INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — The Indianapolis Colts made the monumental move three weeks ago to trade a pair of first-round draft picks for two-time All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner.

The lockdown defender has been on the field for both games the Colts have had in that time, but last Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs was the Colts' first opportunity to see Gardner on the field at the same time as another All-Pro corner they acquired in the offseason, Charvarius Ward Sr., as well as Pro Bowler Kenny Moore II.

Gardner and Ward give the Colts two of the most reputable cover corners in the NFL, along with Moore in the slot, who has been known among the best slot defenders in the league for much of the last decade.

The Colts' secondary had a tall task Sunday in a game that they ultimately lost to Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, but having the players that defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo had at his disposal gave him the comfort to make certain calls.

“Yeah, I think as you mentioned, Kenny and Sauce and Mooney (Ward) – the combination of those three. And JJ (Jaylon Jones) came in on a couple third downs to cover (Travis) Kelce. And Nick (Cross) had him a couple times. You give yourself a chance when you play them," Anarumo told reporters on Tuesday. "You limit Kelce’s explosive plays because they're such – they're so intertwined, Patrick and Kelce. And you give yourself a chance if you do that.

"Well, how did it affect me? I think just a little less anxiety on any kind of pass play (laughing) with those two guys, and like I said, Kenny manning the slot, I feel good about calling pretty much anything.”

Having sticky players in coverage allows a playcaller such as Anarumo the confidence to bring extra pressure toward the cornerback due to route runners taking longer to get open. 

"With Gardner and Ward on the field, (Anarumo) played man coverage on nearly 63% of Mahomes' dropbacks, per ESPN's tracking, comfortably the highest rate of man coverage the Colts have played in a game this season," wrote Bill Barnwell of ESPN.

Pro Football Focus also charted Mahomes as facing a blitz on 15 dropbacks, resulting in four sacks and another four hits. Pass rush and coverage work in concert, and man coverage specifically allows for extra pass rush to be called upon.

Against the Chiefs, Gardner was credited with seven tackles and a pass breakup. According to PFF, he was the Colts' best player in coverage, with a grade of 76.1. Gardner was targeted seven times and allowed four catches for just 21 yards (5.3 avg.), and a passer rating of 62.2.

Ward had three tackles, a fumble recovery, and a pass breakup. He was targeted eight times, allowing four catches for 61 yards (15.3 avg.) and a passer rating of 75.5.

Moore had three tackles and a pass breakup. However, his coverage stats require a bit more nuance. Being the primary slot defender, Moore was credited by PFF with being targeted the most, but the shifting of responsibilities can be misunderstood in these situations, so you have to take these numbers with a grain of salt. Moore was charted as being targeted 10 times, allowing six catches for 96 yards (16.0 avg.) and a 92.1 passer rating.

When facing elite cover corners on the boundary, offenses will often move their top receivers into the slot to avoid those defenders. When it comes to Gardner, the Colts' opponents have now done this in both contests he's played.

The Colts' next matchup is this Sunday at home against the Houston Texans. We'll see what Anarumo and his secondary have in store for Houston's offense. The game is at 1:00 p.m. ET and can be viewed 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.