Daniel “Boom” Herron vs. the Bengals (22 touches, 141 yards, 1 TD)

Passing Game

With 10 catches in this game, Herron clearly showed that he is a legitimate option in the passing game. While he isn’t an accomplished route runner by any means; he doesn’t need to be in the Colts’ offense. The Colts incorporate a ton of vertical passing, and this opens up the field underneath. All the Colts need to do is leak Herron out of the backfield late and he often has a lot of space to work with if Luck drops it off to him. The dump offs allow him to use his vision to pick up yards after the catch.

2-10-IND 29 (Q1, 14:49) (Shotgun) A.Luck pass short middle to D.Herron to IND 47 for 18 yards (D.Kirkpatrick).

Here’s Herron’s first catch from the game. As you can see, he hesitates in the backfield, setting up to block before moving out of the backfield into his route. You can see the routes below:

You see the Colts running two routes down the field while the others are down the sideline. This clears out a huge amount of space over the middle of the field. Herron releases into his route and into the vacancy, and Luck checks down to him. With no one close to him, Herron is able to move into the open field. He tries to set up Reggie Wayne for a block, but Wayne fails. Still, Waynes’ blocking probably bought him five more yards on the play.

2-18-IND 48 (Q2, 2:00) (Shotgun) A.Luck pass short left to D.Herron to CIN 35 for 17 yards (D.Dennard). FUMBLES (D.Dennard), RECOVERED by CIN. R. Nelson at CIN 35. R.Nelson to CIN 41 for 6 yards (C.Fleener).

This play is a screen where the Colts have all three of their interior linemen get out on the edge to lead block for Herron.

All three linemen block before releasing, and Herron sets up like he’s blocking.

That’s what really sells the screen, because the Bengals don’t expect it at all. All of the defensive linemen continue after Luck and the LBs drop back for the downfield routes.

This gives Herron three blockers and lots of room to run after the catch, which you can see above.

In the picture above, you see that Herron is heading towards the outside, and he certainly has the numbers to be able to do so. He should have a lot of room to run, and this really might go for a TD if it weren’t for one player. That’s the man I highlighted in the frame above, Darqueze Dennard. He does an excellent job catching up, from very far away. Ultimately, he forces a fumble on this play. It’s amazing hustle from the rookie. For Herron, it exposes his main obstacle to success: controlling the football. He has had problems with ball security and it’s something he’s going to need to work on if he wants to have a successful career. Other than that glaring issue, I think he did a good job setting up and following his blockers on this play.

2-9-CIN 47 (Q3, 8:34) (No Huddle) A.Luck pass short middle to D.Herron to CIN 36 for 11 yards (E.Lamur).

Like the first catch I showed, this is another late release by Herron. This time, he doesn’t have quite as much room to run. However, he once again showcases elusiveness, making Emmanuel Lamur miss and picking up 9 yards after the catch.

In his first career playoff game, Daniel “Boom” Herron showed that he has the skills to be a successful RB in the NFL, picking up 56 rushing yards on 12 carries with one TD and adding 85 yards on 10 receptions. Hopefully we’ll get to see more positive play (and fewer fumbles) from him in the AFC Championship game.

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