By Anthony Licciardi
Let’s say the Indianapolis Colts win the AFC South and make the playoffs as the fourth seed. Great! The most boring division in football has been conquered. The reward? Playing one of the three awesome quarterbacks unlucky enough to lose their division.
In all likelihood, the wildcard teams in the AFC will consist of quarterbacks like Justin Herbert, Russell Wilson, Lamar Jackson, or Joe Burrow. If you’re lucky enough, maybe Mac Jones or Derek Carr win enough games to play you.
Indianapolis has got to beat them somehow. Matt Ryan is a good start to kick the Colts’ offense into gear, but when he’s not enough—and eventually, he won’t be—it will fall upon the defense to create enough chaos to win games.
Bring in Yannick Ngakoue.
Traded from the Las Vegas Raiders for Rock Ya-Sin (talk about a perfect fit), Ngakoue will add to a pass rush that hasn’t dominated in years. There are playmakers on the back end like Kenny Moore II and up the middle with Darius Leonard to round out the pass defense, too. With a threatening pass rush, the Colts are well equipped to disrupt some really talented passers.
Ngakoue has one job: get after the quarterback.
Detractors could point to his abysmal run defense, but would anyone really care? If Ryan and company are functional on their side of the ball, teams won’t be running the ball much anyway.
Ngakoue is a technician with the nuance and athleticism to chase down passers. You don’t rack up at least eight sacks for six consecutive years by accident. Indianapolis will ask him to see red, regardless of down or distance.
Additionally, Ngakoue adds to the pass rush synergy Indianapolis will benefit from. Sure, teams can handle Kwity Paye and DeForest Buckner at the same time. Maybe they’ll use double teams creatively or ask the running back to help out. But Ngakoue too? It’s a task most offenses will struggle to deal with. At worst, it’s enough of a nuisance for opposing coordinators to game plan around.
At the moment, FanDuel is offering -160 odds for the Colts to surpass 9.5 wins. A $100 bet can turn to an extra $62.50 if Ngakoue can make his pass rushing presence felt.
From there, he, Leonard, and Moore will be asked to create turnovers in January football. Just do enough to keep Ryan in the ball game and the veteran can give you a chance to win. There’s a winning formula to be found in Indianapolis, it’s just a matter of execution.