Colts Hope To See Early Red Zone Success Continue Against Falcons

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INDIANAPOLIS — Jacoby Brissett had three passing attempts inside the Tennessee Titans’ 20-yard line last Sunday in Nashville, Tenn.


All three of those plays resulted in touchdown passes, including the eventual game-winner to T.Y. Hilton with 4:42 left in the fourth quarter.


That success within the red zone has been a theme through the first two weeks of the season for the Indianapolis Colts’ offense. And while it’s a small sample size, it’s certainly something the team hopes to see continue heading into Sunday’s 2019 home opener against the Atlanta Falcons.


That red zone success has started with Brissett, who has been the league’s top quarterback within his opponents’ 20-yard line through two weeks this season. He’s completed 7-of-10 passing attempts within the red zone, five of which have been for touchdowns (eight other quarterbacks are tied for second in this category with three red zone touchdown passes).


Oh, and of those three incompletions, one was dropped by tight end Jack Doyle, one was caught by wide receiver Devin Funchess, who barely landed out of bounds along the left side of the end zone, and the other was caught and then bobbled by tight end Eric Ebron in the back of the end zone.


Colts offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni said the Colts’ success in the red zone so far — the team’s 83.3 percent touchdown rate on drives that get into the opposing team’s 20-yard line ranks third in the NFL — can mostly be attributed to two primary factors.


“First, it starts with Jacoby and just making the right read and the right throw – an accurate throw. So he has done an excellent job down there,” Sirianni said this week. “And our guys have done a great job of getting open when they need to get open on their guys and finding zones when they needed to find zones.”


For example, in the Colts’ 2019 season opener against the Los Angeles Chargers, Indy faced a 3rd and Goal situation from the Chargers’ 3-yard line with 10:06 left in the second quarter, trailing 7-0. Brissett lined up in the shotgun with running back Marlon Mack to his right, with Hilton the lone receiver in the slot to his left, and with two receivers — Zach Pascal in the slot and Funchess out wide — to his right.


Brissett sent Mack in motion, and the running back took off sprinting to the right, causing three defenders — two linebackers and a cornerback — to shift over just a couple steps his way. On the snap, Hilton took advantage of the small opening, sneaking into that zone created by the pre-snap motion and hauling in the touchdown pass from Brissett.