that Jonathan Taylor had four rushing touchdowns and five total, in one of the greatest performances by a player in NFL history.

The worst moment of his season

This was in the final week of the NFL in 2021, losing 11-26 to the Jaguars and combining results to miss the playoffs. The Colts had lost to good teams throughout the year, but losing to Jacksonville was really embarrassing because not only was the season on the line, but they really were outmatched and it could have turned into a significant blowout if the Jaguars were a better team. A very sad end to the year for Colts fans.

What is expected of your 2022 season?

The first thing to expect is consistency from Jonathan Taylor, who claims his place as one of the top three running backs in the NFL. We should also expect Carson Wentz to progress in his second year at the helm of this offense.

On the other hand, the Colts’ defense is one of the best in the league, but the secondary needs a clear injection of talent, so we can imagine where this team’s free agency and 2022 Draft will point.

Although this year was considered a failure by not being able to compete against the Titans and losing access to the Wild Card, with some movements in the offseason they should be ready to compete for the division and in the worst case qualify for the Playoffs, otherwise maybe Patience runs out for Frank Reich.

Read the rest of our 2021 Season NFL team reviews here:

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Indianapolis Colts 2021 NFL Season Analysis