On a quiet Saturday afternoon at Lucas Oil Stadium, the Indianapolis Colts lost a nail-biter of a preseason game against the Detroit Lions.
Despite both teams not playing most of their starters, fans in attendance were able to catch a good back-and-forth game that came down to a failed two-point conversion by the Colts.
We shouldn’t read too much into what happened in terms of the outcome, but here are five takeaways from the second preseason game:
1
Notable starters that played
There were a handful of starters that playing in the first half for the Colts. Just one from the defensive side of the ball. Rookie Nick Cross did end up getting some valuable playing time. The third-round rookie safety continued to flash his abilities as a safety. His best play came when he forced a contested catch situation which helped force the Lions to settle for a field goal.
Good coverage by Colts S Nick Cross pic.twitter.com/vtJjvYLG6e
— Billy M (@BillyM_91) August 20, 2022
On the offensive side of the ball, Indianapolis still had wide receiver Alec Pierce, wide receiver Parris Campbell, left tackle Matt Pryor, and guard Danny Pinter log in some snaps. Pinter did get the start at center over his right guard spot. The coaching staff clearly views Pinter as the backup center if anything were to happen to Ryan Kelly.
There wasn’t much action for Pierce and Campbell. Pierce did get one catch and made an impressive effort to work through a tackle to get the first down in a third-down situation.
Alec Pierce with that strength to move the chains 👀 #Colts pic.twitter.com/IownUTXXFI
— Indy Source (@SourceIndiana) August 20, 2022
2
Tyquan Lewis is back!
Injuries can be such a detriment to a player’s career. Unfortunately, Lewis has dealt with a number of them throughout his career. Last season came to an end for him when he tore his patellar tendon which came when he was playing some of his best football. He made his official return against the Lions and he looked like he hasn’t lost a step since his injury.
His biggest play came on a third-down when he made a great read and blew up a screen play. Lewis is going to be the first player in the defensive front rotation and he looks like he’s ready to get his career back on track with a strong 2022 season.
Tyquan Lewis has looked good today, he comes up with a nice stop on 3rd and long here.#Colts#ForTheShoe#Lions#OnePride#DETVSIND pic.twitter.com/5kT8aaIOOv
— Chris Shepherd (@NFLscheme) August 20, 2022
3
Big days for Dezmon Patmon and Mike Strachan
The competition for the final spots in the wide receiver room heated up against Detroit. After having a quiet start to his preseason, Dezmon Patmon got the fireworks going with some explosive plays. He finished with five catches for 103 yards and a touchdown on six targets. His score came on a 50-yard reception. The third-year receiver needed this performance today and he capitalized on the opportunity.
Sam Ehlinger launches a 50-yard TD to Dezmon Patmon!@sehlinger3 @dadpat7
📱: Stream #DETvsIND on NFL+ https://t.co/wdgAWXJg5i pic.twitter.com/0bh3PJpZA9
— NFL (@NFL) August 20, 2022
After coming off the PUP list, Mike Strachan was quick to make his presence known. The promising receiver was able to showcase his talents to help regain any lost momentum when he was out with his injury. He got all his production on his first drive. He caught three balls for 45 yards and a touchdown. He showed off a great release on his route for the score.
An absolute **dime** from Sam Ehlinger
… and Mike Strachan continues to build off what’s been a really good first week back.
— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) August 20, 2022
The pair of receivers still have a week left to earn their spot on the final 53-man roster and their performance against the Lions helped both of their cases.
4
Will there be three quarterbacks on the final roster?
Chris Ballard is going to have an interesting decision to make when he puts together the final 53-man roster. Depending on a team’s quarterback situation, there isn’t a major need to carry a third quarterback. The thought of having Matt Ryan and Nick Foles in the quarterback room would make one think that it wouldn’t make much sense to keep three quarterbacks on the roster. Especially when the front office may want depth in position groups like the receiver and the defensive front.
But Sam Ehlinger is putting together a good preseason and has shown some development as a passer over the last couple of weeks. Against Detroit, he went 9/11 for 136 yards and two touchdowns. In both preseason games, he’s 19/22 for 224 yards and four touchdowns. The front office was a big fan of the kid when they selected him and if he caps off his preseason with another solid performance then he can solidify his spot on this team.
5
Rush defense was atrocious
It’s important to remind yourself that this is the preseason and how teams look now likely won’t be the same in a few weeks. But if this game was any indication, the Colts’ backups have some work to do to improve against the run. The Lions averaged 5.3 rushing yards per attempt. There were a number of missed tackles and the running backs had wide rushing lanes throughout the game.
It should be noted that it sounded like it wasn’t just the backups that struggled against Detroit’s running game this week.
The success the Lions are having in the run game right now is indicative of what we saw during joint practices this week. Detroit had far more success on the ground than with the pass vs. the Colts IMO.
— Stephen Holder (@HolderStephen) August 20, 2022
There’s no reason to overreact to one week of football in August but the rush defense will be something to keep an eye on when the season opens on Sept. 11.
