Week 1 is in the books for the Indianapolis Colts, and what a way to come out and make a statement. After not winning on their first game in what seems like forever, the team not only won, but obliterated the Miami Dolphins on all three phases of the game.
MVP of the Game: Daniel Jones
What a start for the Daniel Jones era in Indianapolis. I don’t think it could have gone any better, with three total touchdowns, a 75% completion rate, and some beautiful deep balls here and there. Jones provided the quarterback performance this
Colts’ team was desperately needing. Nothing flashy, just take the layups, hit the occasional deep ball, and above all else no boneheaded mistakes. Jones executed everything perfectly, and he just seemed in control throughout the game, ready for everything that the Dolphins were throwing at him. To be honest I was not expecting this from Jones, and I considered myself a bit optimistic regarding his capabilities. We will see whether he can keep this up.
Dud of the Game (The Grigsy): Vacant
Colts were up 30-0 before a garbage time touchdown that helped make up the score a bit, I don’t think a single player had what can be considered a “bad” game. Everyone did their part, and more.
Best play of the game: Latu’s third quarter interception
I had several plays to choose from, but in the end I chose Latu’s interception for several factors. The first one is because of the context of the game, starting off the second half with a forced turnover helped kill whatever hopes the Dolphins still had, and it came with Miami with the ball inside Colts’ territory. The play itself was also a joy to watch, featuring Anarumo’s disguised pressures dropping Latu back into coverage, where he got a gift from a very confused Tagovailoa, who could never figure out what the Colts were doing on defense. It was also great to watch the Colts’ young edge rusher to make such a big play on the first game of the season, boosting his confidence.
Worst play of the game: Vacant / Refs missed PI on Warren
Again, 30-0 up late in the fourth, I don’t think there was a truly bad play on the game. If you want to get picky you can point out the allowed touchdown on 4th down near the end of the game that prevented the shutout, and I would agree a shutout would have been nice, but we cannot fault what was an impressive defensive effort for a garbage time touchdown when the game was already over. There was in my opinion a missed PI on Minkah Fitzpatrick in the endzone that would have given the Colts 1st & Goal on the one-yard line, but it was not truly egregious, and the Colts were already up big at that point.
Best position group: Secondary
Having to face Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle is never an easy task, but the Colts’ secondary disrupted the Dolphins’ passing attack all game long. Camryn Bynum got an early interception, Kenny Moore forced a fumble, which former Dolphin Xavien Howard recovered, free-agent signing Charvarius Ward kept Tyreek Hill in check, Nick Cross also added a sack and made some solid tackles throughout the game. This was a perfect game from the backend of the defense.
Rookie of the Week: Tyler Warren
Get ready for what will be the Tyler Warren section award, and what a debut it was for the first round pick, showing every reason why the Colts’ drafted him. Short catches, some intermediate routes too, a carry on a short yardage situation to convert early in the game. Warren seems to be just too good in everything he does, and keep in mind this was his NFL debut. Cannot wait to see what the future holds for the young superstar.
Unsung Hero: Tanor Bortolini
First game post Ryan Kelly in Indianapolis, and Bortolini did not miss a single step. He anchored a Colts’ offensive line that had an impeccable game against a very complicated Dolphins’ front. Daniel Jones had time to throw in most of his dropbacks, and Jonathan Taylor had some decent openings in front of him.
