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Colts' Samson Ebukam Shines vs. Depleted Texans: Film Room

Originally posted on FanNation All Colts | By Zach Hicks | Last updated 9/18/23

The Indianapolis Colts made pass rusher Samson Ebukam one of the biggest free agent signings of the Chris Ballard era this offseason, inking him to a three-year, $24 million deal. Ebukam certainly proved his worth this past Sunday against the Houston Texans.

Facing a depleted Texans' offensive line, Ebukam was able to capitalize on multiple occasions off of the edge. He finished the day with a sack, a QB hit, and multiple hurries as the veteran pass rusher harassed rookie QB C.J. Stroud all afternoon.

Ebukam is part of a rejuvenated Colts' pass rush to start the 2023 season. Through two games, the team has already accumulated nine sacks, with six of those sacks coming this past weekend. The Texans were a little shorthanded on the offensive line, but the Colts made them pay for it all afternoon long.

Ebukam is an explosive player who uses his length and natural strength to bully opposing offensive linemen. Built like a speed rusher, Ebukam actually wins more with his power despite his smaller frame.

His sack against Houston is the perfect example of what he brings to the table as a pass rusher. He starts out in a wide nine stance and explodes off of the line of scrimmage. He converts speed to power effortlessly and is able to bulldoze the left tackle into the lap of the Houston quarterback.

Ebukam is able to come up with the sack as Dayo Odeyingbo punches the ball out for a forced fumble on the play:

One of the more promising aspects of Ebukam's showing this past Sunday was when he was able to generate pressure. The sack shown above was on the first third down of the day. This next clip was on third down yet again, this time in the red zone.

Ebukam had been killing the Texans' left tackle all day with speed and power on the outside, so the tackle decided to overset the edge on this pivotal third down. This ended up being a costly mistake, as Ebukam crashes inside for the QB hit on the play:

Ebukam's speed off of the edge also set up his teammates for multiple sacks in this game. He uses his explosion to get upfield quickly on this next play, which causes Stroud to slide up into the waiting arms of Taven Bryan for the sack.

This is one of the biggest attributes of having a complimentary rusher like Ebukam. He may not finish the year with 10-plus sacks, but his contributions will be felt big time with effort rushes like this one:

Ebukam also set up his running mate, Kwity Paye, with a sack late in the game as well. Ebukam uses his speed to collapse the left side of the pocket quickly as Paye is able to disengage from his man on the right side for the sack.

Again, complementary pass rushing from a player off of the edge. Ebukam is the type of edge rusher who makes all of his teammates around him better in the long run:

Ebukam also drew one of the biggest penalties of the game with a strong rush late in the outing. The Texans were in the red zone down just 11 points in the waning moments of the game when Stroud threw this touchdown pass to Tank Dell in the corner of the endzone.

Luckily, Ebukam forced the left tackle to hold him with a strong rush on the outside or we could be talking about a completely different final score right now. This hold led to a sack on the next play and an eventual missed field goal by the Texans instead.

Overall, Ebukam had an outstanding game for the Colts in this one. He was disruptive all afternoon and made the Texans pay for having to start their backup at left tackle.

The next step for the veteran is carrying this play over to next week against a solid Baltimore Ravens' offensive line. I have no doubts in my mind that Ebukam will continue to be a major asset to the Colts going forward.

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