The Indianapolis Colts (3-2) will enter the bye week following the huge upset victory over the Kansas City Chiefs (4-1) at Arrowhead Stadium.
In what turned out to be a defensive battle, the Colts controlled the line of scrimmage, stayed discipline—for the most part—and ran the ball with immense success.
Here are the studs and duds from the Week 5 upset win:
STUD: RB Marlon Mack
Even though Mack was dealing with an ankle injury that had him questionable for the matchup, it wasn’t obvious. Mack was strong carrying the offense against a porous Chiefs rushing defense.
Mack finished the night with 29 carries for 132 yards while adding three catches for 16 receving yards. He was fighting through contact all night while showing immense growth with his vision, patience and balance. He was a big reason the Colts controlled the line of scrimmage for the majority of the night en route to a huge performance.
DUD: RT Braden Smith
The second-year right tackle had a better second half than he did in the first half, but it was still a rough night overall for the former second-round pick. Smith struggled with his assignment of blocking Chiefs defensive end Frank Clark.
Smith allowed a few pressures whether it was on a stunt or whether Clark simply beat with him with a spin move or bull rush. It has been an up and down year for Smith. He’s flashed some brilliance, but he’s also struggled to be consistent in pass protection.
It wasn’t all terrible for Smith, but he certainly had his share of struggles on the right side.
STUD: DT Denico Autry
The Colts front seven got pressure all night on Patrick Mahomes. They were collapsing the top of the pocket and forcing him to evade. Sometimes it resulted in a crazy play for the Chiefs but for the most part, it held them in check.
Autry spearheaded the pass rush from the three-technique. The veteran defensive tackle was in the backfield all night apply pressure on Mahomes. Given the quarterback’s penchant for extending plays, it was difficult to come down with a sack, but Autry was making his presence known on a consistent basis from the interior. He finished with two tackles and one tackle for loss on the night.
DUD: TE Eric Ebron
Some of the lack of production for Ebron on Sunday night came from the select plays that the Chiefs ran double coverage on him and T.Y. Hilton. However, he has still been dealing with some drops—evident from the one from the first half that he failed to secure.
Ebron hasn’t been the same in terms of production for the Colts. Some of it is the offense getting some key players healthy while some of it is self-inflicted. We know Ebron is a talented player and a key piece to the passing game, but he hasn’t been taking advantage of his opportunities.
Ebron finished with one catch on four targets for eight yards.
STUD: DE Justin Houston
What a homecoming for Houston. The veteran pass rusher certainly had a different edge on Sunday night. Returning home to the place he spent his entire career before joining the Colts, Houston was applying pressure all night long.
His biggest play of the night came on a fourth-down stop in the fourth quarter. He crashed the backfield and stopped Damien Williams short of the sticks to get the Colts the ball with five minutes remaining.
Houston had four tackles, one sack and two tackles for loss.
STUD: LG Quenton Nelson
Nelson was an elite guard coming into the 2019 season, but he’s still getting better. He showed in primetime that he’s arguably the best guard in the NFL as the Colts simply ran the ball behind him and left tackle Anthony Castonzo all night.
The Colts were controlling the line of scrimmage with the run game all night long, and much of that reason is because of the stout run blocking from Nelson. Whether he was simply head up with a man or pulling to the second level, Nelson was the engine that drove this rushing attack that led to a victory.
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