Colts Bench Matt Ryan, Move to Nick Foles
Following what may be the second biggest collapse in NFL history —behind only the Falcons' collapse in Super Bowl 51— the Indianapolis Colts have decided to bench quarterback and former Falcon Matt Ryan and intend to turn over the services to Nick Foles. Jeff Saturday made the announcement on Wednesday afternoon that Foles will not only start on Monday Night Football against the Chargers but will lead the team through the remaining three weeks of the 2022 season. We will examine what led to this and how or if this will have any impact on fantasy football.
Matt Ryan and the Colts
By any statistical measure you would like to use, this was a disappointing season for the quarterback if you're an optimist or an abject disaster if you want to look at it without a rose-colored lens. Through 461 pass attempts, Ryan completed 309 of them through 12 games, with 6.6 yards per attempt, his lowest mark since 2010, all the while leading the NFL in interceptions (13) and fumbles (15) despite missing three games. Those 15 fumbles were already the most the veteran QB had ever had in a single season.
Ryan had already been benched once this season. Still, the Sam Ehlinger experience didn't progress any better, so after Ehlinger's second start, in which he finished with a 51.7 completion percentage, zero touchdown passes, one interception, and a ghastly 3.6 YPA, Ryan was back on the field. Mere weeks later, with newly appointed Jeff Saturday as head coach, the Colts got run out of town by the Cowboys to the tune of 54-19, and Saturday was once again asked about the potential second benching, to which he replied;
It’s five minutes after a beating,” Saturday said. “I’m disappointed. They’re disappointed. No decision I’m going to make right now’s going to be a good decision. We’ve got weeks to go about this.
Indianapolis had a Bye Week to lick their wounds and then came back out in Week 15 to blow the biggest lead in NFL history, more than likely closing the curtain on Matt Ryan's time as an Indianapolis Colt.
How Does Foles Impact Fantasy?
In short, he probably doesn't. Ehlinger at least brought a little bit of a rushing floor to the table —54 yards on the ground in two games— but Foles won't be doing any of that, rushing for a combined 18 yards over the three years worth of starts between his one in Chicago and two in Philadelphia. The best we can say here is that Foles should presumably have a better handle on sustaining drives, as the Colts were leading the league in turnovers with Ryan at the helm and already had more TOs as a team than they've had over their previous seven seasons.
The hits keep coming, as Jonathan Taylor, a top-three running back in the league, has officially hit IR, which takes away one more option for a teetering offense. As all the smoke clears, the only remaining trustable option for your fantasy playoffs is going to be Michael Pittman Jr., who has 9+ targets in eight games this season, even with all the nonsense going on around him, including a 14-target output as the team crumbled in Week 15.
