INDIANAPOLIS – This has gotten serious, even though the levity going on in the defensive line neighborhood in the Indianapolis Colts locker room indicated otherwise.
DeForest Buckner, Kwity Paye, Dayo Odeyingbo and Tyquan Lewis were discussing – yeah, that’s what we’ll call it – the importance of a player pointing out to a game’s stat crew who was responsible for getting the quarterback on the ground.
If don’t shoot your hand in the air or demonstratively flex, it was asked to anyone and everyone, you might not get credit?
“That’s right,’’ they said, almost in unison.
The latest evidence came last Saturday during the Indianapolis Colts’ 30-13 demolition of the Pittsburgh Steelers at Lucas Oil Stadium.
On the game’s second play, Grover Stewart and Buckner collapsed the pocket from the inside and converged on Mitch Trubisky for a shared sack. Stewart climbed off Trubisky and strutted.
In the third quarter, Odeyingbo was lined up wide left and Samson Ebukam wide right on third-and-5. Odeyingbo whipped right tackle Broderick Jones with an inside rush, Ebukam shed left tackle Dan Moore Jr. and they met at Trubisky.
Odeyingbo bounced to his feet and thrust his right hand into the air. Ebukam clinched his fists and shouted.
And Lewis, who had offered inside pressure, also pointed his right hand to the Lucas Oil Stadium roof.
The latter might have been to reinforce the We’re all in this together mentality that’s motivating one of the NFL’s better pass-rush groups.
The defense asserted itself early and often. It limited the Steelers to 216 total yards, increased its NFL-best active streak to 19 games with a takeaway and buried Trubisky and backup quarterback Mason Rudolph under 4 sacks.
That upped the Colts’ sack total to 46, third-best in the NFL and tying the 2005 and 1989 defenses for the most in the Indy era.
The record could fall Sunday when the 8-6 Colts take their late-season playoff push to Atlanta. The Falcons have given up 36 sacks and have benched starting quarterback Desmond Ridder in favor of Taylor Heinicke.
Ebukam, one of general manager Chris Ballard’s best offseason free-agent acquisitions, leads the team with 9.5 sacks, followed by Odeyingbo (8), Paye (7.5) and Buckner (6). Those already are career-high numbers for everyone except Buckner.
Fourteen different players have at least a half-sack.
Eight of the 46 have been shared sacks.
“You can see the determination of people to get there and be the first to raise their hand,’’ Lewis said.
He laughed.
“Whoever raises their hand first gets it. Put your hand up.’’
That obviously isn’t how sacks are credited, but the approach is driving the defense nonetheless.
“Whoever it goes to, we all celebrate,’’ Ebukam said. “Nobody is too worried because we all know the (opportunities) are going to come.’’
Added Paye: “It’s good to see because guys are just hungry. Guys want to get sacks and ultimately that’s going to help the team. You’ve got to be hungry out there, starving for sacks.’’
The competition in the D-line room is real, and healthy.
“Everybody wants to see the guy next to him win,’’ Ebukam said. “At the same time, we want to win alongside everybody. It’s definitely competitive in that room.
“Everybody’s just trying to get to the quarterback. It’s definitely a race.’’
Linebacker Zaire Franklin has noticed.
“Those boys are really playing at an elite level,’’ he said. “All of ‘em . . . Samson, Dayo, Buck, Kwity, all those guys.’’
The pass-rush group, Franklin added, possesses the proper mindset.
“I don’t know how much time you’ve spent around those d-linemen,’’ he said. “I would say they’re the most selfless guys on the team until it comes to a sack.
“They’re hungry for it, as they should be. I think it’s a race to the quarterback. I think you see it every play.’’
The result: 46 sacks.
“Whole lot of racin’,’’ said Franklin, who leads the NFL with 149 tackles and has added 1.5 sack to the total.
About those sacks
Along with needing just 1 sack to break the Indy-era record, the pass rushers are in position to achieve a few other rarities.
Ebukam, Odeyingbo and/or Paye could finish the season with at least 10 sacks. Only 10 Colts have finished with double figures since sacks became an official stat in 1982. Dwight Freeney piled up at least 10 in seven seasons and Robert Mathis five times. The last to reach 10: Justin Houston in 2019.
The only time the Colts have featured two 10-sack players in the same season: 2010, ’08, ’05 and ’04. It was Freeney and Mathis on each occasion.
About that defense
Gus Bradley’s defense has stepped up as the Colts have won five of their last six games.
Its NFL rankings over the past six games: tied-No. 1 in sacks (25), tied-No. 4 in takeaways (13), tied-No. 2 in interceptions (9), tied-No. 3 in forced fumbles (eight), tied-No. 9 in points allowed (19.0), tied-No. 5 in passer rating (75.7).
You can follow Mike Chappell on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @mchappell51.