INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones has been feeling the heat.
There were concerns about his seven turnovers in the two games before Indy's bye week. There were questions about his ineffective play late in last week's loss at Kansas City. Some even wondered if the two losses in the past three games may signal a return to his norm after a strong start.
Sure, Jones realizes it's all part of life when you play the sport's most important position.
Yet those past three games also exposed something else — Jones' struggle to deal with an increased pass rush. It's not just a problem for Jones, it's something Indy's offense must fix and fast.
“Most teams, they'll look back at what we've done throughout the year, look at what worked the past few weeks and say ‘OK, that’s what's been working, let's try that,'” Colts center Tanor Bortolini said Monday. “Teams are going to try to do things others have done well, and I think that's something we'll see more of going forward.”
The next test comes Sunday when Indy (8-3) faces another stout defense when it hosts Houston (6-5).
Like the Chiefs, the two-time defending AFC South champs are trying to play their way back into the playoff mix. And like the Chiefs, the Texans are more than capable of dialing up pressure and forcing miscues.
Just ask reigning league MVP Josh Allen, who was sacked eight times and threw two interceptions in his worst game this season in last week's 23-19 loss. Houston has 16 sacks in its past three games, all wins.
And while Jones avoided taking any sacks last week, he went down 15 times in the previous three games and Kansas City harassed him into his third-worst performance of the season — 19 of 31, 181 yards and two TDs while missing six of his last nine throws.
So with a chance to shake up the division race by cutting a two-game deficit in half and getting a road win in the first of two matchups this season against Indy, expect Houston to crank up the pressure on Jones.
“When you’re a good defense, everybody’s playing together, everybody’s communicating well,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “Of course, you have to be a fast, physical outfielder who’s flying around to the football. That’s what we have, starting with our guys up front. They’re the key to what we do.”
Stroud's status
Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud has missed three straight games since entering the concussion protocol.
Ryans said that means his playing status is unclear though the Texans remain hopeful he will play Sunday after getting a few extra days of rest between games since Houston played last Thursday.
Stroud has beaten the Colts in three straight meetings and is 3-1 against Indy.
“Once he’s cleared, I would assume he’s cleared to go and ready to go,” offensive coordinator Nick Caley said. "Once we get the clearance and we’re ready to roll, then we’ll be ready to roll.”
Top-ranked defense
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Houston’s defense ranks first in the NFL by allowing 264.3 yards a game and has the league’s second-best scoring defense at 16.5 points per game.
They are on track to break the franchise’s single-season record for fewest points allowed per game and have held nine of their 11 opponents to 20 points or fewer, the most in the NFL this season.
It’s all by design.
“All the time in practice we talk about just being relentless up front,” Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr. said, referring to the Buffalo game. “I think we all did a great job of that. I don’t think it was just a one-man thing. I think the whole D-line, the whole defense did a good job of swarming and everybody getting to the ball.”
Getting Taylor more involved
Jonathan Taylor had only 16 carries at Kansas City, and Steichen acknowledged Monday that he probably should have given the league’s leading rusher some more carries late in last week’s game.
What could it mean for this week? When Taylor previously had a light workload in a loss at Pittsburgh, he rebounded with 32 carries, 244 yards and three TDs in an overtime win over Atlanta in Berlin, Germany.
The Texans will be ready.
“I can’t say enough good things about him as a running back,” Ryans said. “His balance, his power, the explosiveness. You have to be able to set the edge because he can take the explosive run 50-plus yards and take it to the house. He can hit cutback lanes and make you pay. So, it’s going to take everything we have.”
Dynamic group
For the first time since acquiring Sauce Gardner at the trade deadline, the Colts had their three Pro Bowl cornerbacks — Gardner, Charvarius Ward and Kenny Moore II — on the field together. The Colts liked the early results after Ward was activated off injured reserve.
"Having (Ward) out there — great for the team,” safety Nick Cross said. "Very sticky in man coverage, great player to have out there, someone I enjoy playing with. You can definitely tell a difference when he’s out there with Sauce, and it shows — the way we can lock receivers down.”
AP Sports Writer Kristie Rieken in Houston also contributed to this report.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL
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