Matt Ryan and the Indianapolis Colts didn’t start the season off on the right foot. It’s resulted in the Colts choosing to bench Ryan for the remainder of the year, it was that bad. However, that doesn’t mean that the Colts are just waving the white flag now that Matt Ryan is heading to the bench despite the team trading for him. Instead, they will try to refocus their offense to the young signal caller Sam Ehlinger.
Head coach Frank Reich talked about how much confidence he has in Ehlinger even though he’s never thrown a single regular season pass in his career. We’ve seen him perform well in a few different preseason games for the Colts, but we’ll see if he’s ready for a step-up. Reich also made it clear that the benching of Ryan didn’t mean that they were just planning to throw the w hole season away and look towards next year. He said, “Nobody is waving the white flag. That’s not in my DNA. That’s not in our players DNA. I would never do that in a million years.”
Ehlinger is getting put into a solid position to succeed. The Colts have a few stellar running backs, a few good wideouts and a sometimes-good offensive line though they are awfully inconsistent in that area. The most important part of it all though, is that he has some of the best mentors he can have in the league. Ryan will operate as a leader for him moving forward alongside fellow backup and Super Bowl champion, Nick Foles.
Colts Move On From Failed Ryan Experiment
Now, it was certainly time for the Colts to move on from Matt Ryan. Ryan has thrown for 2,008 yards and nine touchdowns across seven total games. However, he’s thrown the most interceptions in the league with nine and has fumbled the football in the double digits. Most of the interceptions weren’t even unlucky. They were just horrible passing decisions that a veteran like him shouldn’t be making. Instead of throwing a tantrum that he got benched, Ryan is offering his full support to the team. He said, “I love Sam. He’s been awesome since the day I got here. My job shifts now. Now I gotta do everything I can to help him. He’s gonna do great for us.”
Indianapolis is in a very winnable division right now with other teams like the Jacksonville Jaguars, Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans not running away with it. Tennessee being the team that looks the best at the moment. The Colts are 3-3-1 on the year despite the horrendous turnovers that their offense has caused them. On tip of advice for Ehlinger and the offense moving forward though, rely upon your backfield. Utilize Jonathan Taylor and Nyheim Hines to the best of their abilities to alleviate pressure off of Ehlinger. Otherwise, forcing him into constant passing situations isn’t going to get them anywhere. The Colts will be taking on the Washington Commanders during Ehlinger’s season debut in Week 8.