Matt Goncalves’ first NFL start, funky defensive looks, checking in on AFC playoff race after Week 9 loss to Vikings

3. Inside Zaire Franklin’s interception.

The end result of this play looked like Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold threw an ill-advised pass right to Franklin, but there was a lot more that went into the veteran linebacker’s interception.

The Colts rushed four and dropped seven players into coverage on this third-and-three snap from their own 16-yard line midway through the first quarter. Defensive end Laiatu Latu’s pressure forced Darnold to step up in the pocket, and then he escaped to his left to avoid defensive tackle Raekwon Davis.

Moore and Franklin both had eyes on Darnold, with Moore closer to the line of scrimmage than Franklin on the left side of the play. As Darnold escaped pressure, Moore took off toward him and Franklin dropped deeper into coverage – as tight end T.J. Hockenson tried to work into space behind him in the end zone.

Moore’s pressure meant Darnold couldn’t scramble for the first down. Darnold forced a throw, and Franklin picked it off for his second career interception.

But the way Moore and Franklin played off each other on this play was the product of them having plenty of experience on the field together – and of a conversation that experience led to them to having.

“He broke the pocket — that’s something me and Kenny had talked about before, playing off each other,” Franklin said. “I saw Kenny go for the quarterback, so I rotated back in coverage, saw (Hockenson) there, jumped in the throwing lane and he threw it to me.”

It was Franklin’s first interception since he picked off Buffalo Bills quarterback Mitch Trubisky in Week 11 of the 2021 season.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Franklin said. “For me to make a play in the passing game, it’s something I was really working at.”

4. The Colts’ defensive line is getting increasingly funky – and it’s working.

With the Vikings nursing a four-point lead and facing a third-and-11 at the Colts’ 40-yard line, even a gain of five or six yards could’ve put Minnesota into field goal range. As Darnold got to the line of scrimmage, he saw one of the funkiest looks the Colts’ defensive line has shown all season.

The Colts had three down linemen – defensive tackle DeForest Buckner was lined up on the outside shoulder of right tackle Brian O’Neill. Defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo was lined up over the B-gap, between left guard Blake Brandel and left tackle Cam Robinson. Defensive end Kwity Paye was lined up as a wide-nine well outside Robinson.

Three yards off the ball, over center Garrett Bradbury, was Franklin. About a yard behind Franklin, just off the linebacker’s right hip, was defensive end Laiatu Latu.

That was a first: The Colts had Latu behind Franklin.

At the snap, Franklin blitzed toward the right tackle while Odeyingbo and Paye slanted inside, pushing the pocket while Buckner looped inside. Latu came screaming around the edge toward Robinson, who was quickly caught in a conflict: He couldn’t block both Latu and Paye. Robinson tried to route Latu upfield, and as Darnold stepped up to avoid Latu’s pressure, he moved right into the waiting arms of Paye for a sack.

The sack lost eight yards, knocking Minnesota well out of field goal range.

“It kind of stretches the O-line because they’re used to, especially when they’re getting ready for the week, they’re studying certain guys they see there all the time,” Buckner said. “Giving them a different matchup kind of changes it for them and stresses them a little bit for sure.”

Outside of this play, Paye now has dropped into coverage on a blitz one time in each of the Colts’ last three games, per Pro Football Focus. No team will make a habit of dropping defensive ends into coverage, but as the Colts have looked to manufacture pressure, sprinkling stuff like that in once or twice game has made an impact.

“Other teams, they don’t really see is in those fronts,” Paye said. “For us to switch it up and give those looks — me dropping, I’ve never dropped before, just having stuff like that gives them problems, gives them issues. And then our blitzes are hitting.”

5. A check-in on the AFC playoff picture.

After the Colts’ second consecutive loss dropped them to 4-5 on the season, it may not totally feel like it, but the Colts are still very much in the AFC playoff picture.

Two big reasons why: First, the Colts still have a head-to-head game with the Denver Broncos – who, at 5-4, currently hold the AFC No. 7 seed. Second, the while the Pittsburgh Steelers are currently two and a half games ahead of the Colts, if they were to get dragged into a wild card battle, the Colts own the head-to-head tiebreaker by virtue of their Week 4 win.

If the New York Jets (3-6) climb back into the AFC playoff picture, too, the outcome of Week 11 – which was flexed out of Sunday Night Football on Monday – could matter significantly.

Also notable here is the Colts are 3-3 against AFC opposition, which becomes an important tiebreaker in the absence of head-to-head matchups, which the Colts do not have against the Los Angeles Chargers (5-3, 3-2 in AFC play) and Cincinnati Bengals (4-5, 2-3 in AFC play).

The point being: The Colts not only still have time to improve as a team, but also still have time to make those improvements count toward the AFC playoff race.

“I got a ton of faith in the guys in that locker room,” Steichen said. “There’s never any quit in any of those guys. You could see it – as bad as it was yesterday, and the way it went, our guys fought all the way to the end. There’s five minutes left and it’s (14-10) and we’re still right in it. So our guys that we got in the locker room, I got a lot of faith and trust in those guys moving forward.”