Tim Warner | Getty Images

INDIANAPOLIS – Here’s our latest ‘hits and misses’ piece on 1070TheFan.com highlighting the good and bad from the previous game.

The Colts could not finish off a 15-point road comeback against the Chargers, losing 30-24 in overtime.

What was the good and bad from the Colts losing their 6th straight season opener?

Hits

-Marlon Mack Has Career Day: One of the best rushing performances in Colts’ history, Marlon Mack had a career-high 174 yards on 25 carries in Week One. Mack showed beautiful vision, especially in the second half, and some terrific footwork on a 63-yard touchdown scamper. Mack had 46 rushing yards more than the second highest performance in Week One and he had 4 more carries than anyone else in the league. This was a bellcow type performance from Mack, as the run game bounced back from a porous first half (Mack had 8 carries for 21 yards). You also had to love Mack putting his head down on the two-point conversion as Frank Reich knew that the ground game was wearing down a Chargers defense.

-Poise And Efficiency From Jacoby Brissett: It’s a shame Jacoby Brissett didn’t get better from his teammates on Sunday. Brissett played winning football. He was 21-of-27 for 190 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. His passer rating was 120.7. Brissett managed things really well and thrived in the ‘dink and dunk’ approach the Colts wanted to use early in the game. On the road, amidst a roller coaster of emotions over the past few weeks, Brissett looked relaxed and poised. This was a top-20 QB performance by Brissett. Toss in a few more vertical chunk plays (and a win) and this would have been an outstanding performance by the 26-year-old quarterback.

-Malik Hooker’s Dazzling Interceptions: Philip Rivers saw Malik Hooker before he threw his 4th quarter, and potentially fatal, interception. But Rivers didn’t think Hooker could get there in time. Not only did Hooker get there, but he flashed his right palm to make a one-handed interception that should be on any highlight reel. It was a play that the Colts believed was there when they took Hooker 15th overall in the 2017 Draft. In this defense, you sometimes forget how good of a ballhawk Hooker can be. He showed it though with this 4th quarter pick.

-Young Rushers Step Up: Probably the biggest positive from the Indy defense on Sunday came from young rushers Kemoko Turay, Ben Banogu and Al-Quadin Muhammad. Turay and Muhammad had full sacks. Banogu had a half sack. These young edge rushers are needed in 2019. Clearly, the Colts think highly of Turay and Banogu. They were the edge guys in the third-down package, with Justin Houston sliding into the interior to join Denico Autry. There were some troubles in blitzes getting home and creating enough interior pressure, but the young edge guys offered some pressure.

Misses

-Adam Vinatieri: There’s no questioning where Adam Vinatieri ranks in league annals. But we can also acknowledge that Sunday was one of the worst games of Vinny’s 24-year career. Vinny first missed wide right on an extra point. He then overcorrected with two misses to the left on field goals of 46 and 29 yards. On a day when the Chargers had so many questions about their kicking operation, it was Vinatieri who cost the Colts a Week One win. It’s a shocking statement, but it’s true. The Colts had 7 points left out there on missed kicks by Vinatieri. The old faithful Vinny just looked old on Sunday, which is not something we have said often over the last few years.

-Tackling: It was probably the biggest issue for the Colts defense on Sunday. Poor tackling contributed to the Chargers running backs averaging more than 6 yards per carry. Whether it was going for strips too often without first securing the tackle or taking bad angles with their run fits, the Colts struggled in the tackling department. It allowed the Chargers to find effective balance all game long. Did the lack of playing time for the defensive starters this preseason contribute to the tackling problems on Sunday? The Chargers were an outstanding 7-of-11 on third down against the Colts.

-Special Teams Issues: Vinny gets the large majority of the blame, and rightfully so, but 4th down led to other shaky moments for the underdog Colts. You had Denico Autry’s boneheaded roughing the snapper penalty cost the Colts 4 points. You had a partially blocked punt go just 20 yards and lead to a Chargers field goal. Add it up and the special teams directly led to a 14-point differential. We are so used to this unit being solid for the Colts. They were anything but that on Sunday.