INDIANAPOLIS – A defense is only as good as its next game.
And the next game on the Indianapolis Colts’ dance card is Sunday’s rematch in Houston with C.J. Stroud and the Texans. Or is it Joe Mixon and the Texans?
“We have a chance to right a wrong,’’ linebacker/captain Zaire Franklin said Wednesday.
The wrong? A week 1 loss to the Texans. Houston piled up 417 total yards, including a season-high 213 on the ground. Mixon was the catalyst with 159 yards in his Texans’ debut.
The defensive malaise was magnified in the week 2 loss at Green Bay. Although Indy limited the Jordan Love-less Packers to a touchdown and three field goals in a 16-10 loss, Green Bay wore the Colts out with 261 rushing yards, including 237 in the first half.
But since those consecutive missteps, the defense has begun to get its act together.
“I mean, we’re showing signs,’’ coordinator Gus Bradley said. “I think we have played better and better.
“We didn’t play real well the Jacksonville game, but the other games I thought what we played is starting to look more and more like defense to me and to our players.
“They’re playing with a lot of energy right now.’’
There’s been marked improvement in tackling. After suffering at least nine in each of the first five games – there was a season-high 16 at Jacksonville – the Colts had three in the 20-17 win at Tennessee and five in Sunday’s 16-10 victory over Miami, according to Pro Football Reference.
“We’ve always told our guys we’re going to go through some ups and downs early,’’ Bradley said. “We want to be playing our best football by the time we get to November.’’
There’s still significant room for improvement.
The defense ranks 29th in yards per game allowed (382.0), 31st against the run (159.9) and 25th on third down (44.6% conversions), but has worked its way up to tied-12th in points.
And points are what it’s about. Bradley’s defense ranked 28th in scoring the previous two seasons.
The Colts have allowed 17 points or fewer in four of the last five games, and there’s no question they’ve benefited from facing two offensively challenged teams the past two weeks. Miami is averaging a league-worst 11.7 points per game while the Titans (17.7) are tied for the 6th-fewest.
Bradley believes the noticeable turnaround rose from the ashes of the Packers’ game.
“A lot of people bring that up and that that was a tough game,’’ he said. “But sometimes games like that can harden you as a defense.
“I think in that reality, we became closer after that game. I mean, we’ve had hard conversations and what we need to do and where we need to go.’’
It’s been seven weeks of adjusting to injuries.
Cornerstone tackle DeForest Buckner returned to practice Wednesday – he’s got a chance to play against the Texans – after missing five games with a high sprain to his right ankle. Cornerback JuJu Brents (knee), end Tyquan Lewis (elbow) and 2023 sack leader Samson Ebukam (Achilles) are on IR. Nickel corner Kenny Moore II (hip) and end Kwity Paye (quad) missed two games. Linebacker E.J. Speed missed the Miami game with a knee injury.
Franklin spends 5-10 minutes every Wednesday addressing defensive concerns/highlights with the media. He’s crediting the recent uptick on his colleagues’ finally finding an “identity.’’
“A couple of weeks ago you guys asked me about where this defense was, and I told you it was just that mentality, just consistency and just us committing to an identity of who we wanted to be,’’ Franklin said. “Over the last few weeks, I think that’s continued to show up consistently.
“We continue to grow, continue to become the best version of ourselves. But man, adversity has found us already and it’s going to find us again. From the guys going down to the slow start . . . this team has done nothing but battle back.’’
That approach will be required again Sunday.
The Colts won’t be facing Will Levis, Tyler Huntley or Tim Boyle.
Next up is Stroud, Mixon and a Texans’ offense ranked 11th in yards per game (349.7) and 14th in points (23.6).
In the week 1 meeting, Houston walked out of Lucas Oil Stadium with a 29-27 win as Stroud passed for 234 yards and two TDs and Mixon pounded the Colts 30 times for 159 yards and one TD.
Bradley’s game plan going in was to keep Stroud from generating explosive plays to Nico Collins, Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell. It worked to a degree. Collins still had 117 yards on six catches.
The Colts catch a break as Collins is on IR with a hamstring injury. His 567 yards rank 4th in the league despite missing the last two games.
But while intent on not allowing Stroud to take over the game, Indy was unable to contain Mixon. The 159 yards were his most since week 12 of 2021.
“Joe’s a talented back. I’m not going to take that away from him,’’ Franklin said. “I personally think he’s one of the best backs in the league.
“Now that being said, the first week was a very schematic thing. Our big game plan was to make sure they didn’t beat us over the top, and they didn’t beat us over the top.’’
Franklin is optimistic the defensive trend will continue its upward swing.
“From the next-man-up mentality to the finishes that we’ve had in the fourth quarter the last couple of weeks,’’ he said. “I think you can see this team is resilient.
“This team is willing to fight. So, I’m looking forward to the dogfights that we have in the future.’’
Taylor returns
Running back Jonathan Taylor practiced Wednesday for the first time since suffering a high sprain to his right ankle in the week 4 win over Pittsburgh.
His status for Sunday will be determined later this week.
“We’ll see how the week goes,’’ Steichen said.
You can follow Mike Chappell on Twitter at @mchappell51.