Defense ruled most of the game between the Colts and Browns as each team continued its push for the playoffs. Cleveland’s defense managed to outscore the Brian Hoyer-led offense as the O put up just 10 points. One scoring drive gained just 2 yards after an interception by Jim Leonhard before settling for a field goal.
The Colts did not move the ball well early on and struggled at sustaining drives, but they did score on four of their last six drives, including a last-minute touchdown pass by Andrew Luck that sealed the win for the Colts.
With that, let’s take a look at a few individual performances from each team.
Indianapolis Colts — Performances of Note
Reggie Wayne, WR: -5.0
Breakdown: Wayne’s performance on Sunday was about as bad as you will see from a wide receiver. Wayne dropped three passes, which was the first time for him in the eight seasons of PFF data. In all, he managed just one catch for 5 yards on eight targets.
Signature Stat: Prior to Sunday’s game, Wayne had dropped five passes on 59 catchable passes for an 8.47% Drop Rate. After dropping three of four catchable passes yesterday, he now has a 12.70% Drop Rate, fifth-highest among wide receivers with at least 50 catchable targets.
Andrew Luck, QB: -3.2
Breakdown: Luck stepped up on the final drive when the Colts needed it most, but his day leading up to the game-winning drive was one of the poorer performances we have seen from him this year. The fumble and two interceptions will stick out the most, but he was off-target on some easy throws as well and forced a couple that shouldn’t have been thrown.
Signature Stat: Luck struggled the most when under pressure. He completed six of 20 attempts when under pressure with a -5.0 passing grade. Even when accounting for drops, Luck had an Accuracy Percentage of just 44.4% when under pressure.
Josh Gordy, CB: +2.0
Breakdown: Gordy did not see a lot of playing time with just 26 defensive snaps, but he made a couple impact plays. In addition to his game-sealing interception, Gordy also broke up a pass on third down to force a three-and-out, and recovered a fumble by teammate Josh Cribbs on a punt return.
Signature Play: (Q3 5:56) Hoyer tried to hit Travis Benjamin on an out route just past the first down markers, but Gordy quickly closed ground and knocked the ball from Benjamin’s hands before he could fully secure the catch.
Cleveland Browns — Performances of Note
Brian Hoyer, QB: -3.3
Breakdown: The Browns gave Hoyer another chance this week instead of going with rookie Johnny Manziel and the move did not pay off. He didn't play as poorly as recent weeks because he was able to hit on a few more deep passes, but Hoyer’s accuracy was still erratic at times. He missed open receivers on several occasions and a major reason for his inaccuracy was that he failed to set his feet or step into throws. Hoyer has now earned a -21.5 overall grade over the last four weeks, one of the worst stretches for a quarterback in PFF history.
Signature Stat: Hoyer’s 53.3% Accuracy Percentage was his second-lowest of the season (Week 11, 51.1%).
Paul Kruger, OLB: +2.3
Breakdown: The bulk of Kruger’s work came as a pass rusher, where he picked up a sack/forced fumbled, a hit, and four hurries. He also had another sack that was nullified by his helmet-to-helmet hit on Luck and recovered a T.Y. Hilton fumble.
Signature Stat: Since Week 8, Kruger’s +9.7 Pass Rush grade is the second-highest among 3-4 outside linebackers.
Joe Haden, CB: +5.3
Breakdown: Haden might be a bit of a surprise here considering two touchdowns did come against his coverage. However, on his other 11 targets, he allowed just four catches for 56 yards. Haden forced a fumble and had three pass defenses, one of which was nullified by penalty, and another coming on the final two point conversion attempt.
Signature Stat: Through Week 7, Haden’s -8.5 overall grade ranked 64th out of 68 cornerbacks that had played at least half of their team’s defensive snaps. In the seven weeks since Week 7, Haden has earned a +15.3 overall grade, second to only Darrelle Revis.
PFF Game Ball
A fumble brought down his grade, but T.Y. Hilton was the majority of the Colts’ offense and hauled in the game-winning touchdown pass.
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