The Colts blocking was phenomenal during the win streak.
The Indianapolis Colts fell 6-0 to the Jacksonville Jaguars this past Sunday, snapping an impressive five game winning streak for the team. Although the loss was disappointing, there is a lot to be positive about as a Colts fan. The win streak was impressive and notably showcased elite play from Ryan Kelly, Quenton Nelson, Mark Glowinski, Jack Doyle and others in the blocking department.
The Colts were clinical running and passing the ball over their win streak. They averaged 148.6 yards rushing per game along while Andrew Luck averaged 264 yards passing as well. Luck was only sacked once. He was only hit five times for the entire month of November.
The offensive line and the blockers had a big part in that win streak. I figured, the least we can do is give a big shout out to the best blocks of the win streak. These plays are in no particular order.
Top Blocking Plays
15.) We start this highlight reel with a huge block from center Ryan Kelly. He pulls across the formation to block safety Jordan Poyer. He finishes the play by putting Poyer in the ground.
14.) Quenton Nelson doing what Quenton Nelson does. He initially starts blocking down on the defensive tackle to start the play. Once Kelly has the man bottled up, Nelson works back to Castonzo’s man— former Colt Jerry Hughes— and puts Hughes in the ground. Great job finding work on this play by Nelson.
13.) This piece isn’t just for the lineman, running backs can block too. Jordan Wilkins is a solid pass protecting running back and he shows it here. He flips the blitzing Matt Milano up in the air on this blitz pick up.
12.) Ryan Kelly again showing up in this piece. Here Kelly calls out the tackle for Nelson to block then shifts his focus over to the stunt on the other side. Once he sees Raiders defensive end Fadol Brown break inside, Kelly cleanly knocks him to the ground.
11.) This is great blocking all around but the major credit goes to tight end Jack Doyle on this one. Doyle first chips the defensive end to help Castonzo on his block then he gets out in space and blocks the pursuing safety into the corner to open up a gigantic hole. The Colts are going to severely miss Doyle these last four games.
10.) This may be the weirdest block on this list as even Eric Ebron got in on the action. Known primarily as a pass catcher, Ebron— to the left of the screen— puts defensive end Fadol Brown into the ground with a very strong block. Every player got involved in blocking during this win streak.
9.) Another clip, another Ryan Kelly highlight play. Kelly this time is lined up against nobody as it is just a four man rush from the Jaguars. Jaguars defensive tackle Malik Jackson works too far inside and Kelly is able to help Nelson with the block and put Jackson on the ground. This piece is really showing the elite level Kelly was playing at before his MCL sprain.
8.) In the best highlight of his young career, Quenton Nelson absolutely destroys Barry Church on this play. He meets Church in the hole on the pull block and ends Church’s life. What a killer block to set a tone early in a game.
7.) I honestly have no clue who to single out here. Everybody was absolutely perfect on this play. Zach Pascal and Ryan Kelly perfectly seal off the inside of the play with great blocks. Braden Smith, Mark Glownski, and Dontrelle Inman all execute perfect blocks on the outside to spring Wilkins. Perfect all around.
6.) Again, I have to give credit to the entire offensive line on this play. Everyone executed theri assignments perfectly on this long developing play to give Luck the time he needed to make the throw to Hilton deep. This play just speaks to the high level of play all these guys were playing at during the win streak.
5.) Another excellent play all around by everyone blocking but I really want to single out Ryan Kelly yet again. He gets out into space in a hurry and is able to knock over two pursuing defensive backs on the play. The Colts need Kelly back sooner rather than later.
4.) Beautiful, BEAUTIFUL wham play by the Colts here. Look at all the movement up front with every interior player. Nelson, Doyle, and Kelly all take their defenders to the ground and Braden Smith makes a nice block at the second level. Love this concept and it is executed perfectly.
3.) Marlon Mack again showing that running backs can block too. Mack goes low on the blitzing Kiko Alonso and drops him to the ground. He buys enough time for Luck to drop a perfect pass to Eric Ebron for a touchdown.
2.) Filling in for the stout center Ryan Kelly, Evan Boehm had a solid game against the Dolphins. Here he helps with Mark Glowinski’s man before laying into Quenton Nelson’s man. Great job finding work and putting the defensive lineman into the ground.
1.) Our last clip in this piece is another good one from Evan Boehm. Boehm comes downhill and chips Glowinski’s guy out of the play. He then takes out linebacker Raekwon McMillan and Kiko Alonso with one block. To top it off, he puts McMillan into the ground on the play. Great play to end a great thread of plays.
Final Thoughts
The Colts blockers— particularly their offensive line— were the catalyst in the Colts five game winning streak. By giving Luck a crazy amount of time to throw and keeping him clean, Luck was able to go on a statistical tear in the month of November. The ground game also got going and was a big reason why the Colts were able to control each of these games during their win streak.
The player who stood out most was center Ryan Kelly. Kelly was playing at an elite level when he went down with his MCL injury as he was a stout run blocker and a very savvy pass blocker as well. Evan Boehm has filled in nicely but it has certainly been a downgrade from the elite play of Ryan Kelly.
Overall, the line did have a rough game last week against the Jaguars. Despite that though, they have all the makings to be an elite group in the future. With a stable five starting offensive linemen who are all very young, they can develop into one of the better groups in football over the next few years. Throw in an elite blocking tight end in Doyle and a some solid backs in pass pro and the Colts can be consistently deadly on offense for years. The only thing now is to build more consistency.
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