Colts need overhaul, NFL power rankings and more

The Indianapolis Colts were shut out at home by the Jacksonville Jaguars, all while allowing Blake Bortles to slice them up. It’s time for a major rebuild.

As the saying goes … turn out the lights, the party’s over. Thus is the case in Indianapolis, where the Colts have bottomed out. 

On Sunday, the Colts were blanked 27-0 by the Jacksonville Jaguars. They had no ability to stop Blake Bortles, who threw for 330 yards and a touchdown without an interception. Jacksonville was without star rookie running back Leonard Fournette, and Indianapolis still couldn’t contain one of the more feeble passing attacks in the league.

Even worse was the offense, which was bombarded all afternoon by pass-rushers. Jacoby Brissett was sacked 10 times behind a lousy offensive line, helping to hold the Colts to 232 total yards. Meanwhile, the Jaguars racked up 518 despite committing two turnovers.

In short, Indianapolis barely resembles a professional football team. The coaching is horrid, the players are sub-par and the effort is lacking. Head coach Chuck Pagano has seen this program disintegrate without Andrew Luck, who would be smart to miss the rest of this forgettable season with his shoulder injury. If Pagano isn’t fired by first-year general manager Chris Ballard during Indianapolis’ Week 11 bye, then both men should be dismissed on Black Monday.

A message has to be sent from the top don. Ballard is still new on the job and walked into a brutal situation. The franchise quarterback was coming off surgery, the coach was somehow kept in place and the roster was among the NFL’s worst. Now, Ballard has to put his unmistakable stamp on the team. Pagano must be jettisoned, and at the end of the year, the rest of his staff.

Come the offseason, the Colts have to move on from Vontae Davis, Frank Gore, Darius Butler, Adam Vinatieri and any other free agent that doesn’t check the boxes “young” and “talented.” The Colts aren’t going anywhere soon, especially with the maturation of Deshaun Watson and the ferocious Jacksonville defense ready to define the new-look AFC South.

Luck is only 28 years old. If managed properly and protected by a decent line, he could play another decade. Indianapolis has to think long-term and try to build a winner that can be sustained on a quality roster and not one transcendent talent.

Throughout his first seasons seasons in Indy, both former general manager Ryan Grigson and Ballard have failed in that mission. Luck now needs both a commitment to a realistic plan and a real head coach. Until both are in place, he has no business getting on the field.

At 2-5, the Colts are done. They aren’t reaching the playoffs. In fact, Indianapolis would be better off playing Brissett and losing the rest of the way, allowing it to get a high draft pick. The key is to finally draft impact players instead of the comedy of errors we saw under Grigson, ranging from Phillip Dorsett (over Landon Collins) to Anthony Castanzo.

It’s easy to say the time has come for Pagano and so many others in Indianapolis, but that would be a lie. These moves are well overdue, and without drastic changes, the Colts will waste Luck’s talent, something that seemed impossible only a few years ago.

Power rankings

Top 10 teams looking for a QB in 2018

1. New York Jets
2. Jacksonville Jaguars
3. San Francisco 49ers
4. Arizona Cardinals
5. Baltimore Ravens
6. New Orleans Saints
7. New York Giants
8. Los Angeles Chargers
9. Denver Broncos
10. Cleveland Browns (somehow, again)

Quotable

– Miami Dolphins quarterback Matt Moore, talking about his role on the team

Head coach Adam Game needs to change his stance on the quarterback depth chart. Jay Cutler has ranged between terrible and mediocre through five weeks, and was ripe for a season sweep against the New York Jets before Moore saved him and the Dolphins.

At 4-2, Miami hs to think about the playoffs, and Moore gives it the best chance to get there. Cutler should be benched, Moore should be given the keys to the car, and the Dolphins should be feeing confident.

Podcast

Check out the Stacking The Box podcast on tunes, with a new episode coming out every Monday. Matt Verderame and Josh Hill break down each and every game with picks and predictions.

Random stat

The Seattle Seahawks spent 25 seasons in the AFC and won three playoff games over that span. In their 17 NFC campaigns, Seattle has won 13 postseason affairs, including Super Bowl XLVIII.

As a footnote, the Seahawks are the only team to switch conferences twice. Seattle was originally in the NFC West before moving to the AFC West one year later, then returning to the NFC in 2002.

Info learned this week

1. Raiders win wildest game of year, save season

On Thursday night, one of the wildest, most controversial NFL games in some time played on a national stage, with the Oakland Raiders beating the Kansas City Chiefs, 31-30. Oakland had three chances at the game-winning touchdown, finally hitting Michael Crabtree on a 3-yard touchdown pass with no time remaining.

Kansas City dropped to 5-2, but remains the class of the AFC West. Still, the Chiefs have major defensive issues, allowing 505 yards to a Raiders team that had no offense for a month. Yet the main takeaway is that the Raiders, at 3-4, are still alive in a wide open AFC race.

2. Vikings take control of NFC North

With a win over the Baltimore Ravens, the Minnesota Vikings moved to 5-2 and a full game ahead of the Aaron Rodgers-less Green Bay Packers. Without Rodgers, the Packers looked fried with Brett Hundley at the controls, going 12-of-25 for 87 yards with an interception in a 26-17 loss to the the New Orleans Saints.

Minnesota is doing this without Teddy Bridgewater and Sam Bradford, both being on the shelf. Still, the Vikings are now in firm control of a very winnable division, with the Detroit Lions at 3-3 and the Chicago Bears at 3-4.

If Minnesota can get to 10 wins, it should be able to host a playoff game for the second time in three years. The Vikings have a favorable schedule ahead, including contests with the Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals and Bears at home.

3. Bills sink Buccaneers to continue pair of surprising seasons

The Buffalo Bills were supposed to be tanking and terrible Instead, they are 4-2 and firmly in the AFC wild card race. Buffalo beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30-27 on Sunday at New Era Field, taking advantage of a late Adam Humphries fumble to set up the game-winning 30-yard field goal.

On the flip side, the Buccaneers are falling apart. After starting 2-1, Tampa has lost three straight and is falling off the pace in the NFC South. The Carolina Panthers are 1.5 games ahead and coming to visit this week, while the Saints are chugging along at 4-2. Factor in the talented Atlanta Falcons, and it’s tough to see the Buccaneers pulling out of last place anytime soon.

4. Patriots take Falcons to the cleaners on SNF

After struggling throughout the first six weeks of the season, New England was able to dominate the defending NFC champions to run its record to 5-2. The Patriots were dominant from the start despite being without Eric Rowe and Stephon Gilmore in the secondary, stifling Matt Ryan and his receivers.

Meanwhile, Atlanta looks like a team that is floundering without direction. The Falcons have lost theee straight and could easily be 1-5 instead of 3-3. Even so, Atlanta is in third place of the NFC South and in real danger of missing the playoffs, something unfathomable going into the year.

5. Eagles, Redskins set for MNF showdown

The Philadelphia Eagles are set to host the Washington Redskins on Monday night, with a chance to gain more ground in the NFC East. Philadelphia comes into the game with the league’s best record at 5-1, having already beat the Redskins in Week 1 at FedEx Field.

Washington has an opportunity to close the gap with the Eagles while also getting its first divisional win of the year. The Redskins have the look of a dangerous team, but a loss would drop them to 3-3 in the ultra-competitive NFC playoff push.

History lesson

The Houston Texans won their inaugural regular-season game in 2002, beating the Dallas Cowboys, 19-10. Since then, Houston is 0-3 against its interstate adversary.

Parting shot

The NFC has a half-dozen teams that seem capable to make a run toward Super Bowl LII. In the AFC, there are only three.

The New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs are all 5-2. All three are going to win their respective divisions, and two will have a bye week come January. After them, there is a wide gulf of competitiveness before we reach the Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars. After that, it’s an abyss.

It’s impossible to know which of those three will represent the AFC in Minneapolis, but it will be one of the them. All three are incredibly talented in certain areas, but also have major flaws. The Chiefs are the least-proven, while the Steelers are the least-reliable on a weekly basis. The Patriots have the biggest flaw in their defense, but they have Tom Brady and Bill Belichick.

The NFL’s next 10 weeks will have plenty of drama and intrigue packed in. Yet we know that come the Divisional round, the Chiefs, Patriots and Steelers will be playing, with nobody else able to challenge them in their conference.