National Football League

How Stephon Gilmore, defense have kept Colts’ season from spiraling

Updated Oct. 13, 2022 6:17 p.m. ET

By Ben Arthur
FOX Sports AFC South Writer

Colts safety Rodney McLeod Jr., eyeing the Prime Video cameras, pointed at his teammate as he delivered a succinct message to the NFL world.

"That's Him!" he yelled. "That's Him!"

"Him" was Stephon Gilmore, who had the game-winning pass deflection on fourth-and-1 in the end zone to give Indianapolis a 12-9 overtime victory at Denver during a laughably sloppy Thursday Night Football affair last week.

Beyond Gilmore, the former All-Pro cornerback and 2019 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, it was the defense proving — in the most dramatic way — why the Colts' ship isn't sinking.

"To be able to struggle on offense and have a defense not just hold you in games but clinch games," coach Frank Reich said Monday, "I think it makes us closer as a team."

While Indianapolis continues to work through a bad offense that isn't improving — from Matt Ryan's fumbling issues to pass-protection concerns and a lack of rushing lanes for Jonathan Taylor — the defense is the biggest reason the Colts have stayed afloat at 2-2-1, second place in the AFC South entering Week 6 behind the Titans (3-2). And the strong play has come despite the absence of All-Pro linebacker Shaquille Leonard, who has played just 16 snaps this season between offseason back surgery and a concussion and broken nose suffered in Week 3 against Tennessee.

Both Patrick Mahomes and Russell Wilson had the ball in their hands at the end of games against the Colts' defense with a chance to win (or tie). Both failed.

Gilmore made the game-winning pass breakup against the Broncos, and he also had the tipped pass against the Chiefs with eight seconds left that led to McLeod's interception icing the Colts' upset Week 3 victory.

"It does everything," Reich said Monday of the defense coming through in the team's first two victories. "A credit to the defense for not just making the plays to clinch games, but for not pointing fingers while the offense has been struggling. You haven't felt that, not even the slightest bit. … The energy on the sideline, the camaraderie in the locker room, on the sideline — this is a team. That's what these guys are.

"I believe that we'll continue to see and reap the rewards of that as the season progresses."

Indianapolis boasts one of the NFL's most clutch defenses — an especially big deal considering the offense's propensity to show life late after slow starts (Indianapolis has scored just 26 points in the first half of games this season, tied with the Arizona Cardinals for worst in the NFL, per TruMedia). The Colts are the only team to have not allowed a point in the fourth quarter this season. They're also at the top of the league in defensive expected points added in the final period at 28.9 (an efficiency metric that shows how each play impacts potential changes on the scoreboard, using down, distance to go, field position and other factors), according to TruMedia.

The Colts have been effective defensively without getting tons of turnovers, a calling card in previous seasons. They ranked in the top 10 in takeaways from 2016 to 2021. So far in 2022, Indianapolis has just five turnovers in five games (three interceptions and two fumble recoveries), 23rd in the league.

With Matt Eberflus taking the head-coaching job in Chicago, the Colts brought in Gus Bradley as defensive coordinator. He has deployed a Cover-3 zone match scheme, a more aggressive style than what Indianapolis ran last year. There's a greater focus on penetration by the defensive line, and cornerbacks are asked to press at the line of scrimmage even when dropping into zone.

As Gilmore has grown more comfortable in the defense, Bradley acknowledged Tuesday that the Colts have been able to use the 32-year-old's versatility and ability to play different techniques to be more unpredictable with coverages.

"I think if you looked around, you'd say, ‘Yeah, they play three-deep [coverage],'" Bradley said. "I think really if you broke us down, we do play a lot of it and people are still attacking us that way. But I think we're much more multiple than what people think, and I think it's because of a guy like Gilmore and Kenny Moore II — those guys and their ability to pick things up. We always tell our guys that we're never jeopardizing our ability to play fast. As long as we're playing fast, I think it gives us more flexibility to try some different things."

The Colts' defense ranks in the top half of the league in several categories:

Seventh in yards allowed per play (4.9), including second in rushing yards allowed/play (3.4) and tied for 12th in passing yards allowed/play (7.0)
Seventh in third-down efficiency (31.3%)
10th in scoring defense (18.8)
Tied for 12th in sacks (11)
13th in first downs conceded (98)
Tied for 15th in red zone efficiency (57.1%)

"The defense has played extremely well through the first five games of the year," Ryan said. "I know there's a play here or a play there they'd like back but their effort, the intensity, keeping us in ball games, it's been huge. Good football teams do that, they find ways, and our defense has found a way."

With the defense playing well, the Colts can still live up to the high expectations that filled their offseason — if the offense can figure it out.

"It may be a defensive game, it may be [the] offense may have to get us out of something sometimes," Gilmore said. "You just never know how that situation goes. I think we have the guys to, whatever situation we're in, to try to execute the game plan and come out on top."

Ben Arthur is the AFC South reporter for FOX Sports. He previously worked for The Tennessean/USA TODAY Network, where he was the Titans beat writer for a year and a half. He covered the Seattle Seahawks for SeattlePI.com for three seasons (2018-20) prior to moving to Tennessee. You can follow Ben on Twitter at @benyarthur.