Colts' high-scoring offense is struggling as stronger defenses pose new obstacles

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — For eight weeks, the Indianapolis Colts overwhelmed opponents with an incredibly proficient offense.

They were scoring at a historic rate, rarely punting and seemingly could do no wrong.

Then Indy began its toughest stretch of the season and hit a speed bump. Pittsburgh pressured the Colts into six turnovers and five sacks. Although Kansas City and Houston didn't force a turnover and only managed two sacks, the Chiefs and Texans harassed Daniel Jones into two of his worst performances of the season.

The Colts dropped their second straight game for the first time this season, falling 20-16 on Sunday to the Texans. They have lost three of four to fall into a first-place tie with Jacksonville in the AFC South, and they play the Jaguars next Sunday.

“We've got to get back on track here,” coach Shane Steichen said. “We'll look at that from a schematic standpoint and where we're putting guys and how we're doing things to help guys out.”

Jones deserves at least some of the blame.

Although he threw two touchdown passes and didn't have a turnover Sunday, Jones was just 14 of 27 for 201 yards. He's produced his two lowest yardage totals of the season over the last two games, and his three worst completion percentages came during the three most recent losses.

Has Jones simply regressed to the inconsistent form he showed during six seasons with the New York Giants? Or are his recent struggles related to the lower leg injury that first appeared on the injury report last week?

Steichen and Jones have downplayed the injury and the impact, if any, it has caused.

“It felt good today, I think it will continue to improve week to week, and felt pretty good today,” Jones said. “It felt better than last week.”

Clearly, though, something has changed for “Indiana Jones” and the Colts.

Indy began this season with amazingly high third- and fourth-down conversion percentage rates, thanks largely to its success on first and second down. The Colts were scoring on nearly every possession.

Over the past two weeks, against playoff-tested teams, they've only scored on three of 10 red-zone trips. They punted on each of their final four series against Kansas City and their first three possessions Sunday, their longest stretch all season.

Jonathan Taylor, the NFL's leading rusher, has seen a dip in productivity. He has 51 carries for 198 yards rushing and no scoring runs in those three losses.

Perhaps the most frustrating part of this sudden decline is that a team that continually came up with big plays in critical moments over the first half of the season can't seem to find a solution when things go awry.

On Sunday, Josh Downs dropped a third-down pass that would have extended Indy's final drive, and on fourth down, Jones' pass fluttered away from veteran Michael Pittman.

“We’ve got to get back on track this week against Jacksonville, get it cleaned up tomorrow and take ownership and everything — myself, everybody included,” Steichen said. “It’s not about one person. We’ve got to get it right, we've got to get back on track this week.”

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