INDIANAPOLIS -- Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator Gus Bradley had nine months to ponder his team's 2023 season finale. And during those introspective moments, he reached a firm conclusion about Houston Texans quarterback and reigning offensive rookie of the year C.J. Stroud, who the Colts were slated to meet in their 2024 opener.
"I don't think there's any secret," Bradley said. "We went into it thinking we've got to do a much better job. We cannot let him have 360 yards passing, 80% completion [rate], and we have to affect him. That was kind of the mindset."
To a degree, the Colts accomplished their goals on Sunday. They made Stroud work for everything, hitting him 10 times, registering four sacks and limiting him to two explosive completions (versus four in the previous meeting). Stroud still managed some clutch third-down throws, but he finished with 234 passing yards after averaging 324 in two games against Indianapolis in 2023.
But the result was the same as the last meeting: A Colts loss.
What they might have gained by limiting Stroud in the passing game -- his yards per attempt dropped to 7.3, down from 10.1 in the 2023 finale -- was offset by the absolute gashing the Colts' run defense absorbed.
Indianapolis turned in an underwhelming performance against running back Joe Mixon and the Texans' offensive front, the Colts allowing 213 rushing yards and 5.3 yards per carry. Statistically, it was the team's worst showing since 2022, when the Colts won just four games.
What happened? And what does it all say about a run defense that was formidable last season (allowing 4.1 yards per rush) going into a Week 2 matchup with Green Bay Packers standout runner Josh Jacobs?
The Colts have some ideas. That all-out focus on Stroud, Bradley said, came at a cost.
"A little bit of it was philosophy," Bradley said.
The tactical approach used by the defensive line, as instructed by Bradley and his staff, was utilized with the understanding that the hyperfocus on the quarterback might result in some substantive gains on the ground for Houston. But the expectation was that they'd be able to walk and chew gum at the same time.
"Guys have got to step up front and make the play, defend the run with six guys in the box," Bradley said.
But the hyperfocus on the quarterback proved difficult to balance with stopping the run.
"You're thinking, 'Let me get off the ball,'" defensive end Kwity Paye said. "That's where you leave those vertical seams and Joe Mixon was able to stretch and find small gaps and hit it."
Said defensive line coach Charlie Patridge: "We were certainly committing some numbers to the pass game, but we have to be better. That's the reality of it. There's some things we could have done to set better edges."
The cutback style of runs that were so successful for Houston will crop up again against Green Bay. So, the Colts are adjusting how they plan to attack those situations on Sunday. And shutting down the running game is of critical importance in Week 2 because the Colts are expected to face the Packers without franchise quarterback Jordan Love.
"It's going to be the same exact running style -- stretch plays -- this week," Paye said. "They have a really good back with Josh Jacobs but they're going to lean more on the run game this week. We're going to see a lot of RPOs and read zone with [backup] Malik Willis. It's about getting back to the basics.
"I feel like in that first game, we were just kind of pass happy."
Paye (hamstring) and star defensive tackle DeForest Buckner (back) have been slowed by injuries this week, muddling the situation a bit for the Colts. But there is no ambiguity about this week's goal: Stopping the run.
"There are some things that we've got to get cleaned up quickly," Patridge said.