The Colts fell to 0-2 with last Sunday’s 16-10 loss to the Packers and it wasn’t hard to identify the reasons why they lost.
Quarterback Anthony Richardson threw three interceptions and the defense gave up 261 rushing yards to a Packers offense being led by quarterback Malik Willis. It was Willis’s first start for Green Bay and he’d only been with the team for a few weeks, so it wasn’t hard to predict that they would be leaning heavily on their rushing attack but that was of no help to defensive coordinator Gus Bradley’s unit.
The Colts also gave up 213 rushing yards to the Texans in the opener, so the performance wasn’t out of left field and it underscores the urgent need for the Colts to get better against the run. On Tuesday, Bradley said “it always comes back to fundamentals and execution” and that fixing both falls on everyone involved with the defense.
“I’ll take the shared responsibility,” Bradley said, via the team’s website. “They have to take shared responsibility, and together we get it done. It’s a long season, and sometimes through challenging times like this, it can bring you closer together.”
The Colts face the Bears this weekend and their struggles over the first two weeks don’t make it hard to guess how Chicago will try to attack them. If the Colts can do better, they should have opportunities to force quarterback Caleb Williams into mistakes but that’s a big if based on how the team’s performed thus far.