6th Drive (4th Quarter):
This drive got off to a really bad start. Delay of game, followed by Brissett missing Campbell in the middle of the field.
But Brissett made a great read of a busted coverage to hit Allie-Cox for a short throw and nice YAC to pick up the 1st on the next play to get the offense back in business (picture below).
3rd & 5 IND 40 – This was one of the biggest plays of the game. Pre-snap motion from Mack told Brissett it was man coverage. Spread formation from the O and wide 9 set from the D told him the middle of the field was open. He waited to see if Cain or Rogers clearly won on their in-breaking slants. When they didn’t, Brissett took off up the middle for 7 yards and a huge 3rd down conversion.
The next two plays were two off-target throws from Brissett. First was a deep cross to Ebron in man coverage. Pass was slightly behind Ebron and allowed the defender to break it up. Second was a Cain target. Looked like Brissett rushed it due to pressure up the middle (blown block by Glowinski again).
After Rogers was held giving the Colts a first down, a couple nice playaction calls from Reich get the Colts down inside the 10 from there and Mack does all the work to get in the end zone.
7th Drive (Final Possession):
This is where Reich iced the game. Falcons loaded the box and Reich hit them with playaction on two key plays to convert on high percentage passes. It’s so nice having a coach who knows what the defense is giving him and he works it to his advantage.
The other takeaway is just how important Doyle and Allie-Cox are to this running game. We saw it last week with the long run to Wilkins, but here was another back-breaking run to the heavy TE side of the formation in 13 personnel. You only convert this play if your TEs effectively seal the defenders on the right side of the line.
