Colts defense picks up the pace as offense continues searching for answers to red zone woes

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indianapolis Colts defense started this season struggling.

It couldn't stop the run, couldn't keep teams out of the end zone, couldn't get off the field.

Now the script has flipped.

Defensive coordinator Gus Bradley's group is playing stouter, holding teams — even the high-scoring Detroit Lions — largely in check long enough to give Indy a chance to win, and it's the Colts offense that has struggled.

“They are playing their tails off. You don’t want them on the field a bunch and as an offense you want to be able to play complementary football,” running back Jonathan Taylor said after Sunday's 24-6 loss. “I would say specifically on offense, it sucks when you can’t help your defense out when they are fighting their tails off all game.”

Indy's defense held up its end of the bargain by limiting the Lions (10-1) to 14 first-half points and allowing just 24, matching Detroit's lowest output since Week 3.

The problem: Even when the Colts (5-7) did get Detroit off the field, they couldn't sustain drives or score touchdowns. Again.

Anthony Richardson provided the bulk of the ground game by rushing 10 times for 61 yards, mostly early. Taylor managed just 35 yards on 11 carries and a season-high 10 penalties constantly forced the Colts to dig out from deep deficits.

Part of that was by design.

“We knew Jonathan Taylor was going to be the guy we needed to shut down,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “We did that. The quarterback runs. It got us on a couple but overall, we did what we needed to do, and we kept them out of that game."

Part of it could be because of an injury-battered offensive line that has started three rookies each of the past two weeks and finished the previous game with the same three rookies.

Whatever the fix, Indy needs a good solution.

There is good news for Indy is that its schedule now gets substantially more manageable.

After losing four of five, all to teams in playoff position and three to division leaders, Indy faces only one team with a winning record in its final five games. The most recent time the Colts played a team with a losing mark, Richardson rallied them past the New York Jets 28-27.

But Colts coach Shane Steichen knows that's not the answer. The Colts must get this offense righted now.

“We’ve got to get that figured out. We’ve got to get him going on the ground,” Steichen said when asked about Taylor, who has 92 yards on his past 35 carries. “We’ll look at the offensive line. We’ll look at everything."

Pass rush. Pro Bowl DT DeForest Buckner's presence certainly has been felt since he returned from a sprained ankle Oct. 27. In those past five games, the Colts have had 14 sacks, including three of Jared Goff on Sunday.

Penalties. The Colts have had one of the cleanest operations in the league most of this season. Sunday was an anomaly, but one that can't merely be written off.

WR Michael Pittman Jr. The five-year veteran is one of the league's toughest guys, but playing through a back injury appeared to take its toll on Pittman's productivity. Since sitting out in Week 10, Pittman has 11 receptions for 142 yards including six for 96 yards, his second-highest total of the season, Sunday.

Tight ends. Each week the Colts want their tight ends to make an impact. And each week, they seem to fail. It happened again Sunday when Drew Ogletree dropped a TD pass that would have given Indy a 10-7 lead. Instead, Indy settled for a field goal and a 7-6 deficit. Through 12 games, Indy's tight ends have a total of 26 catches, 299 yards and two TDs. That's just not good enough in a league where versatile, productive tight ends increasingly signal success.

Pittman and WR Josh Downs both returned to the game after leaving briefly with shoulder injuries. WR Ashton Dulin did not return after hurting his foot in the second half. But the bigger questions come on the offensive line. LT Bernhard Raimann (knee) was inactive Sunday, and rookie center Tanor Bortolini entered the concussion protocol Monday. Bortolini was one of three rookie starters the past two weeks, replacing Pro Bowler Ryan Kelly who is on injured reserve.

55.88 — Indy has scored touchdowns on 55.88% of its red zone trips this season. While it puts it near the middle of the NFL, it's cost the Colts multiple wins.

Richardson needs to rebound from this latest 11 of 28 performance and show he can lead the Colts to victories week after week. He'll get plenty of chances over the season's final month, starting with next week's game at the New England Patriots.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. (11) is chased by Detroit Lions cornerback Carlton Davis III (23) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Indianapolis Colts defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo (54) chases Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor rushes during the first half of an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (14) is tackled by Indianapolis Colts defensive end Laiatu Latu (97) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams (9) is tackled by Indianapolis Colts safety Nick Cross (20) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson (5) is tackled during the second half of an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Josh Downs (1), defended by Detroit Lions cornerback Khalil Dorsey (30), is unable to catch a pass during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Investor Warren Buffett renewed his Thanksgiving tradition of giving by handing out more than $1.1 billion of Berkshire Hathaway stock to four of his family's foundations Monday, and he offered new details about who will be handing out the rest of his fortune after his death.

Buffett has said previously that his three kids will distribute his remaining $147.4 billion fortune in the 10 years after his death, but now he has also designated successors for them because it's possible that Buffett's children could die before giving it all away. He didn't identify the successors, but said his kids all know them and agree they would be good choices.

“Father time always wins. But he can be fickle – indeed unfair and even cruel – sometimes ending life at birth or soon thereafter while, at other times, waiting a century or so before paying a visit,” the 94-year-old Buffett said in a letter to his fellow shareholders Monday. “To date, I’ve been very lucky, but, before long, he will get around to me. There is, however, a downside to my good fortune in avoiding his notice. The expected life span of my children has materially diminished since the 2006 pledge. They are now 71, 69 and 66.”

Buffett said he still has no interest in creating dynastic wealth in his family — a view shared by his first and current wives. He acknowledged giving Howard, Peter and Susie millions over the years, but he has long said he believes “hugely wealthy parents should leave their children enough so they can do anything but not enough that they can do nothing.”

The secret to building up such massive wealth over time has been the power of compounding interest and the steady growth of the Berkshire conglomerate Buffett leads through acquisitions and smart investments like buying billions of dollars of Apple shares as iPhone sales continued to drive growth in that company. Buffett never sold any of his Berkshire stock over the years and also resisted the trappings of wealth and never indulged in much — preferring instead to continue living in the same Omaha home he'd bought decades earlier and drive sensible luxury sedans about 20 blocks to work each day.

“As a family, we have had everything we needed or simply liked, but we have not sought enjoyment from the fact that others craved what we had,” he said.

If Buffett and his first wife had never given away any of their Berkshire shares, the family's fortune would be worth nearly $364 billion — easily making him the world's richest man — but Buffett said he had no regrets about his giving over the years. The family's giving began in earnest with the distribution of Susan Buffett's $3 billion estate after her death in 2004, but really took off when Warren Buffett announced plans in 2006 to make annual gifts to the foundations run by his kids along with the one he and his wife started, as well as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Warren Buffett's giving to date has favored the Gates Foundation with $55 billion in stock because his friend Bill Gates already had his foundation set up and could handle huge gifts when Buffett started giving away his fortune. But Buffett has said his kids now have enough experience in philanthropy to handle the task and he plans to cut off his Gates Foundation donations after his death. Buffett always makes his main annual gifts to all five foundations every summer, but for several years now he has been giving additional Berkshire shares to his family's foundations at Thanksgiving.

Buffett reiterated Monday his advice to every parent to allow their families to read their will while they are still alive — like he has done — to make sure they have a chance to explain their decisions about how to distribute their belongings and answer their children's questions. Buffett said he and his longtime investing partner Charlie Munger, who died a year ago, “saw many families driven apart after the posthumous dictates of the will left beneficiaries confused and sometimes angry.”

Today, Buffett continues to lead Berkshire Hathaway as chairman and CEO and has no plans to retire although he has handed over most of the day-to-day managing duties for the conglomerates dozens of companies to others. That allows him to focus on his favorite activity of deciding where to invest Berkshire's billions. One of Buffett's deputies who oversees all the noninsurance companies now, Greg Abel, is set to take over as CEO after Buffett's death.

Even after converting 1,600 Class A shares into 2.4 million Class B Berkshire shares and giving them away, Buffett still owns 206,363 Class A shares and controls more than 30% of the vote.

FILE - Warren Buffett, Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, speaks during a game of bridge after the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting in Omaha, Neb., on May 5, 2019. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)

FILE - The children of Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett, from left, Howard Buffett, Susie Buffett, and Peter Buffett, pose for a photo at the CenturyLink Center exhibit hall in Omaha, Neb., May 1, 2015. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)