Studs and duds from Colts’ 31-3 win vs. Texans

The Indianapolis Colts (2-4) came into Week 6 of the season very much at a crossroads. Would they rebound from a heartbreaking prime-time collapse with a big division victory at home? Or would they fall further into the void of a lost season?

The Colts responded in a big way with a dominating win over the Houston Texans (1-5).

Indianapolis controlled this game from the beginning to the end, with all three phases contributing to an impressive outing. The Colts got turnovers and capitalized with points off of them, were solid in the red zone and made multiple big plays when they were needed.

It was a momentum swing this franchise needed and hopefully, they can continue to build on that and repeat the success of the 2018 season where they also began 1-4 and still made the playoffs.

Here are the studs and duds from the 31-3 win in Week 6:

STUD: RB Jonathan Taylor

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Taylor has been THE offensive stud for the Indianapolis Colts this season. This offense goes through him every week and he did not disappoint once again. After a very quiet first half of just three carries, Taylor ripped a huge 83-yard run and the Texans had no answers for him after that. Taylor ended the day with a total 145 rushing yards on 14 carries with two touchdowns scored.

Taylor also had a 13 yard reception as well. If the Colts can consistently feed Taylor the ball in all points of a game who knows how high those stats can go. Taylor is rapidly becoming one of the best rushers in this league, and his momentum shows no signs of slowing down.

DUD: OT Eric Fisher

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If Taylor is the main stud of this Colts team, then Fisher would be the main dud. He’s made this list almost every week and proved to be a liability once again in this game. As the blindside protector at left tackle, one would argue his spot is the most important on the offensive line, and his play this season has just not been good enough.

Not only did Fisher have two false starts which is bad enough on its own, but he almost had a third tripping penalty. The penalty was declined, and Fisher put the defender down and into the direct path of Carson Wentz and his recently injured ankles which is very irresponsible and dangerous for the franchise quarterback.

Fisher needs a replacement sooner than later, and the recent clamoring for Nelson to take over the left tackle spot once healthy is making more sense by the day.

STUD: LB Darius Leonard

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Darius Leonard has not, and most likely will not play much of this season 100% healthy. Even so, Leonard has left it all out on the field every week as the heart and soul of this Colts defense. He’s led by example with his clutch playmaking and almost constant turnover potential. Leonard came up big twice in that department on the day when his unit needed him most.

His first highlight was an interception of struggling Texans rookie quarterback Davis Mills that the offense turned into points. The second came from his patented punch-out fumble of Texans running back David Johnson.

Leonard helped pave the way for this victory responding with a vengeance after the self-proclaimed hardest loss of his young career, and it’s great to see this defense play up to its potential.

DUD: CB Xavier Rhodes

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If there was a low point on the defense it was starting corner Xavier Rhodes. While coming off a concussion last week and being banged up most of the year, Rhodes isn’t healthy and it, unfortunately, shows in his play on the field. In an already crippled secondary, Rhodes still stood out as the weak link even compared to depth options at his position.

Texans top wideout Brandin Cooks had his way with Rhodes in coverage most of the afternoon. He piled up nine catches for 89 yards and showed why no other Houston skill position player has close to as many targets as he does. Rhodes has been a shadow of his shutdown play of last season, and will need to get healthy and improve his play if this secondary has a shot of competing against the top offenses of the league.

STUD: CB Isaiah Rodgers

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One of the aforementioned depth options is speedster Isaiah Rodgers. A special teams talent, Rodgers has proved he has what it takes to compete at a high level at the cornerback position as well as a kick returner. Rodgers has stepped into a starting role due to injuries at his position of late, and while not perfect, has more than held his own when faced with outside and nickel coverage against some great competition.

Due to another ankle to starter Rock Ya-Sin, Rodgers was once again the next man up and stepped up in a big way. He had solid coverage on Brandin Cooks near the red zone on multiple occasions, and came with an impressive turnover of his own. Rodgers dove in front of a poor throw from Mills intended for Cooks and snagged the interception to all but end the game.

STUD: QB Carson Wentz

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Wentz has proven week in and week out he has exactly what it takes to lead this Colts offense. His numbers are always impressive, and yet he seems overshadowed by his talent at the skill position like Taylor. A problem most every team in the NFL would love to have. Even so, Wentz has played great ball, making big plays in the passing game, and also taking care of the football and avoiding turnovers which is critical to any winning team.

On the day, Wentz went 11 of 20 passing the ball for 223 yards, two touchdowns, and a 127.7 quarterback rating. This is his fourth game of the season where he’s had a passer rating above 100, an impressive showing to be sure.

Should he continue his solid and mistake-free ways, this franchises future at the quarterback position will be in good hands for this season and perhaps the foreseeable future as well.

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