| Andrew Luck and the Colts were dominated by the Jets on Sunday. (US Presswire) |
Just as the Indianapolis Colts looked primed to turn the corner, they dropped a clunker. Sunday's 35-9 loss to the New York Jets was the antithesis of the previous week's victory over Green Bay, and just as much a step back as the win over the Packers was a step forward. The Colts were dominated in every facet of the game by a team content with running the ball between the tackles, and a banged up Indy defense could do nothing to stop Jets running back Shonn Greene, who finished with a career-high 161 yards and three touchdowns.
The Colts came back to earth, and it wasn't pretty.
Offense: C-
Quarterback Andrew Luck was off, and without Donald Brown in the backfield, the Colts could not get anything going on the ground. Luck finished with 280 yards passing, but a few missed opportunities in the red zone and two interceptions put the Colts behind the eight ball. Rookie running back Vick Ballard -- getting his first career start in place of the injured Brown -- finished with 25 yards rushing. The Jets' defense was dominant, and Indianapolis failed to find paydirt for the first time this season. Previous game's grade: B+
Defense: D
As ineffective as the offense was, the defense was just as bad. There were no expectations that this defensive unit would be dominant, but it was supposed to at least be serviceable. In its defense, the unit was without several starters, but failing to stop a one-dimensional Jets offense is inexcusable. New York powered through a patched-together Colts defense for 252 rushing yards. The Jets averaged just 83 yards on the ground coming into the game. That's quite an improvement. Previous game's grade: A-
Special Teams: C-
There is no excuse to allow a fake punt pass from Tim Tebow to be as effective as it was Sunday. Tebow hit backup linebacker Nick Bellore for a 23-yard gain. The play came late in the second quarter, when the Colts were primed to get the ball back trailing just 14-6 before half. Instead, the Jets got another touchdown with less than a minute remaining, stretching their lead to 21-6 before the half in advance of receiving the third-quarter kick. The special teams has to be more alert there, especially with Tebow in the game. Previous game's grade: B
Coaching: C
Interim coach Bruce Arians said throughout the week that the team was focused and ready to hit the road. He reaffirmed that after the game, saying practice on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were crisp, and that they were ready to play. Well, they weren't, but coaches can only take part of the blame. Previous game's grade: A+
For more up-to-the-minute news and analysis from Colts blogger Evan Hilbert, follow @CBSColts.