Colts
Colts HC Frank Reich praised QB Matt Ryan for coming up big for them down the stretch when they really needed it in the Week 3 upset win over the Chiefs to push them to 1-1-1.
“That’s what I love about Matt. The guy is — you cannot faze him,” Reich said, via Pro Football Talk. “I’ve been around a lot of great ones, but as far as guys that are on to the next play, Matt is as good — he’s certainly as good as anybody I’ve been around. There are some other guys, you know, the Peyton Mannings of the world, but Matt Ryan is unflappable. The guy is unflappable. You try to say, hey — he’s already on to the next play. He’s already to the next play.
“I think that’s why over his career, why he’s been able to do what he’s done in the clutch, in the fourth quarter. I think that’s a testament to him. It’s not always going to be pretty, but we bounced back.”
“[T]his is when you look at over the last few years, we’ve had some moments in the fourth quarter where we just didn’t make some plays like we made today to win a game,” Reich added. “It doesn’t matter that there were some ugly series or there were a couple fumbles and at times the protection wasn’t what it should be, and it wasn’t only on— they had some pressures. I’ve got to look at all the film on why, and we’ll get that cleaned up, but Matt, like I said, the guy is unflappable.”
- Joel Erickson of the Indianapolis Star points out the team has clearly shifted veteran S Rodney McLeod ahead of third-round S Nick Cross.
- The rookie has played 70, 46 and one snap the first three weeks, while McLeod has gone from two to 35 to 63 snaps, taking over the starting job in Week 3.
- Colts S Julian Blackmon has an ankle sprain and will be evaluated throughout the week. (Kevin Bowen)
Jaguars
Jaguars WR Zay Jones offered some praise for HC Doug Pederson and the job he and his staff have done this season.
“Doug’s been phenomenal,” Jones said, via Demetrius Harvey of the Florida Times-Union. “A different style of coaching than I was used to, but everyone’s different. Everyone has quirks, per se, whatever. I feel like this team has really bought into what he’s selling.
“When he calls plays and when Press installs plays, they show us the why and they try to give us every tool to be successful. They work tirelessly. I mean, these guys are going home 11:30, midnight back home to their families, so to see it pay off, I know it means a lot for them. And it means a lot to us as players knowing that we have a coaching staff that’s trying to give us every availability and possibility to win.”
Texans
Texans QB Davis Mills was promising enough as a rookie that Houston didn’t make any serious additions at quarterback this offseason, giving Mills a long leash in 2022 to either thrive or tie himself up. So far, Mills hasn’t built on his 2021 success. He’s particularly struggled on third downs and in the fourth quarter as the Texans have yet to win a game, and HC Lovie Smith is at least publicly flummoxed as to why they can’t put it together on offense.
“It’s like everybody else, we’re just not quite there yet,” Smith said via ESPN’s DJ Bien-Aime. “I wish I could tell you exactly — if I could tell you exactly why, I would tell you. … Got to make better decisions. Got to protect the ball.”
- Smith on the team’s running back rotation between fourth-rounder Dameon Pierce and veteran Rex Burkhead: “We like the running backs we have. Dameon has to protect the football better. In all three games, we’ve liked what our running backs have done.” (Brooks Kubena)
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