The Indianapolis Colts (2-2) suffered a tough loss at the hands of the Oakland Raiders (2-2) on Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium in a game that should have been won.
The 31-24 loss shows the Colts aren’t invincible while proving the notion that any team can win despite the odds. The Colts were on the wrong end of that Sunday, and several players saw their stock change in the loss.
Here’s the stock up, stock down from the Week 4 loss:
Stock Up: S Khari Willis
Filling in a starting role as Malik Hooker works his way back from a knee injury, Willis got the chance to prove he can handle a starter’s role. He did just that on Sunday shining as one of the few stars on the defensive side of the ball.
The Michigan State product finished with nine tackles (eight solo), a tackle for loss and a pass defended. His most impressive play came when he quickly diagnosed a screen play. He came crashing downhill to tackle the receiver behind the line of scrimmage almost immediately after he caught the ball.
The Colts won’t have Hooker for the next few weeks due to the knee injury, but Willis is proving he can handle a starting role.
Stock Down: DE Kemoko Turay
The first week of the season looked as though Turay was shaping up to have a breakout campaign while holding a significant role in the defense. Since then, however, it has been the complete opposite.
The second-year defensive end has held a minuscule role as a pass rusher over the past two weeks since returning from a neck injury. In Week 4 against the Raiders, Turay only played 19% of the defensive snaps. With veteran Jabaal Sheard back in the picture, Turay’s snaps could continue to be limited.
There is immense promise in the game of Turay, but his usage has been far from ideal. It will be interesting to see what happens moving forward, but the Colts aren’t leaning on him like he’s an integral piece of the defense.
Stock Up: WR Zach Pascal
The Colts were without star wide receiver T.Y. Hilton, and his absence was well noted. The explosive plays eluded the Colts offense, but Pascal has emerged as the clear WR2 over the past few weeks.
Even with Deon Cain leading the room in snaps, Pascal has been the one to produce for the team. On Sunday, he caught four of seven targets for 74 yards. It was the second week in a row he came up big as an option for Jacoby Brissett.
The Colts still have a big question mark in their wide receiver room, but Pascal has emerged as a solid target for Brissett, and he’s certainly earned more playing time.
Stock Down: WR Deon Cain
As mentioned previously, Cain was the wide receiver to lead the room in snaps. Though it was close throughout the entire room, the Colts continue to give Cain more playing time despite his non-existent production.
On Sunday, Cain wound up seeing five targets from Brissett, but he failed to bring in any one of them. He had one secure in the second half, but it resulted in a drop, which was symbolic of the day the Colts had as a unit.
There is a lot of promise in Cain as a boundary wide receiver, but he hasn’t shown much that proves he should continue to lead the room in snaps. The Colts need production from Cain and while he’s still working his way back from last year’s torn ACL, his lack of impact must be noted.
Stock Up: CB Rock Ya-Sin
It was an up and down day for the rookie cornerback, but the Temple product appears to be making developments in his game. He wound up leading the defense in snaps, playing all 100% of them—along with fellow rookie Khari Willis.
Ya-Sin was responsible for the Raiders’ first touchdown of the game. He blew his zone coverage on the right side, which allowed tight end Foster Moreau to get wide open for a touchdown. It wasn’t a good look, but Ya-Sin bounced back after that to have a decent game. That included a deep-ball target in which the rookie was stride for stride, got his head around and made a pass break up.
The Colts seem to want to lean on Ya-Sin as a major contributor in the secondary and while he has his growing pains, there has been plenty of promise shown.
Stock Down: Run defense
At this point, we simply have to call it like it is. The Colts’ run defense is just downright bad. The front seven was man-handled to the tune of 188 rushing yards allowed on 5.9 yards per carry. This has been a theme since the beginning of the season.
Sunday’s outing was particularly embarrassing. They were getting moved off the ball with ease while several players missed tackles on multiple occasions. Not allowing a 100-yard rusher is great, but it doesn’t matter when opposing offenses can move the ball at will through the ground.
It’s been an ugly start to the season for the Colts’ run defense, and it doesn’t appear to be trending in the right direction.
