The 4-2 Chargers are welcoming the 5-1 Colts into SoFi Stadium this Sunday. It’s also going to be a little welcome home party for Colts head coach Shane Steichen who was the first offensive coordinator
for Justin Herbert when he entered the NFL in 2020. Since then, both have enjoyed successful careers in their own right and I’m sure it’ll be a fun pre-game meeting between the two full of nostalgia.
Aside from the obvious connections between these two teams, there’s also plenty of good football to be had. Colts running back Jonathan Taylor currently leads the league in both rushing yards and touchdowns while Indy is averaging the most points per game in the NFL.
On the other side, there’s Herbert and some pretty impressive pass catchers at his disposal. There’s truly a chance this may be one of the most entertaining games on the Week Seven slate.
With that said, here are three things I’ll be watching closely when these two teams take the field on Sunday!
1.) Chargers defense must exploit weaknesses up front for Colts
The Colts offense has been propelled by their rushing attack. If you take a look at their Pro Football Focus grades in that area, you’ll see fairly high marks across the board for their front five. However, their best lineman — left guard Quenton Nelson — has the team’s best run block grade paired with the worst pass block grade. The discrepancy is actually quite large as his pass block grade of 90.5 is over 40 grade points higher than his mark of 49.5 in pass pro.
The weakness doesn’t just stop there, luckily. Center Tanor Bortolini is also below average in pass blocking on the year with a grade of 57.5.
This may end up being a game where Teair Tart has to carry the pass rush along the interior on a level he hasn’t had to this year. He tops the entire Chargers defense with a 75.3 pass rush grade and the unit as a whole will only get better if Khalil Mack returns. I say let’s scheme up the best to stunt and twist inside to make this a long day for Daniel Jones.
2.) How in the world will the Chargers stop Jonathan Taylor and the Colts rushing attack?
Well, for starters, getting Mack back would be a massive help. The Chargers have been gashed on outside runs over the past two weeks and there aren’t many defenders better at setting an edge than Mack.
For whatever reason, both the Dolphins and Commanders found a hole in the armor of Los Angeles’ run defense that got them an advantageous matchup when running outside the tackle. Using motions, they brought defenders from one side to the other when the Bolts were in man coverage. They consistently forced Tuli Tuipulotu or Derwin James to be the edge defenders and for whatever reason or call, they kept allowing themselves to be sealed far too easy.
I don’t have the specific scheme adjustments or anything along those lines, but there’s simply no way those plays can stay the same going forward. It was bad when the Commaders ran outside at will. It was even worse when the Dolphins exploited the same thing.
The Chargers defense is about to face the best running back they’ve seen all season. They better buckle up their chin straps and stay on top of their business or it will be a very, very long day for all of them.
3.) Bolts can exploit weak coverage in the middle
Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin has made a name for himself in recent years as a vacuum for tackles. However, he’s having a rough go of things in coverage so far through six weeks.
His current coverage grade of 39.9 is the second worst on the entire team after cornerback Xavien Howard (34.2) retired just a few weeks ago. He’s allowed over two-thirds of targets his way to be completed (22-of-31) for 198 yards. Of that total, 133 of them are also after the catch, meaning he’s getting caught slipping and pass-catchers are able to run away from him a bit.
In this scenario, let’s see what mismatches the Chargers can get with the likes of Ladd McConkey and Ordonde Gadsden II. The latter is coming off a career-high in both catches and yards while McConkey just recorded his first 100-yard game of the season.
Let’s get the Colts linebacker moving laterally and see what the Chargers’ best athletes can do with the ball in their hands.