A couple of notable stats to leave you with during the Colts' bye this week:
Some remarkable fourth quarter numbers
All but two of the Colts' first 13 games have been decided by one possession, with all those close games partly the product of the Colts having one of the NFL's best offenses in the fourth quarter. The Colts' fourth quarter stats:
| Stat (4th quarter) | # | NFL rank |
|---|---|---|
| Touchdowns | 14 | T-1 |
| EPA/play | .159 | 2nd |
| Scoring drive % | 45.2% | 3rd |
| Offensive penalties | 5 | T-4th (lowest) |
| Explosive (15+ yards) pass % | 15.7% | 6th |
| Yards/play | 5.6 | 9th |
The Colts have picked up a first down on eight fourth down plays in the fourth quarter, tied for the fourth-highest total in the NFL; they've converted 30 of 61 third or fourth downs in the fourth quarter into a first down, good for the fifth-highest rate in the NFL.
And no team has attempted more passes traveling 20+ yards beyond the line of scrimmage in the fourth quarter than the Colts' 36; the next-highest total the 25 of those deep passes thrown by the Cincinnati Bengals.
Alec Pierce is not-so-quietly having a solid season.
Pierce enters Week 14 leading the NFL with an average of 22.2 yards per reception, ahead of the Lions' Jameson Williams (18.5), the Eagles' A.J. Brown (18.0), the Chargers' Josh Palmer (17.2) and the Texans' Nico Collins (17.0). The last qualified player to average over 20 yards per reception in a single season was the Packers' Marquez Valdes-Scantling in 2020 (20.9); if Pierce maintains his average, it'd be the highest in a single season since the Saints' Devery Henderson averaged 24.8 yards per reception in 2008.
But Pierce has proven to be more than just a deep ball merchant, as evidenced by his three-yard touchdown to set up Anthony Richardson's game-winning two-point conversion in Week 13 against the New England Patriots. He's shown significant growth on shorter and intermediate targets this year in addition to being one of the NFL's most dangerous downfield threats, leading to a spike in his year-over-year production:
| Year | Targets | Receptions | Yards | TDs | Targets/game | Receptions/game | Yards/game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 78 | 41 | 593 | 2 | 4.9 | 2.6 | 37.1 |
| 2023 | 65 | 32 | 514 | 2 | 3.8 | 1.9 | 30.2 |
| 2024 | 54 | 29 | 645 | 5 | 4.2 | 2.2 | 49.6 |
Zaire Franklin isn't far off pace from breaking his own franchise record for the second straight year.
Franklin leads the NFL with 135 tackles, 10 more than the guy in second place (Colts safety Nick Cross). Franklin is averaging 10.4 tackles per game, putting him on pace to finish the season with 177 tackles – three shy of breaking his franchise record of 179 tackles set in 2023. Franklin, of course, broke his own Colts record with those 179 tackles last season; he had 166 in 2022, which broke Shaquille Leonard's previous record of 163.
Franklin, though, has never led the NFL in tackles – his friend and mentor Bobby Wagner had 183 tackles in 2023, and he finished fourth in the NFL in 2022.
And Franklin has a shot at setting an NFL record, too: If he records 10 or more tackles in three of the Colts' final four games, he'll become the only player since 2000 to have three consecutive seasons with at least 10 tackles in 10 games.
In addition to Franklin's tackle numbers, he has 2.5 sacks (one shy of a new career high), three forced fumbles (a new career high) and four passes defensed (three shy of a new career high).
