Officially through the halfway point in the 2019 season, the Indianapolis Colts (5-2) came away with an ugly 15-13 win over the Denver Broncos (2-6) at Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday.
Currently second in the AFC standings behind only the New England Patriots, the Colts survived the Broncos just barely in the Week 8 win. There were some strong performances and trends that are looking up while there were some concerning narratives taking place as well.
Here’s the stock up, stock down from the 15-13 win:
Stock Up: DE Ben Banogu
With second-year pass rusher Kemoko Turay on the injured reserve list for the remainder of the season, the Colts will be looking to their depth for production. That includes Banogu, who saw a season-high 49% of the defensive snaps.
The rookie defensive end saw an increase in snaps as the third player in the rotation behind starters Jabaal Sheard and Justin Houston. He was seemingly on the field a lot in Week 8, and he had one of the biggest plays of the game.
The second-round pick sacked Broncos quarterback Joe Flacco on a scramble to seal the game in the fourth quarter and give the Colts a win.
Stock Down: CB Quincy Wilson
Before the game even started, there was a bit of a surprise move by the Colts, who made Wilson a healthy scratch in Week 8. Despite the fact that they were already down a cornerback in Pierre Desir due to a hamstring injury, it made it even more interesting that Wilson was inactive.
Most speculate this could have something to do with a potential trade before the deadline on Tuesday, but it simply goes to show that the Florida product’s future doesn’t likely sit with the Colts.
The former second-round pick has been one of the rare misses for general manager Chris Ballard, but Wilson’s stock continues to drive down as guys like Shakial Taylor and Marvell Tell see playing time over him.
Stock Up: LB Bobby Okereke
The Colts opted to use the SAM linebacker position a little bit more in Week 8 against the Broncos offense, and it was clear who the Colts want to fill that role. The rookie Okereke played 52% of the snaps at the SAM backer spot next to Darius Leonard and Anthony Walker.
The Colts are very fond of the athletic profile in the middle of the defense. Walker had a solid day against the run, and Okereke added another element against a Broncos offense that had three wide receivers on the field 62% of the time.
The Stanford product could be carving out a role as a SAM backer for now after his impressive showing replacing Darius Leonard, and it seems his stock is on the rise.
Stock Down: WR Deon Cain
We have finally gotten to this point. With rookie Parris Campbell returning healthy from an abdominal injury—albeit to play eight snaps—the Colts made Cain a healthy scratch after giving him a chance to take over the WR2 role.
The former sixth-round pick did close to nothing with his chances early in the season, and it appears the Colts will be looking for him to develop more before giving him the starting role again.
Cain has immense promise as a boundary receiver, but the Colts can’t afford to give him starter snaps if he isn’t going to produce. For now, Cain is a borderline inactive every week until he proves he can make impact plays for the offense.
Stock Up: DT Grover Stewart
As the Colts look to beef up in the interior to help against the run, Stewart has been seeing an increase in snaps over the last few weeks. That turned into a start for the 2017 draft pick in Week 8, getting the nod over Margus Hunt.
And despite suffering an apparent injury during the first quarter of the matchup, Stewart went onto play 67% of the defensive snaps. That led all defensive tackles and was second among all Colts defensive linemen—behind only Jabaal Sheard (75%).
The Albany State product appears to be coming into his own as a one-technique in the Colts’ gap-shooting front, and the starting role is his to lose for now.
Stock Down: K Adam Vinatieri
This is probably going to be unpopular because Vinatieri nailed the game-winning field goal from 51 yards out, which was impressive and encouraging given his performance earlier in the game. But while the kicking woes appeared gone after the first few weeks, they showed up again in Week 8.
The Colts aren’t going to be a team that blows their opponents out of the water. They aren’t going to win by multiple scores. This only adds to the fact that Vinatieri has to be at his sharpest. They left four points on the board from missed kicks. That’s the difference between a win and a loss, especially seeing as every Colts game has been decided by one score.
Vinatieri is the greatest of all time. He’s more serviceable than what most of the league has to deal with. But he’s not the automatic machine he used to be and if the Colts aren’t going to win by multiple scores, he has to be better.
