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| Other Week 3 Game Recaps | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATL at NE | CAR at DAL | CHI at SEA | CLE at BAL | DEN at OAK | GB at STL | IND at ARI | JAX at HOU |
| KC at PHI | MIA at SD | NO at BUF | NYG at TB | PIT at CIN | SF at MIN | TEN at NYJ | WAS at DET |
Week 3 Game Recap: Indianapolis Colts 31, Arizona Cardinals 10
Indianapolis Colts
| QB Peyton Manning, Pass: 24 - 35 - 379 - 4 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 2 - -1 - 0 |
Peyton was a little off early, but once he found his stroke in the second quarter, he took the Cardinals defense apart. Short throws, long throws, inside throws, outside throws, touch throws, bullets, it didn't matter, Manning was locked in. The one interception came because Manning's arm was hit as he was throwing. He ran the offense with precision, like he wasn't even thinking when he was making decisions, just letting the defense tell him where to throw. This wasn't really a fair fight.
| RB Joseph Addai, Rush: 13 - 63 - 0, Rec: 3 - 8 - 1 (4 targets) |
Addai continues to look a lot more like 2007 Addai. The line is opening good holes for him, and he is making the jumpcuts and adjustments through the hole to maximize gains. His burst to the outside is good, and he is finishing runs with good power (for him, at least). He is getting some yards after contact, and fought through a tackle to score on his short reception. Addai also had a nice gain on a screen pass called back. As long as the Colts offense is running this well, he'll be a fine RB2 play and terrific flex.
| RB Donald Brown, Rush: 14 - 40 - 0, Rec: 1 - 72 - 0 (2 targets) |
Brown once again got most of his touches in the second half, especially the fourth quarter, and helped the Colts salt the game away. He ran strong, even though his yards per carry didn't indicate it, because he was often met in the backfield. Brown's 72-yard reception was a catch and run that exploited blown coverage by Adrian Wilson, but it also highlighted Brown's speed. He did get some red zone snaps and touches, but couldn't get in the end zone - although he did have one reception that he took inside the 20 and barely stepped out while tightroping the sidelines.
| WR Reggie Wayne, Rec: 7 - 126 - 1 (9 targets) |
Wayne had a ho-hum studly night, reeling in one-handed TDs and deep balls, and working the outside of the field with ease, much to the frustration of the Cardinal DBs. Wayne's hands were ridiculously good, and like Manning, it seemed like he was doing his job without thinking.
| WR Pierre Garcon, Rush: 1 - 17 - 0, Rec: 3 - 64 - 1 (5 targets) |
Garcon showed deep speed again, getting behind Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie when he was peeking in the backfield, and tracking the deep ball very well to get the TD. Garcon also had a nice run on a end around that included a devastating stiff arm that put a Cardinal defender flat on his back. He is definitely living up to Bill Polian's glowing comments about his improvement in the offseason.
| WR Austin Collie, Rec: 3 - 47 - 0 (6 targets) |
Collie ran more downfield routes than he had in the first two games, but he doesn't seem to be a run after catch threat and also shies away from contact. He is definitely behind Pierre Garcon on the fantasy depth chart at this point, but he's running good routes and helping the offense function like a well-oiled machine.
| TE Dallas Clark, Rush: 1 - 7 - 0, Rec: 7 - 62 - 1 (9 targets) |
Clark owned the middle of the field, giving Manning a nice Welker-esque outlet underneath when he needed it. He got open easily in the red zone for his TD, and even had a good gain on the TE end around. He's well on his way to being the #1 fantasy TE this year.
Arizona Cardinals
| QB Kurt Warner, Pass: 30 - 52 - 332 - 1 TD / 2 INT |
You can't really blame Warner for how things went on Sunday night. He was constantly harassed and doing the best he could to escape the pressure and make plays. Still, his early sack and lost fumble set the tone for the night, and he never seemed completely comfortable after that. The Colts got a ton of pressure on him on third and long, which was a frequent situation because the Cards had no success running the ball. Warner's first interception came under pressure late in the first half when he tried to force it to Fitzgerald and the ball popped up in the air, and the second was on a 3rd and 15 capitulation play. When he had time, he surveyed the field well, and Warner was also very effective in the hurry-up offense, but if he keeps taking this many hits, he won't hold up much longer.
| QB Matt Leinart, Pass: 2 - 2 - 7 - 0 TD / 0 INT |
Leinart got more mop-up duty, but we can't really make any meaningful inferences from his two short passes to run out the clock.
| RB Tim Hightower, Rush: 9 - 22 - 0, Rec: 5 - 39 - 0 (8 targets) |
The Cardinals came out wanting to establish the run with Hightower, but the Colts said no. Hightower never really got on track as a runner, and had a few miscues - a botched reverse handoff to Anquan Boldin, and a fumble in the Indianapolis red zone when the Cards were poised to go up 10-0 early in the game. He reprised his role from week 1 as a dump-off target for Warner, but his value is waning.
| RB Chris Wells, Rush: 2 - -2 - 0 |
Wells was met in the backfield on both of his carries and never had a chance to be a bigger part of the game after the Cardinals fell behind by 18.
| WR Steve Breaston, Rec: 7 - 94 - 0 (10 targets) |
Breaston seems healthy even though he's on the injury report, getting the most yards after catch of the Cards receivers, and catching passes on the underneath routes when nothing is there downfield. He caught a pass at the goal line and almost fell backwards into the end zone, and he is definitely as prominent in this passing attack as he was last year, when he went over 1000 yards.
| WR Larry Fitzgerald, Rec: 7 - 76 - 0 (13 targets) |
Fitzgerald was mainly contained for most of the game. He did get open deep once, only to have Warner overthrow him, and he also took a lot of punishment on his short receptions. Warner looked for him in the end zone (including on his interception to end the first half), but Fitzgerald never got open enough to score. If it wasn't for catches in garbage time, Fitzgerald would have had a very disappointing night.
| WR Anquan Boldin, Rec: 6 - 83 - 1 (11 targets) |
Boldin worked the middle of the field very well for the passing offense, getting tough yards running after the catch and using his strong hands to get contested balls. He got open in the corner of the end zone for the Cardinals only TD and seemed to be the most favored receiver when the game was close.
| WR Jerheme Urban, Rec: 2 - 14 - 0 (3 targets) |
Urban has resumed his role in four-wide sets as a safety valve on underneath crossing patterns now that Anquan Boldin and Steve Breaston are healthy.