The Indianapolis Colts are going through their bye week trying to narrow down all of the ways they can improve in order to make a second-half run for the playoffs.
Entering the bye week at 4-2, the Colts have a few areas they can improve upon. One of them comes in a vital part of the offense. Quarterback Philip Rivers told reporters earlier this week that the team has really focused on situational football during their self-scouting sessions.
What Rivers found was the Colts were having success on third-and-mediums but when it came to getting just a few yards for a first down, they simply weren’t executing enough to convert.
“We kind of focused a little more on third-down stuff and red zone. I think the biggest thing – and I know we always say it – is just execution,” Rivers told the media. “You look at a lot of those third downs and we’ve been pretty good four to six and seven to 10. We’ve been over 50 percent. Then the two to three was really our worst area, which you think, ‘Golly, that’s not acceptable.’ But it’s really just a lack of execution.”
The Colts haven’t been enjoying the same success in situational football as they have in other seasons under Frank Reich. Though it has gotten better in recent weeks, the Colts haven’t been a consistent unit on third downs or in the red zone.
Entering the Week 7 bye, the Colts are 24th in third-down conversion rate (39.2%) and 27th in red-zone rate (52.2%). The Colts don’t necessarily have an offense that can get by with those types of numbers so working out those issues during the bye week will be vital.
The Colts are hoping to see the return of rookie wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. from the injured reserve list, which should help the passing offense once he gets his feet under him.
The Colts have a tough road ahead for the second half and if they want to make a push for a playoff spot, they have to get better at situational football.
