Insider: Stats fail to tell the story of how important Grover Stewart is to Colts defense

INDIANAPOLIS — The stats don’t do him justice. But that’s to be expected. They almost never will for a guy like Grover Stewart. The Indianapolis Colts 1-technique’s resumé includes 12 tackles this season, just one for a loss.

No sacks.

No QB hurries.

No forced fumbles nor passes batted down.

That’s not the kind of stat line that will draw a lot of extra attention. 

Then there’s that guy who lines up next to Stewart. DeForest Buckner was always going to command plenty of eyeballs (not just from offenses) after what the Colts paid to acquire and extend him, and the expectation that he would elevate the Colts defense to elite levels. And while there’s little doubt Buckner has been as good as advertised, his excellence has cast a shadow over Stewart, who is playing some of the best football of his life this season.

That’s according to Colts star linebacker Darius Leonard, by the way — one of the many players whose life Stewart makes a whole heck of a lot easier by doing the defense's dirty work. He grinds at the line of scrimmage, taking on double teams and shoving offensive linemen three yards into their own backfield, all so other Colts can stuff their stat sheets with tackles Stewart helped create.

Frankly, that's the life of a nose tackle. Their job very often is to help set up others to make plays. For Stewart, that means using his above-average strength to take on blockers and his surprising lateral quickness to clog running lanes and force running backs to abort their plans. 

It many ways, it's a thankless job. But not to the Colts. 

“A lot of the time that position, the nose tackle position, is underappreciated,” defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus said recently. “But not in our building, it’s much appreciated when you have a guy that is able to grind it out every single day and to practice the way he does. (Stewart) had an excellent performance (against Chicago).”

After helping hold the Bears to a pitiful 1.8 yards per carry, Stewart is one of the biggest reasons the Colts can and should feel confident heading into Sunday’s matchup with the Cleveland Browns, the league’s top rushing team. Entering Week 5, the Colts are one of just seven teams limiting opponents to less than 100 yards per game on the ground. At 77.0, the Colts rank fourth in the NFL behind only the Pittsburgh Steelers (54.0 in three games), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (64.3) and Seattle Seahawks (75.8). 

Stewart and Buckner are the biggest reasons why, said Leonard. 

“I do personally think Grove’s playing his best ball,” Leonard said Thursday. “With him and DeForest Buckner clogging up everything in the middle, that’s the No. 1 reason why our run defense is so good.”

Leonard pointed out that though Stewart played well in 2019, too — he snatched the starting nose tackle gig from Margus Hunt early in the season — he entered 2020 looking like a different person. Literally. Leonard estimated that Stewart dropped 20 pounds from last season and shed 4% body fat. 

That was purposeful. Ever since Stewart entered the league in 2017 as a fourth-round pick from little- known Albany State, his goal has been to outwork everyone else around him. This offseason, that meant working himself into better playing shape. 

"My biggest thing was to put in more work than everybody else," Stewart said. "Behind-the-scenes-wise, I do extra workouts. I do extra conditioning. I study film harder. I’m just trying to do everything extra to be on top of everything.  

The result of all that work has been a 6-foot-4, 300-plus-pound menace chasing opponents around the field. He’s making plays, Leonard said, he isn’t even supposed to be making. On Sunday from his nose tackle position, Stewart tracked nearly halfway across the field to help sniff out a Cordarelle Patterson screen and tackle him at the line of scrimmage. 

He got no credit in the stat sheet for that play, incidentally. 

Safety Khari Willis arrived at Patterson first, but it's possible, had Stewart not been there, the shifty Bears playmaker might have been able to slip the tackle and turn nothing into something. But Stewart was there, and the play went nowhere. A few plays later, the Bears were forced to punt. 

It should come as no surprise given plays like that one, that Stewart is one of the players Eberflus mentioned as a regular on his “all-hustle team.” Those are the players who routinely receive the fewest loafs during film reviews and earn the most playing time as a result. Stewart, who plays primarily first and second downs, has averaged more than 50% of the Colts defensive snaps in every game this year. He did the same every game but one since Week 3 last season. 

This past week, Eberflus wasn't quite ready to go as far as Leonard in terms of committing to whether Stewart was playing the best football of his life. Frankly, it doesn't really matter, Eberflus said. 

"He had an excellent performance last week," Eberflus said. "But you’re only judged by your last one so we have to get ready for out next one.”

If Stewart plays well in the next one, though, Eberflus might have to admit he's playing his best ball. The Browns have obliterated opponents on the ground, averaging more than 200 rushing yards per game en route to three straight 30-plus-point games. They will be the Colts defense’s biggest challenge to date.  

Even without injured star back Nick Chubb, the Browns running game should still be elite with Kareem Hunt running behind one of the best offensive lines in football. 

Frankly, If Stewart dominates the way he has the past few weeks and the Colts shut down the Browns elite rushing attack, he might not get to hear Eberflus telling him he's playing the best football of his life. Eberflus will probably get drowned out by all of Stewart's grateful teammates patting him on the back and telling him that exact same thing. 

Follow IndyStar Colts Insider Jim Ayello on Twitter: @jimayello.