The Indianapolis Colts' offense had some big turnovers against an opportunistic defense on Sunday.
WESTFIELD, Ind. — On Sunday, the Indianapolis Colts had their final practice before heading east for a week of action with the New England Patriots.
Next Tuesday, they will have a joint practice in Foxborough, Mass., before their first preseason game on Thursday.
Here is how Sunday's hour-long practice went.
TEAM
— Players who missed Sunday's practice were: wide receiver Josh Downs (groin, missed two practices), linebacker CJ Allen (hamstring, missed three practices), safety Hunter Wohler (hamstring, missed five practices), running back DJ Giddens (hamstring, missed four practices), and wide receiver Laquon Treadwell (hamstring, missed three practices). Wide receiver Alec Pierce (PUP-ankle) also remains out.
— Defensive tackle Tim Smith returned after missing the last three practices with an undisclosed injury.
— Cornerback Justin Walley participated in position work early in practice, but not team drills. After practice, head coach Shane Steichen said they are monitoring a hamstring issue for Walley.
OFFENSE
— The primary first-team offense was: QB Daniel Jones, RB Jonathan Taylor, WR Ashton Dulin, WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, SWR Anthony Gould, TE Tyler Warren, TE Mo Alie-Cox, LT Bernhard Raimann, LG Quenton Nelson, C Tanor Bortolini, RG Matt Goncalves, and RT Jalen Travis.
— The second-team offensive line was: LT Luke Tenuta, LG Jalen Farmer, C Jimmy Morrissey, RG Dalton Tucker, and RT Blake Freeland.
— Jones was 7-of-13 passing (53.8%), with completions to Warren (2), Westbrook-Ikhine, Dulin, Deion Burks, Taylor, and Gould. He threw two interceptions, both of which were tipped balls. The first was a high throw over the middle of the field in the red zone, which bounced off Westbrook-Ikhine's hands and into rookie safety A.J. Haulcy's, right at the goal line. The next interception, Jones threw the ball into the flat to Taylor, whose hands launched the ball into the air and into the grasp of safety Cam Bynum. Jones' biggest throw of the day was a shot down the right side to Dulin, who caught the ball along the sideline with Mekhi Blackmon in tight coverage.
— Quarterback Anthony Richardson Sr. went 4-of-6 passing (66.7%), with completions to Burks (2), Eli Pancol, and Drew Ogletree. He took two series with the second-team offense, compared to one for Riley Leonard. Late in practice, Richardson had a good-looking deep throw down the left side to Burks for about 30 yards.
— Leonard went 3-of-4 passing (75.0%), with completions to Pancol (2) and McGowan. Leonard found Pancol downfield about 20 yards in the back of the end zone for a touchdown. Leonard also hit receiver Coleman Owen on a deep in-breaking route during 7-on-7s, and Will Mallory for about 30 or so yards along the left side.
— McGowan continues to impress. On Sunday, during a late-game situation, the defense crowded the line with an all-out blitz. McGowan took the handoff up the middle and found a crease as the center opened the hole, and McGowan took off for a touchdown run of roughly 30 yards.
DEFENSE
— The primary first-team defense was: DE Laiatu Latu, DT (3T) Colby Wooden, DT (1T) Grover Stewart, DE Arden Key, LB Bryce Boettcher, LB Austin Ajiake, CB Sauce Gardner, CB Charvarius Ward Sr., SCB Cam Taylor-Britt, FS Cam Bynum, and SS A.J. Haulcy.
— Two pass rushers who have been on fire lately are top defensive end Latu and rookie mid-round draft pick George Gumbs Jr. Both each had a sack, with Gumbs' coming on the second-team defense against Leonard.
— Near the end of practice, the Colts ran a couple of late-game simulation series, with 0:52 on the clock and the offense down by one point. With the first-team defense, Gardner and Taylor-Britt combined for three pass breakups. Gardner had another breakup early in the day during 7-on-7s against Warren on a slant route.
— Defensive tackle DeForest Buckner has been ramping up his usage over the last couple of weeks, and while he has seen limited work in padded 11-on-11s, he looked terrific on Sunday during 1-on-1 drills, beautifully winning matchups against guards Quenton Nelson and Matt Goncalves. It was good to get that glimpse of prime Buckner once again after his December neck surgery.
SPECIAL TEAMS
— On Sunday, Spencer Shrader was 4-of-8 on field goals (50.0%), connecting from 25, 33, 42, and 48 yards, and missing from 50, 52, 55, and 55 yards. Three of the four misses were wide left, with one going wide right as an overcorrection of the prior miss. During the Colts' two offensive late-game series, they both concluded with 55-yard Shrader attempts, which he missed. Since the spring, in practices that the media has watched, Grupe is now 32-of-35 (91.4%), and Shrader is 23-of-35 (65.7%).
DEVELOPMENTAL
— Quarterback Easton Stick went 5-of-6 passing (83.3%), with completions to Sahmir Hagans, Raylen Sharpe, Anderson Castle, Carson Towt, and a touchdown throw to Ben Nikkel. Stick took off on several scrambles throughout the day.
— The developmental team offensive line was: LT Bayron Matos, LG Geno VanDeMark, C Josh Kreutz, RG Josh Sills, and RT Nolan Rucci.
— Linebacker Devin Veresuk had a pass breakup against Sharpe.
— Defensive end Durell Nchami and defensive tackle Cam Ball both got to Stick for sacks.


