The Indianapolis Colts have been trampled over, quite literally, in the opening two weeks of the 2024 season as they stumbled to an 0-2 start.
Indy’s defense has been a porous mess, surrendering a whopping 474 rushing yards in their first two games, the worst in the NFL. In Week 1, the Colts gave up 213 yards on the ground, with Houston’s Joe Mixon leading the charge with an impressive 159 yards. Week 2 was even more dismal for the Colts, as Green Bay unveiled Malik Willis at QB and ran all over them for 261 yards, with Josh Jacobs grinding out 151.
“I’m a big believer in you see what you coach,” lamented defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, as reported by the team’s official website. “And right now, they’re not playing very good, so we’ve got to get it right as a coach. If you’re not demanding it, you’re accepting it.”
The Colts have been bombarded with 93 rushing attempts against, the most in the league by a significant margin of 12 carries over two games. Their defense has allowed an average of 5.1 yards per carry, ranking them fifth-worst in the NFL, and they’ve given up 24 rushing first downs, the second-most in the league.
Indy finds themselves in the unenviable position of being just the fourth team in the last 20 seasons to have allowed 425-plus rush yards in the opening two games of a season. The previous three teams to achieve this dubious feat all went on to allow 180-plus rush yards in Week 3 – the 2008 Lions, 2008 Chiefs, and 2009 Texans.
