Good, bad, ugly from Colts' preseason loss vs. Lions

The Indianapolis Colts wrapped up their preseason with a 25-16 loss to the Detroit Lions. Indianapolis finished the preseason without winning a single game after tying in the preseason opener against the New England Patriots and getting blown out by the Atlanta Falcons.

The Colts managed to keep this game within one score for the first three quarters before allowing the Lions to march down the field on a 14-play, 62-yard drive that took nearly eight minutes.  For the third straight preseason game, the Colts had trouble getting into the end zone with only one touchdown in the game, and it was also only their second touchdown in the entire preseason.

Here is a look at the good, bad, and ugly from the Colts’ loss to the Lions in their preseason finale:

Takeaways: The Colts defense was able to generate four takeaways in this contest. Sauce Gardner came away with an interception, while Caden Curry, George Gumbs Jr., and Mitchell Melton all recovered fumbles. The Colts' offense also gave the ball away only once, resulting in a +3 turnover margin.

Spencer Shrader may have won the kicker competition: Coming into this game, it seemed Shrader had the edge in the kicker competition over Blake Grupe. Shrader only had one field goal attempt in this game, but he made it count, having no problem with a 60-yard field goal. While Grupe made both of his field goal attempts, his first attempt from 46 yards was a doink that he was lucky to bounce between the goalposts. His other field goal was only 36 yards. Grupe may have more experience in the NFL, but Shrader’s 60-yard kick coupled with his other preseason performances should give him the starting job.

Sauce Gardner INT: The Colts did not keep their starters in the game very long, but Sauce Gardner made his presence known on the first drive of the game. After Gardner missed six games with Indianapolis last season due to injury, it was good to see him back in action and playing like the All-Pro the Colts traded for.

Riley Leonard: Anthony Richardson has not played amazingly throughout the preseason and still had some off-target throws in this preseason final, but second-year quarterback Riley Leonard did not have a good showing. Leonard finished the game with a 26.8 quarterback rating, only three completions, 48 passing yards, and an interception in Lions’ territory where the Colts could have at least gotten a field goal.  On the other hand, Richardson had 80 passing yards, was more efficient, and did not turn the ball over. The backup quarterback competition is not settled, but Leonard certainly hurt his case.

Rushing offense: Indianapolis finished the game with 34 rushing yards and an average of 2.4 yards per attempt.  Ironically, their only touchdown of the game came on the ground on a six-yard run from running back DJ Giddens. But, as a whole, this rushing offense was hard to watch. The depth of the offensive line unit remains a big question mark heading into the regular season.

Third Down Efficiency: Over the course of their three preseason games, the Indianapolis Colts were three for 29 on third downs, converting only one third down in each game. Like most things in the preseason, this has to be taken with a grain of salt given the starters were not in the game for almost all of it.  That said, going 3-for-29 is abysmal.

Red Zone Defense: The Detroit Lions had four trips to the red zone, and they scored a touchdown on every single one of them. Again, this is a persistent issue, with the Colts having trouble keeping the Atlanta Falcons out of the end zone in Week 2 and New England scoring on their only red zone trip in the preseason opener. The struggles from the pass rush and cornerback depth contributed to the team's red zone woes.

This article originally appeared on Colts Wire: Good, bad, ugly from Colts' preseason loss vs. Lions