In possibly the most important game of the year for the Indianapolis Colts, they struggled on defense out of the gate and never quite recovered. The 45-26 loss put the Tennessee Titans atop the AFC South and put the Colts in a fight for the wild card.
Despite the loss and lackluster performance on defense, linebacker Darius Leonard had a huge day on defense. With 14 total tackles, one tackle for a loss, one sack, and a pass defended, Leonard showed that he is the leader of this defense even when things don’t go their way.
Without Bobby Okereke, who was inactive with an ankle injury, the Colts linebackers seemed to struggle to stop the run as Derrick Henry ran for 178 yards and three touchdowns. Hopefully, the Colts as a team can get healthy and fix some issues that the Titans exposed.
With favorable matchups down the stretch, the Colts can right the ship and possibly still win the division. Leonard will need to keep showing his leadership on the defensive side of the ball and keep being the tackle machine he has been his entire career.
