Colts Sauce Gardner vs Falcons Drake London turns into must-see battle

WESTFIELD — The battle between the Colts secondary and Falcons star receiver Drake London was the best matchup of this week’s joint practices.

By far.

When London faced off against Indianapolis starSauce Gardnerin one-on-one drills, it got even better, pitting two players at the top of their games against each other.

Working in the red zone, London and Gardner matched up three times in one-on-one drills Thursday. Gardner pulled off an impressive jam of London at the line of scrimmage on the first and fought him through the entire route, only to give up a catch when London made an acrobatic, leaping catch. The second time the two faced off, Gardner forced London to the sideline by taking inside leverage, and Falcons quarterback Tua Tagovailoa had to throw wide of the sideline, leaving the ball to fall harmlessly incomplete.

Gardner broke up the third, driving hard on a slant to London to knock the ball away.

The two matched up again in 11-on-11 drills a moment later. Facing off on third down, London came back to the ball for a short catch, but Gardner hit London immediately, making a key stop.

Then the rest of the Colts secondary got into the action against London. A play later, Tagovailoa held the ball for a long time in the pocket, then lofted the ball late to London at the back of the end zone, only to have Indianapolis free safety Camryn Bynum knock the ball down for an incompletion.

When the two teams went to 7-on-7 drills, second-year cornerback Justin Walley found himself matched up against London on a route to the end zone, and Michael Penix Jr. put the ball in London’s hands, only to see Walley bat the ball away as London tried to bring it down, forcing another incompletion.

London still found a way to make plays later in the practice. When the Colts went back to 11-on-11 work against the Falcons in the red zone, London caught touchdowns on back-to-back plays, including a fade route to beat Cam Taylor-Britt.

The fifth-year receiver, whose four-year, $141 million extension makes him the third-highest paid wideout in the NFL, caught two short passes at the start of Atlanta’s two-minute drill to end practice, but Tagovailoa couldn’t finish the job.

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Indianapolis head coach Shane Steichen likes to end joint practices with a do-or-die situation.

This time, each team’s No. 1 and No. 2 offenses got the ball with 1:05 left on the clock and trailing by one point, forcing the offense to drive from its own 25-yard line into field-goal range for the win. Both Colts offenses were successful.

The Indianapolis defense shut out both of Atlanta’s offenses. After sandwiching two completions to London around a short completion to running back Bijan Robinson to pick up the first down, Tagovailoa threw far too deep for London down the sideline, fumbled the snap on second down and then got rattled under heavy blitzes from the Colts on third and fourth down to end the drive. A handful of Colts came free on third down, and Laiatu Latu pressured Tagovailoa into an errant throw on fourth down to get the stop.

Atlanta’s other potential starter, Michael Penix Jr., is still not cleared for 11-on-11 work after tearing his ACL last season.

That left the Falcons’ No. 2 offense to Cooper Rush, who struggled for most of the day.

Rush opened his drive by hitting Chris Blair up the left sideline for a catch-and-run of 20-plus yards, the kind of opening play an offense needs to start a drive.

Johnathan Edwards broke up a deep ball on the second play of the drive, and on the third, a blitzing Jonathan Owens deflected the ball to slot cornerback Robert Carter Jr. for a practice-ending interception.

The Indianapolis defense largely dominated the two days of work with the Falcons.

Tagovailoa completed just 7 of 14 throws in 11-on-11 work Thursday, and the Colts cornerbacks picked up the win in one-on-one drills, forcing the entire Falcons receiving corps to do push-ups after the drill finished.

But it remains notable that the Colts had trouble getting sacks without the benefit of the blitz. Veteran defensive end Arden Key appeared to beat Atlanta left tackle Jake Matthews for a “sack” of Tagovailoa on one play, and both Latu and defensive tackle DeForest Buckner had pressures, but the Colts’ defensive line did not dominate the line of scrimmage, either with the first team or second team.

When Indianapolis got pressure, it was often the blitz. Cam Taylor-Britt forced an errant Tagovailoa throw on the first 11-on-11 snap of the day, a ball out of bounds that Walley swallowed up for a deflection as it went out of bounds.

After leaving practice yesterday with what a source described as a mild groin strain, star second-year tight end Tyler Warren was present on the sidelines of Colts practice Thursday, but he did not practice. Colts head coach Shane Steichen said the team will monitor him over the next week, but added, “That thing’s not serious.”

Second-year running back Ulysses Bentley IV went down Thursday during 7-on-7 work with the first-team option, following a broken-up pass play in the back of the end zone from Daniel Jones. He left the field and did not return after suffering an ankle injury, according to a source.

Fellow second-year running back DJ Giddens attended practice Thursday and was in pads, but for the second consecutive day, the former fifth-round pick kept to individual drills at the beginning of practice and then worked off to the side with team trainers. He’s working to come back from a hamstring injury that sidelined him for much of training camp.

Veteran cornerback Charvarius Ward (back) was again spotted in attendance at practice in street clothes but not in action. Wide receiver Anthony Gould (groin), offensive tackle Luke Tenuta (knee) and offensive tackle Nolan Rucci (lower leg) were also absent from practice again.

Star wide receiver Alec Pierce remains on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list as he continues to rehab from late-March ankle surgery that has sidelined him for the entirety of training camp.

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Robinson’s speed and elusiveness tested the Indianapolis run defense, but for the most part, the Colts held up well. Bynum and veteran middle linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither hit Brian Robinson Jr. in the backfield for a tackle-for-loss on one key play. … Jaylon Carlies made an acrobatic, leaping interception of Rush in 7-on-7, a drill designed to favor the offense. Carlies might be pushing for a starting spot; Indianapolis has rotated its linebackers liberally throughout training camp, but the combination of Carlies and Davis-Gaither has gotten a few more chances since the preseason opener. … Jaylon Jones beat Falcons wide receiver Antwane Wells Jr. to a spot for an interception during one-on-one drills. … Undrafted safety Austin Brown had a tackle-for-loss on Robinson.

Joel A. Erickson and Nathan Brown cover the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts Sauce Gardner vs Falcons Drake London turns into must-see battle

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