Indianapolis Colts

Indianapolis Colts at Green Bay Packers: Next Day Analysis

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Indianapolis Colts managed to gut out a much needed win against the heavily favored Green Bay Packers Sunday. Is the win a sign of things to come or just fools gold for the 2016 Colts?

Now that was fun, wasn’t it? An aggressive Colts team, taking on a talented opponent and NOT shooting themselves in the foot? Much like last year’s win against Denver, the 2016 victory at Green Bay could be a turning point for the season (assuming Andrew Luck‘s vital organs are intact).

This was an exciting game to watch, but equally frustrating at the same time. This shows just how good the Colts could be if they remain aggressive and disciplined.

The Colts are still fundamentally flawed but yesterday showed that they don’t always need Luck to be brilliant to win. He was great when they needed it most, like shrugging off Ha Ha Clinton-Dix‘s sack to salt the game away for the Colts, but could have put the team in a deep hole with those early interceptions.

Credit to the defense for remaining stout when backed up on their side of the field. At one point the Packers had been in Colts territory six times and had just 10 points to show for it.

But the defense is still an issue, especially late in the game. With zero pass rush and older defenders, they aren’t built to maintain a lead. Say what you want about the 2000s era Colts D, but they were young, conditioned (read: fast), and could rush the hell out of the passer. This version doesn’t have any of those attributes.

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Aaron Rodgers carved up the defense for two touchdowns in just under four minutes late in the fourth to make the game closer than it really was. The defense looked gassed (especially after being on the field for most of the third quarter) and couldn’t land a hit on the elusive Rodgers.

In possibly the best coaching decision of his career, Chuck Pagano put the ball in Luck’s hands when the game needed to be iced. Granted the first one came on a third-and-10 (the Clinton-Dix play) when the Colts had to pass, but a third-and-two with a stacked box saw the Colts pass to win. They remained just aggressive enough to sneak away with a win.

Pagano seems to be letting his faith in his defense slip and that is a very good thing. We’ve seen that this unit can get stops, especially early in games, but they have been awful when it counts the most. Pagano’s faith in his defense has cost the Colts wins against Detroit and Texans, and nearly would have in Tennessee if Marcus Mariota could hold onto the ball.

Pagano wants to trust his defense, fine, just don’t make that mistake in the fourth quarter. They aren’t built to win with a big lead (which is the weirdest sentence I have ever written about a football team).

Here are a few things that stood out from Sunday.

The Colts now get to head into the Bye Week without any controversy and just a game back from .500. They can rest up and dial in on the Titans who come to town on the 20th. Hopefully they don’t look past that matchup to the Steelers who will be in Indy on Thanksgiving for Thursday Night Football.

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