The Indianapolis Colts are off to a 1-4 start to the season. If they want to reverse their fortunes their first half performances will need to change.
Through five games, the Indianapolis Colts have scored 118 points and allowed 138. That’s obviously not a winning equation. Therefore, it shouldn’t be that surprising that they’re 1-4 on the year. The problem has been the first half, more specifically the first quarter. In their lone win, the Colts scored 14 of their 21 points in the first half against the Washington Redskins.
That leaves 97 points between the other four games. In that time, the Colts have scored 36 points in the first half and only 17 points in the first quarter. Only three touchdowns were recorded in that time. Unsurprisingly, Indianapolis has had a deficit at halftime in three of their four losses.
This recipe has led to the Colts needing second half comebacks to try to get back into the game. It’s given Andrew Luck a chance to shine on multiple occasions, but asking him to lead comebacks week after week simply isn’t fair.
That being said, he needs to take some of the blame as well. As mentioned before, Luck’s offense hasn’t scored much in the first half. With a one-dimensional offense and below-average defense there isn’t really room for error. So when the offense starts slow, the Colts don’t have anything to fall back on.
MUST READ: 20 bold predictions for Week 6
For the Colts to pick up first half production, they’ll need to become less predictable. Luck is on pace to throw the ball more times this season than any quarterback in NFL history. Meanwhile, they’ve run the ball just 101 times, and nine of those have been Luck.
Although the run game hasn’t been effective, keeping the defenses guessing will at least open up the passing game a little. The refusal to run the ball leaves the Colts extremely predictable. Making it harder for the passing game to succeed.
As proof of this, Luck has nearly 300 less yards and a three percent lower completion rate in the first half. He’s also thrown four less touchdowns but one more interception.
No matter what you blame though, the core problem is obvious. The Indianapolis Colts need to find a way to come out strong in the first half of games. Relying on second half comebacks hasn’t worked to this point, and there’s no reason to think that will change.