5 Colts Who Must Bounce Back Big Against Chiefs

It's fair to say that Daniel Jones was under fire nearly the entire game against Baltimore's defense. The Ravens were relentless with their blitz, and it paid off in spades.

Jones finished the game with 19/31 completions for 166 passing yards, one touchdown and one pick.

Jones couldn't generate any explosive throws and looked rusty in his first game since Week 14 of the 2025 season against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Now Jones will face off against one of the NFL's best defensive coordinators, Steve Spagnuolo, who will undoubtedly send missiles at the QB to see if he can handle it.

Yes, the offensive protection needs to be better, but Jones also has to weather the storm more efficiently than he did against Baltimore.

If he can right the ship, Indy's pass-catchers can make Kansas City pay dearly.

However, if he replicates what we saw against Baltimore, the Colts might find themselves behind quickly, which will force Jones to throw more and could make Jonathan Taylor less of a factor in the run game.

Justin Walley | Cornerback

I tried to avoid putting Justin Walley on this list since it was his first NFL regular season game. However, when looking at his performance against Baltimore, it was unavoidable.

Walley replaced Kenny Moore II in the slot during the offseason, and while he put up another excellent training camp and preseason, he was torched to a crisp by Zay Flowers.

Per Pro Football Focus, Walley finished with a miserable 40.7 coverage grade and allowed five catches on five targets for 93 receiving yards.

While I want to give Walley some slack, it's the NFL, and if you're replacing a franchise legend like Moore, you have to back it up and fill those massive shoes.

Walley will start again at the nickel position for Lou Anarumo against the Chiefs, and he must improve, or Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid will target him relentlessly in the passing attack.

Grover Stewart | Defensive Tackle

Grover Stewart has been a staple of the Colts' defensive line since 2017, and has been an excellent performer in the trenches since.

However, Stewart was a revolving door in the ground attack against Baltimore, and had the worst run defense grade of any Colts defender on Sunday, posting a sad 31.5 mark.

Fellow defensive tackle DeForest Buckner didn't fare much better (32.2), but Buckner at least pressured Lamar Jackson a team-leading six times.

Stewart will face Kenneth Walker III on Sunday night; things have to be cleaned up, or the Super Bowl LX MVP will put up another meteoric performance as he did against the Broncos (173 rushing yards, two all-purpose touchdowns).

Jaylon Carlies | Linebacker

The Colts' linebacking corps was utterly atrocious against Baltimore, and while Akeem Davis-Gaither could've easily landed on this list, Jaylon Carlies contributed almost nothing to the defensive effort.

Despite playing 42 defensive snaps, Carlies didn't record a single tackle, sack, turnover, or pass breakup on the day.

Carlies was also a liability in run defense and seemed lost on the field. If Carlies does get meaningful snaps again against Kansas City, he must elevate his run defense and be more involved on the field.

Statistics can be misleading, but logging zero metrics in 42 snaps isn't acceptable. After this type of performance from Carlies, Bryce Boettcher or CJ Allen could start or cut into his playing time.

We'll see if Anarumo decides to roll with Carlies again, or if he has other ideas to get different talent on the field for his struggling linebacker group.

Tanor Bortolini | Center

Tanor Bortolini has seamlessly filled the shoes at center after franchise legend Ryan Kelly left for the Minnesota Vikings last year and subsequently retired.

Last year, Bortolini was excellent, but to start his third year with the Colts was a rough outing for the former Wisconsin Badger.

The Ravens didn't have their star defensive tackle, Nnamdi Madubuike, on the field due to the enforcer recovering from a neck injury suffered last year.

Despite this, Baltimore got the better of Bortolini.

Per Pro Football Focus, the center struggled, logging an overall grade of 42.8, pass-blocking of 51.2, and run-blocking grade of 40.7 (lowest on the team).

Bortolini will face the legendary Chris Jones on Sunday, so he has to clean things up after his messy Week 1 performance or risk getting the offense into trouble in what will already be a blitz-heavy attack from Spagnuolo.