INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — The Indianapolis Colts' offense has taken on some uncharacteristically poor trends in recent weeks.

After seldom turning the ball over or allowing quarterback Daniel Jones to be sacked throughout the first eight weeks of the season, those issues came out of nowhere, exploding in the last two games against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Atlanta Falcons, respectively. While under consistent duress, Jones' ball security has taken a nosedive. 

Prior to the two recent contests, the Colts had only allowed nine sacks on Jones. Now, they have surrendered 21 — five sacks against the Steelers in Week 9 and seven against the Falcons in Week 10.

“I don't have a huge level of concern," Colts head coach Shane Steichen said on Monday. "I think when you see the stat line of sacks, I think every sack has a story to it, and I always look at myself first. There are certain calls I could have called better to put our guys in better position so those don't happen. So that's on me, those things that happened in the game. I’ve got to do better for those guys.”

The sacks and turnovers have unmistakably gone hand in hand. An increase in pressure has allowed defenders more access to Jones, where they have easily stripped him of the ball, as he has fumbled six times in the last two weeks, losing three of them. He also has four interceptions.

Prior to Week 9, the Colts had only turned the ball over four times, and those came in just two games. They've now turned the ball over 12 times; six against the Steelers and two against the Falcons.

While the offensive line is easy to point to for allowing pressure, it has been a systemic issue, from coaching decisions to the offensive line to the extra blockers, and ultimately to Jones.

The Steelers and Falcons defenses were blitz-heavy, sending extra rushers 35 times, accounting for 6 of the 12 sacks. Sometimes the Colts had enough blockers to handle the pressure, and sometimes they were outnumbered. Peripheral blockers such as Jonathan Taylor, Mo Alie-Cox, Tyler Warren, and Drew Ogletree must also shoulder some of the responsibility.

As for Jones, he has been guilty multiple times of holding onto the ball until it's too late, taking a sack rather than getting rid of it.

The Colts have their bye week this week to get some things figured out. It's unlikely there is a magic fix; defenses see that bringing heavy pressure is working. However, the Colts can be better equipped to handle pressure, such as keeping extra blockers in or building in easier outlets for Jones to quickly get rid of the ball.

The Colts return to the field in Week 12 on the road against the Kansas City Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. The game is currently scheduled at 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS.

Jake Arthur has been covering the Indianapolis Colts for over a dozen years and is a member of the PFWA. He's one half of the Locked On Colts podcast and has worked for the Colts' official website, On SI, and more. You can follow him on X @JakeArthurNFL. 

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