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Indianapolis Colts guard Quenton Nelson (56) and Indianapolis Colts running back Ameer Abdullah (26) celebrate after Abdullah scores a touchdown Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025, during a game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The Colts defeated the Raiders 40-6. Christine Tannous/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Colts' Offensive Line Playing at Championship Level

Originally posted on Indianapolis Colts on SI
By Sean Ackerman | Last updated Oct 10, 2025 2:15 PM ET

The Indianapolis Colts accomplished something that Las Vegas Raiders opponents hadn't achieved since 2022: they held the Raiders to zero sacks.

The Colts kept quarterbacks Daniel Jones and Anthony Richardson clean for all 60 minutes, despite facing off against the likes of star edge rusher Maxx Crosby. While some thanks can be attributed to Shane Steichen's emphasis on getting the ball out early, Indy's offensive line deserves the majority of the love.

The return of starting right guard Matt Goncalves proved valuable against Vegas, and Pro Football Focus analysts took notice. Goncalves' strong performance boosted the entire O-Line's stock, forcing PFF to rank them as the second-best unit in the league ahead of Week 6.

"The Colts' offensive line impressed in Week 5, fueling a dominant win over the Raiders," PFF analyst Zoltán Buday wrote. "The unit gave up just five pressures on 32 passing snaps en route to a 92.2 PFF pass-blocking efficiency rating, which tied for third this week.
Right guard Matt Goncalves earned an 88.4 PFF pass-blocking grade, which ranked third among all guards, and didn't surrender any pressure in Week 5."

It's insane how good Matt Goncalves has been for the Colts to start the season. He had played 33 snaps at guard in his life coming into the offseason and he had an up and down preseason as well.

Something clicked between that final preseason game and the start of the year
— Zach Hicks (@ZachHicks2) October 6, 2025

The Colts were placed one spot below the Denver Broncos, despite having allowed fewer sacks through five games. Indy's front has allowed minimal pressure, with two of their four sacks allowed coming against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 4 while Goncalves was sidelined.

For comparison, the Broncos have allowed five total sacks. When the two teams faced each other in Week 2, the Colts surrendered one sack while the Broncos didn't budge an inch.

Despite Goncalves' dominant week, left guard Quenton Nelson earned PFF's title of best lineman on the team for Week 5. Nelson was handed an 84.9 overall grade, which ranked third among all guards in the league.

The Colts have allowed a league-low four sacks through Week 5, tied for the fewest sacks allowed through five games by any team in the last decade ️

The 2015 Jets were the last team to allow fewer than four sacks through five team games (2) https://t.co/QjZUOUuieO pic.twitter.com/cXz85X4qsE
— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) October 9, 2025

After five weeks of play, the Colts have two linemen ranked in the top 10 of their respective positions (Nelson at 3rd amongst all guards, Tanor Bortolini at 7th amongst all centers).

Indy leapfrogged the Buffalo Bills in the rankings after their offensive line struggled in a home loss against the New England Patriots. The Colts' next challenge will be surpassing Denver, and they'll face their next test in the form of the Arizona Cardinals this Sunday.

The Cardinals have tallied five total sacks in their last two games against the Seattle Seahawks and Tennessee Titans. One of their top rushers is veteran Calais Campbell, who already has three total sacks on the year despite being in his 18th season.

Josh Sweat is another notable threat, as the seventh-year rusher has a four-game sack streak coming into this weekend's clash. If the Colts can find a way to limit the impacts of Campbell and Sweat, then they should be able to keep Jones' jersey clean.

Colts vs. Cardinals will kick off at 1 p.m. at Lucas Oil Stadium.

This article first appeared on Indianapolis Colts on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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