If the Indianapolis Colts are going to be a playoff team in 2025, they have to improve in the always crucial yards per play differential metric.
Now, with so many stats out there in today’s game, why is this one so noteworthy?
As described in a recent article by the 33rd Football Team, stats analysts and gamblers use this metric heavily to determine just how good a team is–and it’s pretty straight-forward.
How efficient is your offense at moving the ball and how good is your defense at limiting opposing offenses?
In a game where oftentimes outcomes are determined by just a handful of plays, this metric measures how good teams are on both sides of the ball on a down-by-down basis.
For the 2024 Colts, they finished the regular season ranked 18th in this category with a differential of -0.17. The offense would average 5.47 yards per play and the defense would surrender 5.52 yards per play.
Of the 14 playoff teams, 13 have a positive rating.
In short, and as our eyes told us watching the team over the course of the season, the defense surrendered way too many big plays, while the offense, particularly through the air, didn’t move the ball consistently enough on the short to intermediate passing routes to be able to sustain drives.
After attempting to run it back during the 2024 season with largely the same roster as the 2023 team that missed the playoffs, GM Chris Ballard called that approach a “mistake.”
To correct, the emphasis this offseason is going to be on adding as much competition to this roster as possible, with the thought process being that his will help elevate the play of each position group.
As next season unfolds, keep your eyes on this differential because it will likely tell us a lot about who the 2025 Colts are.