The Colts decided to make drastic changes to their quarterback room in the 2022 NFL offseason after a disappointing late-season collapse to close 2021. Indianapolis had a win-and-in scenario in Week 18 against the lowly Jaguars, who had already fired Urban Meyer and clinched the No. 1 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. As such, the Colts were expected to easily win that contest and waltz into the postseason. Instead, they faltered. The team struggled all together and saw Carson Wentz complete just 17 of 29 pa ses for 185 yards, a touchdown and an interception in a crushing, 26-11 lo s that brought the future of most of the Colts' leadership into question. Ultimately, coach Frank Reich and general manager Chris Ballard were left standing and it was Wentz who was shipped out. He landed with the Commanders in exchange for a 2022 third-round pick and a condition 2023 second-round pick. Meanwhile, the Colts brought Matt Ryan aboard to be the team's fifth new Week 1 starter of the last five years. The 37-year-old veteran was acquired for the 82nd pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, and it was presumed that he would be a steady, capable starter for Indianapolis. That hasn't gone as planned to date. The Colts are merely 1-2-1 heading into their "Thursday Night Football" matchup with the Broncos and their offense has endured its share of struggles. Some of the Colts' i sues are a product of Ryan and his tendencies. But does that mean that the offense is worse with Ryan at the helm than Wentz? Not nece sarily. Here's why. MORE: (Getty Images) Below is a look at the Colts' per-game stats during the first four games of the Matt Ryan era. Per game stats Total Rank Points 14.3 Last Total yards 339.8 19th Pa sing yards 252 10th Rushing yards 87.8 27th Turnovers 9 T-28th So far, things haven't gone well for the unit. However, that hasn't entirely been Ryan's fault. The Colts have hardly gotten any support from their running game, and that has made Ryan's life a bit more difficult. Despite employing Jonathan Taylor who is widely regarded as one of the NFL's top running backs the Colts rank just 27th in the league in rushing yards per game at 87.8. Many will be quick to Darcy Kuemper Jersey point out that the Colts have often been behind, so they haven't been able to run the ball as much. That may be true, but the team is still averaging just 3.5 yards per carry. That is tied for fifth-worst in the NFL. As such, Ryan has been asked to carry the Colts' offense more than most expected. He has done a solid job in the pa sing game, as the Colts rank top-10 in pa sing yards per game. However, the team simply hasn't been scoring, as they rank dead-last in the NFL in points per game (14.3). Why is that? Well, it's largely due to Ryan's penchant for negative plays. He is one of the most turnover-prone players in the league, as he has already thrown five interceptions and fumbled a league-high nine times. He also has been sacked 17 times, and those negative plays have consistently taken the team out of scoring range. If Ryan can clean up the turnovers or get some production from his running game, this offense may start to look a bit better. Until then, it will continue to crawl along and be hampered by crushing mistakes. MORE: (Getty Images) Below is a look at the Colts' per-game stats during Carson Wentz's full season with the team. Per game stats Total Rank Points 26.5 T-9th Total yards 347.1 16th Pa sing yards 197.7 26th Rushing yards 149.4 2nd Turnovers 19 T-8th Obviously, the Colts' offense under Wentz was better on paper than the current version of its offense. Of course, a large part of that was due to the team's top-notch running game. Taylor enjoyed a career year in 2022 and led the league in rushing yards (1,811) and rushing touchdowns (18). As a result, the Colts tied for the league lead in yards per carry with the Browns at 5.1. It also made Wentz's job easier, as he didn't have to throw much for Indianapolis to remain in games. Just how frequentlyWentz throw? He averaged 30.4 attempts per game. Comparatively, Ryan has averaged 38.5 throws per game through his first four contests with the Colts. That's why it's no surprise that the Colts' pa sing offense was far le s prolific under Wentz than it is under Ryan. It also helps to explain why the team was much better at avoiding turnovers, as they simply didn't throw the ball frequently enough to rack up a large number of interceptions. It's also worth noting that Wentz's attempts per game dropped to 26 during his final seven games with the Colts. That included a contest during which he threw just 12 times. So clearly, Indianapolis lost some faith in Wentz's pa sing ability as the season wore on. It will be interesting to see if the same happens with Ryan, or if the team's lack of a running game forces him to be a high-volume pa ser throughout his age-37 campaign. MORE: On paper, the answer is yes. Indianapolis has simply failed to score frequently during this season. And if you look at Wentz after four games with the Colts compared to Ryan, it's clear that the former was more efficient in Indy: Stat Wentz (2021) Ryan (2022) Comp. % 63.8 66.2 Pa sing yards 920 1,125 Pa s TDs 5 5 INTs 1 5 Fumbles 1 9 Sacks taken 10 15 Pa ser rating 92.1 85 That said, there's a better question that should be asked in this debate: Is the Colts' offense this much worsethey replaced Wentz with Ryan? The answer to that? Probably not. There are two i sues that have impacted the Colts' offense above all else. First, they haven't put together a running game this season; second, their offensive line has performed much worse after losing right guard Mark Glowinski and failing to find a viable starter at left tackle. Those i sues have caused Ryan to shoulder more of the offensive load than most have anticipated. He has done well at times as a pa ser, but he has proven to be more turnover- and sack-prone than many anticipated; ironically, Ryan was supposed to clean up those areas, which were considered to be weakne ses of Wentz's, but that simply hasn't panned out. Ryan certainly deservesof the blame for Indianapolis' offensive i sues. His sacks and turnovers have been drive killers for the team, and whether or not he is properly protected, he needs to do better to avoid them. Still, if you put Wentz on this same Colts team, he probably would struggle too. After all, it's not like things have gone entirely smoothly for him in his new home with the Commanders. MORE: As mentioned earlier, the Colts traded Wentz to the Commanders during the 2022 NFL offseason. While he has generated more touchdowns than Ryan, he has dealt with some of the same struggles as his counterpart in terms of turnovers and sacks. Stat Ryan w/ Colts Wentz w/ Commanders Comp. % 66.2 62.2 Pa sing yards 1,125 1,031 Pa s TDs 5 8 INTs 5 5 Fumbles 9 3 Sacks taken 15 17 Pa ser rating 85 82.3 QBR 41.3 35.7 That said, despite Ryan having fewer touchdowns and a greater number of fumbles than Wentz, the Colts' starter has a higher pa ser rating and QBR than the former Indianapolis quarterback. So, Ryan has slightly outplayed Wentz, at least by those all-encompa sing metrics. That said, Pro Football Focus has Wentz graded higher than Ryan for the season. Wentz checks in as the site's 25th-ranked quarterback of 33 while Ryan is ranked 27th overall. So, what conclusions can we draw from all of this? Well, you can make a case for either quarterback being better than the other. But at this point, it seems like we're splitting hairs. In truth, Ryan and Wentz are looking pretty similar at this point in their respective careers. So, it appears that the Colts adding Ryan was more of a lateral move than the upgrade it was billed as. Robyn Regehr Men Jersey