With rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson out for the season, the Colts are Gardner Minshew’s team, for better or worse. The Minshew experience is usually a mix of highs and lows in any given game, and that was the case a week ago.
Minshew did a lot of good things, passing for 305 yards and accounting for four touchdowns, while Indianapolis totaled 456 yards against a Cleveland defense that ranked No. 1 in the NFL. Minshew made some mistakes, too, losing three fumbles and throwing one interception in a 39-38 loss to the Browns. The Colts deserved the win, but an incompetent officiating crew made two major late-game blunders to change the outcome.
The bright side for Indianapolis was its offensive outburst against an elite defense. The Minshew mistakes were the dark side. Minshew has passed for 634 yards in the past two games, so he’s showing some positive signs going into a home game against the Saints on Sunday when the Colts are hoping to get a fair shake from the officials.
New Orleans fans now realize why the Raiders were ready to ditch veteran quarterback Derek Carr, who has six touchdown passes and four interceptions through seven games. The Saints rank 21st in the league in scoring offense (19.0 ppg), and they would rank lower if the league was not riddled with so many awful offenses.