DeForest Buckner did WHAT (!!), Colts’…

1. DeForest Buckner hit a top speed of 18.25 mph while chasing down Marcus Mariota. Here’s why that’s remarkable.

Washington Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota probably thought he had a clear run to the end zone when he pulled a zone read and took off around the left edge in the first quarter of Sunday’s game at Tottenham Stadium. The Colts’ front seven crashed toward running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt, and on the perimeter, safety Cam Bynum and cornerback Sauce Gardner were blocked.

Mariota hit his own 35-yard line without anyone ahead of him. All he had to do was not get caught from behind.

Just past midfield, a player lunged at Mariota and brought him down. The former Oregon Ducks quarterback turned around, saw who it was, and pointed with a look of “THAT WAS YOU?!” at his former teammate in Eugene: DeForest Buckner.

“I think he was surprised when he turned over and saw it was me,” Buckner said. “I just kind of smiled and pointed at him.”

According to NGS, Buckner hit a top speed of 18.25 miles per hour while chasing down Mariota. That’s the fastest Buckner has run in a game since Week 11 of the 2021 season, and is the third-fastest top speed the 32-year-old Buckner has hit in his entire 11-year career.

And he had to give that kind of effort to prevent what would’ve been an 81-yard touchdown.

“He (was) scoring for sure,” Buckner said. “I felt like there was nobody – nobody really expected him to pull it and none of us really expected him to pull it, and he did. I just took a drop step and started running and hauling. I felt like I was running like I was the last piece of defense, just chasing him down.”

After the game, Colts left guard Quenton Nelson re-posted the clip of Buckner running down Mariota on his Instagram with the caption “The standard.” Beyond his massive impact on Sunday’s game – Buckner had three quarterback hits, including a crunching welcome-to-the-NFL pop on rookie quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis – the effort Buckner gives is, as Nelson said, the standard for the Colts.

The point of being the standard is others will strive to reach it. The standard Buckner sets is particularly high.

Buckner’s top speed of 18.25 miles per hour, per NGS, is the third-fastest hit by a defensive tackle this season. The fastest belongs to Buckner’s teammate, Adetomiwa Adebawore, who hit 20.15 miles per hour while chasing down Commanders wide receiver Antonio Williams on a touchdown nullified by a penalty in the fourth quarter on Sunday.