Colts need Josh Downs more than ever right now, and he's answering the call

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Colts need Josh Downs more than ever right now.

He is always an important part of the offense, the shifty, savvy receiver who can create quick, easy completions out of the slot, greasing the wheels for the rest of the offense to keep drives going.

But the Colts need him more than ever because the offense’s other source of high-efficiency throws is compromised.

Michael Pittman Jr. is playing through a difficult back injury, fighting through pain to stay on the field, and although he came up with the two biggest plays of Sunday’s 20-17 win over the Titans , Pittman is not the same player right now who piled up catches in bunches the past couple of seasons.

Downs has to carry that load even as he deals with his own painful injury.

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Downs is playing through a toe injury, a wound that forced him to sit out the first two practices of the week and sent pain shooting through his foot again after a short catch in the red zone near the end of the first half.

“I just got the same type of rolled-up on (injury) that I did last week,” Downs said. “I had to take one play off, but the trainers got me right, and I felt fine the rest of the game.”

Downs might have been downplaying the pain.

After the play, he headed to the sideline and crouched down in obvious pain, got back up and took a couple steps back and forth, then went back down again before setting his feet, standing up and heading back onto the field.

Downs is so important to the offense that veteran quarterback Joe Flacco went right back to him, although the play was broken up by Titans cornerback Jarvis Brownlee Jr.

Flacco kept going to Downs on Sunday.

The 39-year-old targeted Downs nine times, hitting him seven times for 66 yards. Downs caught a touchdown on the first drive of the game, drew a pass interference on another play over the middle and hauled in a short out route for the only Indianapolis fourth-down conversion of the game.

“They just found every which way they could to get him the ball because he's great with it,” Titans head coach Brian Callahan said. “So they found some bubbles and they found some underneath stuff. … Felt like a high volume of targets with quick throws that, over time, add up a little bit.”

Forced to miss the first two games of the season due to a high ankle sprain suffered in training camp, Downs now leads the Colts with 27 catches in the past four games, two ahead of Pittman and 14 ahead of Alec Pierce, the next closest receiver on the list.

“He's been huge the last few weeks,” Flacco said. “Ever since he's come back and been in this lineup, I mean, he's been a force to be reckoned with.”

The Indianapolis coaching staff is finding more and more ways to get Downs the ball.

The vast majority of his catches have been the stereotypical slot plays, but as the Colts got closer to the goal line on the team’s opening drive, Colts head coach Shane Steichen started thinking about a play they’d drawn up in practice over the last couple of weeks, using Downs’ tendencies against the defense.

Downs ran a short out, the same kind of cut he’d make for short catches the rest of the game, then cut up the field, leaving Tennessee’s defense in the dust and hauling in a 22-yard touchdown to give Indianapolis an early lead.

“I wouldn’t say I knew it was going to be a big game for me, but I knew I was going to have opportunities,” Downs said. “The cards just fell that way.”

Downs has been turning the cards in his favor ever since he got back from the injury he suffered in training camp.

For example, Indianapolis drafted Oregon State wide receiver Anthony Gould in the fifth round of April’s draft to inject electricity into the return game, but Gould struggled with his decision-making early this season, fair-catching balls that could have been big returns.

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Colts special teams coordinator Brian Mason wanted his team to be more aggressive.

Downs had an answer.

“The first game I came back, I told them I wanted to do punt return again, just to get an extra touch,” Downs said. “They trusted me.”

Downs wrecked Tennessee’s punt coverage on Sunday, fielding the ball inside his own 20 three times and bringing it out for big yardage, including one play where he deked a Titans gunner, convincing him he was going to let a ball bounce before fielding it and racing away for yardage.

The second-year receiver returned four punts for 67 yards, shortening fields and keeping the Colts out of the shadow of their own end zone.

“I knew I was going to get some of those today,” Downs said. “The first one, I should have taken it back to the house.”

Downs also had a carry, a catch that was ruled a run because Flacco threw it slightly backwards.

Twelve touches in all for a player who was not sure he’d be ready for Sunday’s game until the final practice of the week.

“Friday practice, I knew I was fine,” Downs said.

Downs has played through injury before, played in a limited capacity last season when a nagging knee injury threatened to sideline him halfway through his rookie year.

Colts news: Colts WR Josh Downs is fighting through a months-long knee injury to make plays

He wasn’t going to be on a pitch count this time.

“If I’m going to go out there, I’m not trying to be limited,” Downs said. “I’m going to play.”

The Colts need him too much.

Maybe more than they ever have.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts need Josh Downs more than ever right now, and he's answering the call