INDIANAPOLIS — Josh Downs is the best third-down weapon the Colts have right now.
And every defense knows it.
When Colts quarterback Daniel Jones lines up on third down and sees pressure coming from the defense across from him, his first instinct is to look for Downs.
Nearly every time he’s looked that way the last couple of weeks, there have been too many jerseys of the wrong color in the area.
Downs has six receptions for 63 yards in the past two weeks against Washington and Pittsburgh; he averaged six catches for 74.5 yards in the two games before that, consistently finding space against Kansas City and Houston.
NFL defenses took notice of the tape.
“I think they’re certainly aware of him,” Jones said. “Particularly on third down.”
Pittsburgh kept bringing down a safety or another defensive back to add help on Downs in key situations, forcing Jones to go elsewhere.
With Alec Pierce out of action and tight end Tyler Warren harder to find in the formation, Downs is the obvious target. Warren leads Indianapolis with 30 catches for 213 yards and two touchdowns; Downs ranks second with 20 catches for 249 yards.
He’s felt the extra attention in Pierce’s absence.
“I mean, sometimes a double here and there,” Downs said. “That pretty much sums it up.”
When Pierce is in the lineup, it’s harder to get a double to Downs. Bringing a safety out of the deep and down into the box creates space for Pierce to get over the top.
None of the receivers playing in Pierce’s place command the same attention, and it allows the defense to come forward, taking away space for Downs to operate.
“Everybody knows Alec’s very good going vertical, so they respect that more,” Downs said. “Right now, I feel like teams got to get back to respecting that with us, to open up some other stuff underneath.”
Downs can feel the space squeezing around him.
If the defense is going to double him, there’s not a lot that he can do.
“I could try to run my route a little better, but I feel like sometimes if they double, the ball just has to go somewhere else,” Downs said.
Jones has been trying to take that option.
Downs led the Colts with 20 targets against the Chiefs and Texans, but Jones has only targeted his slot receiver half as many times the last two weeks.
The Indianapolis coaching staff has to find ways to make defenses pay for the attention they’re giving to Downs. Without Pierce in the lineup, Jones has been forced to rely on veteran receivers Keenan Allen and Laquon Treadwell, a pair of 30-somethings who need to do a better job separating from the cornerback in key third-down situations.
“We’ve got to be prepared for what defenses do to him,” Colts coach Shane Steichen said. “They’re doubling him on third down a few times, and when they do that, we’ve got to be able to find the single in those coverages.”
The single has to be open.
Indianapolis also has to make Downs harder to find. While he doesn’t often line up on the outside because his lack of size makes it difficult for Downs to beat press coverage by bigger, stronger cornerbacks, Indianapolis can shift three receivers to his side, play with his splits, line up Downs close to Warren and try to muddy the space in front of him.
“We’ve got to do a great job of moving him around to get him freed up when teams are doing that, because he is a hell of a player and other teams know that,” Steichen said.
The defenses the Colts have been playing are clearly aware of Downs’ presence.
But Jones needs Downs open as much as possible.
Joel A. Erickson and Nathan Brown cover the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Everybody knows about Josh Downs. That's the Colts' problem
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