A usual strength for the Indianapolis Colts has been a weakness through the first two games of the season.
With Alec Pierce on a limited workload in Week 1 and then exiting the Colts' Week 2 game early, Indianapolis has struggled to generate explosive pass plays without their top wide receiver. Over the last two seasons, Pierce has led the NFL in yards per reception.
This season, however, Daniel Jones has just one completion of 20-plus yards -- the second-fewest in the NFL among eligible quarterbacks. In addition to not converting on downfield throws, the Colts are barely taking any either. Jones' 3.2% deep ball rate is the lowest in football and he ranks 29th in yards per pass attempt, per PFF.
Of course, explosive plays can lead to points, so
not having that element not only impacts the stat sheet but the scoreboard as well.
However, when an offense can't win downfield, it creates a ripple effect across the rest of the unit. Defenses begin shrinking the field by playing closer to the line of scrimmage. This takes away space and can make moving the ball on short to intermediate throws more difficult. This more aggressive approach by the defense can impact the run game as well.
An offense is then often forced to string together long drives in order to score. One mistake can disrupt the possession, not to mention that this isn't a conducive way to put up a lot of points.
With Pierce on injured reserve, the Colts signed Darius Slayton to add some speed to the offense. But whether or not he can provide the juice this unit needs remains to be seen.
Without being able to stretch the field, moving the ball consistently becomes a much greater challenge for an offense.
This article originally appeared on Colts Wire: Strength has become a weakness for Colts' offense
