Five Things Learned: Colts-Jets (2020, Week 3)

[Blue]

» HIDDEN YARDAGE: The brilliance of the Colts' special teams units — and their ability to win the field position battle — was on full display in Sunday's win over the Jets. New York on Sunday began its drives, on average, from its own 18-yard line; the Colts, meanwhile, were able to begin their drives from their own 34-yard line — a massive difference of 16 yards. That's significant. The kickoff coverage units were fantastic for Indy throughout the game, as the Jets were brought down at their own 21-, 12- and 9-yard line on three different kickoffs, and Rigoberto Sanchez's punting, and his coverage units, was just as solid; three of Sanchez's four punts on the day were called for fair catches inside the 10-yard line. Oftentimes the highlights on the offensive and defensive side of the ball get the most attention, but the Colts pay very close attention to the "hidden yardage" either won or lost throughout a ballgame, and they're certainly excelling in this area so far in 2020. "Special teams really excelled, made big plays," Reich said. "Field position was good for us the whole game. We took advantage of those opportunities."


» CLEAN BALLGAME: For whatever reason, there seems to have been an uptick in major injuries across the NFL landscape the first few weeks of the season, and the Colts, unfortunately, weren't spared from this trend. In Week 1, the Colts lost starting running back Marlon Mack for the season with a ruptured Achilles. In Week 2, the team lost starting safety Malik Hooker for the year, also due to an Achilles injury, as well as top slot receiver Parris Campbell, who is out indefinitely with a knee injury, and linebacker and key special teams contributor Matthew Adams, who was placed on injured reserve with an ankle injury. Fortunately for the Colts, it seems as if they were spared of any major injuries coming out of Sunday's win over the Jets. Reich had mentioned after the game there are likely going to be some typical bumps and bruises the team has to deal with this week as it prepares for this Sunday's Week 4 contest on the road against the Chicago Bears, but that there was nothing major he knew of injury-wise heading into the week; wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. (ankle) was the only player listed with an injury throughout the Jets game, and he was able to return. That's great news for a team that could possibly start to see the return of some key guys over the next few weeks; tight end Trey Burton (calf) is eligible to return from IR as soon as this Sunday against the Bears, while defensive end Kemoko Turay (ankle) can return from the Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list as soon as Week 8, after the bye week.


» NOTES OF INTEREST:


— Indianapolis scored on a passing touchdown, rushing touchdown, interception returned for a touchdown (two), field goal (two), extra point (four), and a safety. It is only the second time in team history the Colts produced each of those scores in a single game. The other was November 17, 1996 vs. New York Jets.


— The Colts defense recorded safeties in back-to-back games for the first since Weeks 10 and 11 of 1960.


Click here to check out more stats and notes from Sunday's win over the Jets, courtesy of Colts Communications.